Prospect Musicals Will Honor Michael Arden, Baayork Lee, and Kendall Crolius at 25th Annual Gala

Prospect Musicals has announced their 25th Anniversary Gala, which will honor three members of the theatre community with the third annual Muse Awards: Tony Award-winning director and actor Michael Arden (Parade, Maybe Happy Ending), arts advocate and author Kendall Crolius, and Tony Award recipient Baayork Lee (A Chorus Line).

Drama Desk Award winner Jay Armstrong Johnson (Parade, The Phantom of the Opera) and Jaygee Macapugay (Suffs, Here Lies Love) will co-host the event, held Monday, September 30th at The Edison Ballroom (240 West 47th Street).

The Gala celebrates the company's 25 years of pioneering, developing, and producing new musical theater works, as well as the recent re-branding from Prospect Theater Company to Prospect Musicals. The evening will include cocktails, dinner, and entertainment from special guests in celebration of this year's Muse Award recipients.

Prospect Musicals' Gala Committee Co-Chairs include Jane Abramson, Tira Harpaz, and Jason Ma.

Additional information, including award presenters and performers will be announced shortly.

To reserve tickets, please visit ProspectMusicals.org.

MUSE AWARD RECIPIENTS

Michael Arden was awarded the 2023 Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical for his production of Parade, which will play a national tour in early 2025. Michael was Tony nominated for his productions of Once On This Island and Spring Awakening, wrote and directed Charles Dickens' A Christmas Carol which played the Nederlander Theatre starring Jefferson Mays, and directed Ben Platt's solo show, reopening the Palace Theater on Broadway. Michael co-directed The Preacher's Wife at the Atlanta Alliance Theater by Tituss Burgess and Azie Dungey, and most recently the pre-Broadway engagement of the new Stephen Schwartz and Lindsey Ferrentino musical The Queen of Versailles starring Kristin Chenowith. Upcoming projects include The Lost Boys and Maybe Happy Ending which will open at the Belasco Theater this November, starring Darren Criss and Helen J. Shen. Other directing credits include: Annie at the Hollywood Bowl, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at Geffen Hall at Lincoln Center, site specific works American Dream Study and ALIEN/NATION, and this year's MET GALA. Arden has been named on Variety's Impact List, and is the winner of an NAACP Award for best direction of his revival of Merrily We Roll Along. Michael regularly directs “The Connors” on ABC, and has acted in numerous features and TV shows, most notably: “Grey's Anatomy”, Bride Wars, “Anger Management”, Source Code, and “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”. Arden has appeared on Broadway in Big River; The Times, They Are A-Changin', and King Lear. Arden is a Presidential Scholar in the Arts and alumni of the Interlochen Arts Academy and The Juilliard School.

KENDALL CROLIUS is a former professional stage manager who has been on ‘temporary withdrawal' from Actors' Equity for 42 years, just about as long as she has been married to Stephen Stout, an actor and director. They raised two wonderful children who are both pursuing careers in the arts. Kendall began her corporate career at J. Walter Thompson, left advertising to join Forbes as Chief Marketing Officer and later led their conference division, and left publishing to become President of G100 Next Generation Leadership, preparing senior executives to become successful CEOs. Though she left the theater as a career, it has remained a lifelong passion. Serving as the first female Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Princeton Triangle Club, she had the pleasure of getting to know generations of young theater-makers who have blossomed into driving forces in the theater today – including Cara Reichel and Pete Mills from Prospect. Recently retired, Kendall and Stephen now live year-round on the grounds of the Chautauqua Institution in western NY state, where Kendall serves as President of Friends of Chautauqua Theater. She delights in building relationships with young artists in the Chautauqua Theater Company conservatory – and feeding them home-cooked meals during tech week. A new edition of her book Knitting With Dog Hair will be published this fall, solidifying her reputation as an eccentric. Perhaps it could be adapted as a musical theater piece?

Baayork Lee has performed in a dozen original Broadway shows. She created the role of ‘Connie' in A Chorus Line while continuing the legacy of Michael Bennett directing companies around the world, most recently Antonio Banderas company in Spain. She has directed King and I, South Pacific, Cinderella (R&H), Porgy and Bess, Carmen Jones, Jesus Christ Superstar, Barnum, Gypsy, Cats, Beauty and the Beast, West Side Story, and others. She also directed the 2021 Wicked in Concert for PBS. Her choreography credits include: Miss Saigon, Mack and Mabel, and for Arena Stage in Washington, DC, Animal Crackers, South Pacific (Helen Hayes nomination 2021), Coconuts, and Camelot, West Side Story (PLO), and Kansas City Starlight. Lee founded National Asian Artists Project (NAAP) a 501(c)3 nonprofit. Her vision includes educating, cultivating, and stimulating audiences and artists of Asian descent through the many outreach programs the company offers. She has been the recipient of numerous awards for her work, including the Isabelle Stevenson Tony Award, Paul Robeson Award from Actors Equity Association, the Asian Woman Warrior Award for Lifetime Achievement from Columbia College, Asian Pacific American Heritage Association Achievement In Arts Award, the Dynamic Achiever Award from OCA Westchester, Chen Dance Center Artist Award, Arena Stage American Artist Award, and Actors Fund for Outstanding Contribution to the World of Dance. 2024 CMP AccomplisHERS - Honoring Women's Career Achievements.

GALA CO-HOSTS

Jay Armstrong Johnson is an actor, creative producer, and educator. Broadway: Parade, On the Town, Hands on a Hardbody, Catch Me If You Can, Hair, Phantom of the Opera. Off Broadway/New York credits: Parade (NYCC Gala), To My Girls (2ST), Scotland, PA (Drama Desk, Lucille Lortel nominations, and Outer Critics Circle Award honoree), Darling Grenadine (Roundabout), A Chorus Line (City Center), Candide (NYCO), Sweeney Todd (NY Philharmonic Live at Lincoln Center filmed for PBS), The Most Happy Fella (Encores!), Terrence McNally's Fire and Air (CSC), The Mad Ones, Working (Prospect Theater Co, Drama Desk Award), Wild Animals You Should Know (MCC), 35mm: A Musical Exhibition. Concert: Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Kennedy Center, Hollywood Bowl, San Francisco Symphony, Omaha Symphony. Nat'l Tour: A Chorus Line. TV/Film: “QUANTICO”, Sex & the City 2, “Law & Order: SVU”. Album: Jay Armstrong Johnson LIVE at Feinstein's 54 Below (available on iTunes and Broadway Records). Jay is the creator/producer of I Put A Spell On You, an annual Halloween extravaganza benefiting The Ali Forney Center! Over the pandemic, Jay co-founded Bridge Arts Project, a mentorship program aiming to cultivate the potential of emerging artists nationwide.

Jaygee Macapugay. Broadway: Currently in SUFFS (Tony Awards for Best Original Score & Book of a Musical), Here Lies Love, Shucked, and School of Rock (all Original Broadway companies). Last year, Jaygee played the lead role of Imelda Marcos in the Broadway company of Here Lies Love, in an unprecedented, first all Filipino cast on Broadway. Selected Off-Broadway: Public Theater - Steven Sater & Duncan Sheik's The Nightingale (Joe's Pub), Shaina Taub's SUFFS, David Henry Hwang's Soft Power (nominee for 2020 Grammy & Pulitzer Prize), David Byrne's Here Lies Love, Hansol Jung's Wild Goose Dreams. Baayork Lee's National Asian Artists Project: Irene Molloy, Hello, Dolly! and Gabrielle, Rodgers & Hammerstein's CINDERELLA. Selected Prospect: Pete Mills' The Rockae, Honor; Golden Zoom Awards; Paulo K Tiról's On This Side of The World (Concert). Recent Regional: Griswolds' Broadway Vacation (5th Avenue), Hair (The Old Globe), The Unofficial Bridgerton Concert (Kennedy Center). TV/Film: “False Positive” (Hulu), “Watch What Happens Live” (Bravo), “The Language Lesson” (YouTube), “Kennedy Center 50th Anniversary Concert” (PBS). Jaygee is a proud member of Broadway Barkada, a collective of Filipino artists who support the Filipino American community through their programs & performances. Jaygee recently participated in a Broadway Barkada sponsored reading of LARRY, the first Fil-Am historical musical about the life of labor leader Larry Itliong.