SHELDON
HARNICK, BONNIE COMLEY, FRANK CULLEN AND THE FRANKSINATRASCHOOL
FOR THE PERFORMING ARTS TO BE HONORED IN 2011 THEATREMUSEUM
AWARDS GALA
In
an evening directed by renowned showman Tony
Walton, the only costumer/set designer to have won an Oscar, Emmy and Tony,
the 2011 Theatre Museum Awards for Excellence will be presented on Monday, May
16, 2011 at the New York Players Club -- 16 Gramercy Park South.The night kicks off with a reception at 6:00
PM with the awards ceremony taking place immediately after.
“We’re
very proud to honor such a diverse representation of American theatre artists,”
says TheatreMuseum president Helen Marie
Guditis.“The TheatreMuseum
is dedicated to preserving and celebrating all aspects of the theatre
arts.I don’t think we could have picked
better honorees to reflect this than our 2011 awards’ recipients.”
Receiving
The Theatre Museum’s Career Achievement Award is legendary Broadway lyricist Sheldon Harnick.In collaboration with composer Jerry Bock,
Harnick created the music for such memorable shows as Fiddler on the Roof, Fiorello!, She Loves Me, The Apple Tree and The
Rothchilds.His numerous honors
include three Tony Awards and a Pulitzer Prize. Harnick began his career in the
1950s by penning songs both on and off Broadway for such musical revues as The Boston Beguine and Merry Little Minuet.He teamed with Bock in 1956 for The Body Beautiful and the duo never
looked back.Some of Harnick’s other
efforts include Rex with Richard
Rodgers, A Wonderful Life with Joe
Raposo, A Christmas Carol with Michel
Legrand, The Phantom Tollbooth with
Arnold Black and co-librettist Norton Juster, and the operas Cyrano, Coyote Tales and Captain Jinks of the Horse Marines.In addition, he has translated The Merry Widow for Beverly Sills, Carmen, Ravel’s The Enchanted Child, and Stravinsky’s Soldier’s Tale.
Prolific
producer Bonnie Comley will be
honored with The Theatre Museum’s Service to the Theatre Award.Among her current productions on Broadway are
The Merchant of Venice with Al Pacino,
Priscilla: Queen of the Desert, and War Horse.Other Broadway credits include Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, Come Fly Away,Enron, Alfred Hitchcock’s The 39 Steps, Legally Blonde, Superior Donuts, as
well as the Broadway revivals of American
Buffalo, Sunday in the Park with George, Cyrano de Bergerac, Fiddler on the
Roof, and Gypsy.In London’s West End, Ms. Comley produced the Olivier-nominated Thoroughly Modern Millie, Ragtime and Lobby Hero.She won a Tony Award for producing Jay Johnson: The Two and Only.
Vice
President of Stellar Productions, Int’l Inc., and wife of theatre producer Stewart F. Lane,
Comley has been awarded the Paul Newman Award from Arts Horizons, the Actors
Fund Medal of Honor, and the Distinguished Producer Award from The Drama
League.Her film efforts include
producing Of Horse and Man, narrated
by Glenn Close, Show Business: The Road
to Broadway, Brooklyn Rules, Cyrano de
Bergerac, starring Kevin Kline and Jennifer Garner, Company, and Sondheim: The
Birthday Concert for PBS’ Great Performances.
His
lifelong love of vaudeville and his dedication to keeping its memory alive,
makes Frank Cullen the perfect
recipient for The Theatre Museum’s Theatre History Preservation Award.
Along
with Donald McNeilly, Cullen founded The
American Vaudeville Museum in 1982.Here, he was able to display the extensive collection of show business
artifacts and ephemera he had collected since the age of 10.In 2008, the collection was transferred to
the University of Arizona in Tucson,
where it is available to view in their Special Collections.Using McNeilly’s website www.vaudeville.org as a springboard, the
two men produced 40 issues of the nationally-distributed AVM quarterly
"Vaudeville Times” from 1998-2008. Their large-format two volumes set Vaudeville, Old & New: an Encyclopedia
of Variety Performers in America,
was published by Routledge Press in 2007.Cullen served as lead researcher and writer.
The
Frank Sinatra School of the Arts
will receive The Theatre Museum’s Theatre Arts Education Award. Established in
2001 by world-famous entertainer Tony Bennett as a way to honor the memory of
his friend and colleague Frank Sinatra, the Queens-based high school offers a
specialized program in the arts as well as a full academic curriculum. Currently
590 students -- selected from among New
York City’s 8th and 9th graders -- are undertaking the
school’s rigorous academic curriculum and pre-conservatory studio
education.Selection is determined
through a competitive audition and academic records evaluation.Students pursue an arts study program in
instrumental music, vocal music, fine arts, drama or dance. The school is
committed to community service through the arts -- allowing students in both an
individual capacity and in groups to complete arts-related projects in
facilities such as hospitals, day care centers, senior citizen homes and
homeless shelters.Partnerships have also been formed with such
groups as the Metropolitan Opera, Battery Dance Company, Museum
of Modern Art, QueensMuseum,
American Theatre Wing, and Times Square Group, allowing students to participate
in internships, apprenticeships, mentorships and other programs and projects.
About the Theatre Musem
Founded
in 2003, The Theatre Museum is New
York’s first and only chartered, non-profit museum
dedicated to the history of theatre.It
is a museum-at-large -- presenting exhibitions on a myriad of subjects in
collaboration with other cultural institutions. The Museum's community outreach
includes teaching children how to write, direct and stage live theatre, as well
as the annual Theatre Museum Awards for Excellence Ceremony.Its primary mission is to preserve, protect and
perpetuate the legacy of theatre through innovative programming.
Discover over 150,000 works of contemporary art. Search by medium, subject matter, price and theme... research over 200,000 works by over 22,000 masters in the indepth art history section. Browse through new Art Blogs. Use our advanced artwork search interface.
Call for Artists, Premiere Portfolio sign-up for your Free Portfolio or create an Artist Portfolio today and sell your art at the marketplace for contemporary Art! Start a Gallery Site to exclusively showcase your gallery. Keep track of contemporary art with your free MYabsolutearts account.
Copyright 1995-2013. World Wide Arts Resources Corporation. All rights reserved