The Dramatists Guild of America presented their eighth annual gala dinner and awards ceremony to benefit the Dramatists Guild Fund on Monday, April 23, 2007, at the Hudson Theater. The event featured excerpts from Broadway and Off-Broadway musicals, introduced by their authors and performed by their stars.
John Guare was the master of ceremonies and presented the Guild's awards for 2006-2007. The winners included
Steven Sater and
Duncan Sheik, recipients of the 2006 Hull-Warriner Award, the only award given by dramatists for a dramatic work, for their musical Spring
Awakening; Scott Frankel, recipient of the Frederick Loewe Award for Dramatic Composition, presented to the best Broadway score of the previous year, for his score to
Grey Gardens;
Ed Bullins, recipient of the Flora Roberts Award, named for the much-loved agent and champion of dramatists and awarded in recognition of distinguished work and continued excellence in the theater; and
Horton Foote, recipient of the Dramatists Guild Award for Lifetime Achievement. The Guild, along with the Educational Foundation of America, also presented the inaugural Wasserstein Prize to playwright Linda Ramsey. Heidi Ettinger, longtime friend of
Wendy Wasserstein, presented the award, which will be given annually for at least the next five years to an accomplished and promising young female writer who has not yet received national attention and who will benefit from this exposure and encouragement.
The theme of the evening's show was "The Right Number at the Right Moment." Performances were by Raul Esparza, introduced by
Stephen Sondheim and accompanied by
Paul Ford, performing a medley of songs, both discarded and retained, from Company; the cast of
[title of show], Hunter Bell,
Heidi Blickenstaff,
Susan Blackwell,
Jeff Bowen and
Larry Pressgrove, performed "Nine People's Favorite Thing";
Erin Davie and
Matt Cavenaugh, accompanied by composer
Scott Frankel, performed "Daddy's Girl" from
Grey Gardens;
Kristin Chenoweth, introduced by
Sheldon Harnick and accompanied by
Rob Berman, sang "What Makes Me Love Him?" from
The Apple Tree; John Gallagher, Jr. and
Phoebe Strole, introduced by
Steven Sater and accompanied by composer
Duncan Sheik, performed "Don't Do Sadness/Blue Wind" from
Spring Awakening; and
Debra Monk and company, introduced by
Rupert Holmes, performed "It's a Business" from
Curtains.
All monies raised benefit the Dramatists Guild Fund, a not-for-profit organization, conceived to assist dramatists in need, to support theaters in need, and to nurture new, emerging playwrights through a variety of educational programs.
Visit www.dramatistsguild.org for more information.
Photo of Spring Awakening star John Gallagher Jr. with Duncan Sheik by Linda Lenzi (click here to view more photos from the event)
