Hudson Valley Shakespeare Receives The Ziegfeld Club’s Inaugural Needlepoint Bob Grant for OCTET

Hudson Valley Shakespeare has shared that HVS is the inaugural recipient of the Ziegfeld Club’s Needlepoint Bob Grant, a $10,000 grant founded to support a work in musical theater that addresses the topic of addiction and recovery. Hudson Valley Shakespeare was awarded the grant to support its upcoming production of Octet, a chamber choir musical by Dave Malloy, directed by Amanda Dehnert with musical direction by Sheela Ramesh. Octet will be produced by special arrangement with Plate Spinner Productions and will begin performances August 11 for a limited run through September 7.

The Ziegfeld Club’s Needlepoint Bob Grant is dedicated to the memory of Bob DiNapoli, a beloved member of the Ziegfeld Club community who was known affectionately as "Needlepoint Bob" in the 12-Step rooms of New York City because he was never without a needlepoint project. 

“Bob was a passionate advocate for addiction recovery and a fervent lover of the arts. His dedication to both these causes inspired the creation of this grant, which aims to harness the power of musical theater to foster open dialogue, understanding, and support for individuals and communities in recovery and aligns with the Ziegfeld Club’s mission to support artists in marginalized and needy communities,” said Ziegfeld Club president Laurie Sanderson.

The Ziegfeld-Needlepoint Bob Grant will be awarded annually for the next five years to a promising musical theater project that demonstrates a commitment to exploring the themes of addiction, recovery, and the healing power of art. The grant, which is generously supported by Bob’s daughter Julia DiNapoli, will provide funding for development, production, or performance of the selected work. 

Julia DiNapoli said, “I am so happy to be honoring my dad who loved NYC, the theatre, recovery, and all of my friends - especially my friend Emily Lansbury, board chair of the Ziegfeld Club, who has inspired the creation of the Needlepoint Bob Grant. I am grateful to be a partner in this endeavor.”

“We’re profoundly appreciative that Emily Lansbury thought to connect Hudson Valley Shakespeare and the Ziegfeld Club in support of our production of Octet, and we look forward to honoring Bob’s legacy through our work at HVS,” added HVS Artistic Director Davis McCallum. “This grant serves as an opportunity to further our mission of celebrating shared humanity through storytelling, and we are excited to produce a work that explores the intersection of art and recovery that grounded Bob’s commitment to his community.”

HVS 2025 Season will also include William Shakespeare’s uproarious comedy The Comedy of Errors, directed by longtime company member Ryan Quinn (The Murder of Roger Ackroyd); "One of the sweetest and smartest romantic farces ever written," (Terry Teachout, WSJ) and Thornton Wilder’s The Matchmaker, directed by Davis McCallum (Mr. Burns: A Post-Electric Play) and featuring Kurt Rhoads and Nance Williamson.