Musical Theater: FY2004 Grants

Some details of the projects listed below are subject to change, contingent upon prior Endowment approval.

Challenge America | Creativity | Heritage & Preservation | Panelists

Challenge America: Access to the Arts

Mad River Theater Works
West Liberty, OH
$15,000
To support the creation of a play based on local history and folklore in collaboration with students and their families, teachers, and members of the public. The play will tour to non-traditional settings throughout Ohio and surrounding states.

Mosaic Youth Theater of Detroit
Detroit, MI
$25,000
To support a training program for youths, an annual school tour, and the performance of an original play. The Mosaic Youth Ensemble Training Program will offer free after-school theater training and performance opportunities to talented students from diverse backgrounds.

Music Theatre Workshop
Chicago, IL
$8,000
To support a performing arts and youth development program. The West Pullman Community Arts Project will use playwriting and performance training to expose underserved youths and community members to professional artists and performing experiences and train them to be leaders in their community.

Paper Mill Playhouse
Millburn, NJ
$15,000
To support an access program for persons with disabilities. Paper Mill Playhouse will provide barrier-free access, discounted tickets, and access services to patrons with hearing, visual, and other physical impairments.

Society of the Educational Arts, Inc.
New York, NY
$25,000
To support productions of children's theater with accompanying workshops in New York, Florida, and Puerto Rico. Through the presentation of Latin American children's classics and folk tales, Sociedad Educativa de las Artes' (SEA) preserves Latin American arts and culture.

Theatreworks/USA Corporation
New York, NY
$30,000
To support a national tour of theater productions for young audiences. Theatreworks/USA will provide audiences in 31 states and the District of Columbia with access to live theater and educational activities that complement school curricula.

Young at Heart Chorus, Inc.
Northampton, MA
$15,000
To support the creation of an original musical theater work. After 21 years of interpreting music from the 1930s to the 1990s, the Young at Heart Chorus will commission local rock musicians and songwriters to create a musical inspired by the life experiences of chorus members.

Creativity

42nd Street Moon
San Francisco, CA
$10,000
To support the restoration, revival and staged concert performance of Harold Arlen and Yip Harburg's 1937 musical, Hooray For What.

About Face Theatre Collective
Chicago, IL
$13,000
To support the final development and production of Winesburg, Ohio, a new musical adapted from a collection of short stories by Sherwood Anderson.

Administrators of the Tulane
New Orleans, LA
$10,000
To support the Summer in Residence program for artists. Choreographers, dancers, and members of the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO) will be in residence at the Summer Lyric Theater at Tulane to perform in three Broadway musicals and participate in community outreach activities.

African Continuum Theatre Coalition, Inc.
Washington, DC
$15,000
To support the premiere production of a new musical. Playwright and artistic director Jennifer L. Nelson and composer Mel Nelson have written a hybrid work entitled Hubert & Charlie that combines blues and klezmer music.

Alley Theatre
Houston, TX
$20,000
To support the production of a classic musical theater work. Guys and Dolls will be performed by the Alley's resident company of actors.

American Music Theater Festival, Inc. (Prince Music Theater)
Philadelphia, PA
$50,000
To support a retrospective and showcase of the works of William Bolcom and Arnold Weinstein. In celebration of its 20th anniversary, Prince Music Theater will produce a revival of Casino Paradis, a concert of Bolcom and Weinstein's operatic work, A View from the Bridge,and a preview of Idiot's Delight.

American Musical Theatre of San Jose (AMTSJ)
San Jose, CA
$25,000
To support the development of a new musical, Campaign of the Century, adapted from the book by Greg Mitchell. Librettist Robert Friedman and songwriter/composer Steven Lutvak will collaborate on the project with the artistic staff of American Musical Theatre of San Jose.

Carter Family Puppet Theater (Northwest Puppet Center)
Seattle, WA
$13,000
To support the creation of a new musical for the puppet stage adapted from an eighteenth century burlesque opera, The Dragon of Wantley. This comic work will be given voice by a cast of hand carved marionettes and professional singers with live musical accompaniment.

Contemporary Arts Center (consortium)
New Orleans, LA
$10,000
To support a residency and partnership with artist John O'Neal and Junebug Productions to develop work and lay groundwork for future artistic collaborations among diverse communities in New Orleans. The consortium project will include workshops, story circles, solo performances, and a staged reading.

Coterie, Inc.
Kansas City, MO
$25,000
To support the creation of a new musical adapted from a Broadway show for professional theaters for young audiences. The artistic team of Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty will adapt Seussical, a musical theater work dramatizing the books of Dr. Seuss.

Everyman Theatre, Inc.
Baltimore, MD
$10,000
To support the production of a musical and associated outreach activities and workshops for local schools. Once On This Island will be the Everyman Theatre's first musical production.

Geva Theatre Center, Inc.
Rochester, NY
$28,000
To support the world premiere of a new musical. Gregg Coffin, associate artist at Geva Theatre, is the author, composer, lyricist, and orchestrator of Five Course Love.

Goodspeed Opera House Foundation, Inc.
East Haddam, CT
$40,000
To support the development and world premiere of a new musical. King Kong, a new musical work by Robert Lindsey Nassif and Peter Ullian based on the classic 1933 film, will be produced at Goodspeed Opera House's developmental stage, the Norma Terris Theatre.

La Jolla Playhouse (Theatre & Arts Foundation of San Diego)
La Jolla, CA
$35,000
To support the commission and development of a music drama work. In 2004, writer Jessica Hagedorn, composer Mark Bennett, and director Michael Greif will create Disposable, a piece loosely based on the life of Andrew Cunanan, the serial killer notorious for murdering fashion designer Gianni Versace.

Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma, Inc.
Oklahoma City, OK
$12,000
To support the production of a musical adapted from the tale by Robert Louis Stevenson, Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde. Lyric Theatre will stage the Fullerton Civic Light Opera version of Jekyll & Hyde as the opening work in its 2004 summer season.

Music-Theatre Group, Inc.
New York, NY
$42,000
To support the final development and presentation of a new musical theater work by composer Douglas Cuomo. Based on the Hindu scriptural verses, the Bhagavad Gita, Arjuna's Dilemma features both Eastern and Western instrumentalists and vocalists.

Musical Theatre Works, Inc.
New York, NY
$13,000
To support two performances of the staged reading presentation of an original musical-in-progress. Andrea Frierson-Toney is writing the book for the new work entitled 1616, under the guidance of Musical Theatre Work's Artistic Director, Thomas Cott.

National Alliance for Musical Theatre, Inc.
New York, NY
$30,000
To support the 16th annual Festival of New Musicals. The festival will showcase 10-15 new musicals for an invited audience of producers and musical theater professionals.

New Professional Theatre, Inc.
New York, NY
$10,000
To support the production of a new musical theater work. New Professional Theater will produce Slam by playwright Thomas Jones II and composer William Knowles.

New Turners Theatre (Theatre Building Chicago, NFP)
Chicago, IL
$10,000
To support the public presentation of new musicals-in-progress. The Stages Festival will present eight musicals, selected from over one hundred submissions, to be performed as concert readings or skeletal productions.

North Shore Community Arts
Beverly, MA
$45,000
To support a New Works program in musical theater. During the 2004 season, the program will include the mainstage premieres of two new musicals, Tom Jones and Liberty Smith, as well as workshops, staged readings, and educational initiatives.

Northlight Theatre, Inc.
Skokie, IL
$13,000
To support the creation of a new musical adapted from a literary work. Northlight Theatre will create a musical theater work based on Studs Terkel's book, The Good War, using the patriotic music of Irving Berlin.

Pittsburgh Irish and Classical Theatre, Inc.
Pittsburgh, PA
$10,000
To support a musical production adapted from a classic literary work. As part of its 2004 season, Pittsburgh Irish & Classical Theatre (will produce the Pittsburgh premiere of The Dead, one of James Joyce's Dubliners stories, reconceived by playwright Richard Nelson and composer Shaun Davey.

Salvage Vanguard Theater
Austin, TX
$12,000
To support the commissioning, development, and production of a new musical, Genghis Khan. Librettist/director Jason Neulander and composer Graham Reynolds will create an operatic music theater piece juxtaposing current events and Genghis Khan.

San Francisco Mime Troupe, Inc.
San Francisco, CA
$25,000
To support the development, production, and national tour of an original musical comedy. San Francisco Mime Troupe will premiere a new work that focuses on national or community events.

San Jose Repertory Theatre
San Jose, CA
$20,000
To support the development and workshop performance of a new musical. San Jose Repertory Theatre has commissioned librettist Mary Bracken Phillips and composer Craig Bohmler to create The Mystery of Winchester House under its Silicon Valley New Works Initiative.

Second Generation Productions, Inc.
New York, NY
$10,000
To support the national tour of an original musical. Making Tracks by Welly Yang explores the history of Asians in America recounting an Asian American family's generational struggle to find a voice in this country.

Signature Theatre, Inc.
Arlington, VA
$33,000
To support the revision and production of a work from the American musical theater canon. During its 2004 season, Signature Theatre will develop and present a revised version of the largely forgotten 1947 musical Allegro by Richard Rogers and Oscar Hammerstein.

Staret...The Directors Company
New York, NY
$18,000
To support The Harold Prince Musical Theatre Program. The program fosters the creation, development, and production of original musical theater works by directors, composers, lyricists, and book writers.

Studio Arena Theatre (Studio Theatre School, Inc.)
Buffalo, NY
$35,000
To support the commission, workshop, and production of a new musical. Writer-director Marion J. Caffey and theater artist Tsidii Le Loka have been commissioned to create a musical entitled Sunset and the Mockingbird.

Talking Band, Inc.
New York, NY
$15,000
To support the production of a new musical. The Talking Band will produce the musical theater work The Parrot in New York City in 2004.

Thalia Spanish Theatre, Inc.
Sunnyside, NY
$10,000
To support the creation and production of a new musical. Based on tango artist Raul Jaurena's life, the dance musical RAUL JAURENA'S TANGOmania will be written and directed by Angel Gil Orrios with music composed by Raul Juareno.

TheatreWorks
Palo Alto, CA
$25,000
To support the production of a new musical. Memphis, a new work by Joe DiPietro, is inspired by legendary deejay Dewey Phillips and rock-and-roll music.

Unity Theatre Ensemble
Florissant, MO
$8,000
To support the final development and production of a gospel musical. Make A Joyful Noise! is a non denominational inspirational musical with a score featuring traditional and original gospel songs that address contemporary social issues.

Village Theatre
Issaquah, WA
$15,000
To support a musical theater development program. The program, Village Originals, will include the creation and workshop production of It All Begins with a Song, the continued development and workshop production of Emma and Company, and readings of at least eight new musicals.

Wilma Theater
Philadelphia, PA
$30,000
To support the world premiere production of a new musical. The Wilma-commissioned musical Embarrassments by librettist Laurence Klavan and composer Polly Pen will be produced in the theater's 25th anniversary season.

Heritage & Preservation

City Center 55th Street Theater Foundation,Inc.
New York, NY
$30,000
To support the restoration, remounting, and staged concert productions of musicals and a concert in the City Center Encores! series. The annual series of rarely-heard American musicals is performed in City Center's 2,753-seat theater.

Deaf West Theatre Company, Inc.
North Hollywood, CA
$40,000
To support an education program provided to theaters participating in a 15-city tour of the musical Big River. As part of the tour, Deaf West Theatre Company will provide theater staff with a two-week, pre-show training program led by an American Sign Language master to help them better understand deaf culture, deaf accessibility, and the unique artistic approach required for successful sign-language theater.

Talking Band, Inc. (consortium)
New York, NY
$12,000
To support a consortium tour of a music theater work. The Talking Band will partner with the Allied Arts Council of St. Joseph, Missouri, to present the musical Bitterroot as part of the 2004 Lewis and Clark Bicentennial celebration.

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