Read on for some recent theatre headlines you may have missed in today’s news.
Barbra Streisand and Idina Menzel Among Presenters for Marvin Hamlisch International Music Awards
The annual composition awards, named in honor of the EGOT-winning composer, has announced a celebrity lineup of presenters for the 2021 ceremony. The awards, co-founded by Hamlisch’s alma mater Queens College, are open to both youth and emerging composers in four categories: Composition for Musical Theatre, Film/Media Scoring, Classical Composition, and Jazz Composition. This year’s presenters include long-time Hamlisch collaborator Barbra Streisand, who will present the award for Film/Media Scoring (Emerging Division), along with Melissa Manchester presenting the youth division. Idina Menzel will award the Musical Theatre Composition (Emerging Division), with Lucie Arnaz presenting the youth division. Other presenters include Sir Howard Stringer, Quincy Jones, Maria Friedman, and Johnny Mathis. Musical theatre nominees include Josh Ben-Ami and James Salem, Austin Gatus, Charlie Romano and Will Wegner, Caitlin Thomas, and Joshua Vranas. A portion of proceeds from event sponsorships will support the Marvin Hamlisch Scholarship Endowment at Queens College. The ceremony is planned for 7 PM ET March 22 and will live stream on HamlischAwards.tv.
A New Playwright Initiative From Page 73
In a direct response to Page 73’s conversations with playwrights who were reporting difficulty creating new work during a pandemic and frustrations with current living situations, the non-profit development organization is offering self-designed retreats in lieu of a summer residency. This year four Page 73 playwrights—current Page 73 Fellows Bleu Beckford-Burrell and Emma Goidel, two-time Interstate 73 member Amina Henry, and 2019 Interstate 73 member Jessica Huang—will be given the opportunity to create their own week-long writing retreat, with Page 73 covering expenses for housing, travel, food, and providing an additional $1,000 stipend. In August, Page 73 will host a public Zoom event with the four residency playwrights to recount their writing experiences with Page 73 Artistic Director Michael Walkup and Page 73 Associate Producer Kari Olmon. The New York-based company supports early-career playwrights who have yet to have a NYC production, with alums including Michael R. Jackson (A Strange Loop), Samuel D. Hunter (The Whale), Quiara Alegría Hudes (In the Heights), and Heidi Schreck (What the Constitution Means to Me).
Plus: Watch the official trailer for the upcoming HBO documentary Tina, premiering on the network March 27. The film features interviews with Tina Turner herself, as well as interviews with playwright Katori Hall, who co-wrote the libretto for the Tony-nominated Tina: The Tina Turner Musical; Angela Bassett, who was Oscar-nominated in the role of Turner in the 1993 film What’s Love Got to Do With It; Turner’s husband, producer Erwin Bach; and entertainment journalist Kurt Loder.
