Stephen Schwartz to be Honored with Inagural Junior Theater Festival Award, 1/15

Composer/lyricist Stephen Schwartz (Wicked, Fosse, Godspell, Pippin) will be honored with the inaugural Junior Theater Festival Award for his contributions to the Advancement of Musical Theater for Young People. The two day festival event, which is produced and presented by iTheatrics and Atlanta's Theater of the Stars, will take place at the Cobb Galleria Centre in Atlanta from January 15-17.

The Junior Theater Festival brings together people from all aspects of theatre, ranging from students and teachers to professionals who work on Broadway, under one roof to celebrate outstanding student musical theatre productions. The festival offers an enthusiastic environment for students and teachers to interact with thousands of others who share their passion for musical theatre.
Each group performs a selection of a musical for professional adjudication by a distinguished panel of interNational Theatre professionals. Groups participate in interactive workshops lead by Broadway and West End professionals, meet celebrities ranging from Zac Efron (JTF 2007 guest) and Christie Carlson Romano (JTF 2005 guest) enjoy professional development, fellowship, and attend a world-class professional production.

Stephen Schwartz's career spans over four decades. Schwartz has written such hit musicals as Godspell (1971), Pippin (1972) and Wicked (2003). He has also contributed lyrics for a number of successful films, including Pocahontas (1995), The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996), The Prince of Egypt (1998; music and lyrics) and Enchanted (2007). Schwartz has won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lyrics, three Grammy Awards, and three Academy Awards and has been nominated for six Tony Awards.