BMI Foundation Presents 2018 Musical Theatre Awards
Front Row (L-R): Stacey Luftig; Phoebe Kreutz; Jessica Fleitman; Lindsay Erin Anderson; Jack Coen;
Back Row (L-R): Rick Bassett; BMI Director of Musical Theatre Pat Cook; Ben Diskant; Nevada Lozano
The BMI Foundation has announced eight members of the Tony-honored BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop as the winners of its annual Musical Theatre Awards, encompassing the Jerry Harrington Awards For Outstanding Creative Achievement in Musical Theatre, the Jean Banks Award, and the Ellen Schwartz Award for Outstanding Literary Merit in Lyric Writing. The awards were presented by BMI Director of Musical Theatre and BMI Foundation Board Member Pat Cook during a ceremony held on June 11, 2018 at Broadcast Music, Inc.’s headquarters in New York City.
The 2018 award winners are:
Lindsay Erin Anderson & Ben Diskant - Jean Banks Award for “One Swipe Away”
Phoebe Kreutz - Ellen Schwartz Award for Outstanding Literary Merit in Lyric Writing
Stacey Luftig - Librettists Workshop, Jerry Harrington Award
Nevada Lozano - First Year Workshop, Jerry Harrington Award
Jack Coen - Second Year Workshop, Jerry Harrington Award
Jessica Fleitman - Advanced Workshop, Jerry Harrington Award
Rick Bassett - Advanced Workshop, Jerry Harrington Award
The Jerry Harrington Awards were established in 2000 by BMI Foundation Board Member Evelyn Buckstein in honor of her late friend and colleague Jerry Harrington, who was an avid supporter of musical theatre. Awards totaling $2,600 are presented annually for the works judged “most outstanding” in the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop, a program that is widely regarded as the premiere training ground for emerging musical theatre composers, lyricists, and librettists.
The Jean Banks Award was created by the BMI Foundation in 2012 to honor the legacy of former BMI Senior Director of Jazz and Musical Theatre and BMI Foundation Secretary Jean Banks. A $500 prize is presented each year for the best ten-minute musical written in the Musical Theatre Workshop.
The Ellen Schwartz Award commemorates the life and career of the late songwriter, Ellen Schwartz, and was established by her husband Michael in 2015. A $1,000 award is given annually to a Second or Third Year Workshop participant whose lyric writing demonstrates exceptional literary merit.
About the BMI Foundation
The BMI Foundation is a nonprofit organization founded in 1985 to encourage the creation, performance, and study of American music. The Foundation’s programs include competitive scholarships for songwriters and composers, operating grants for nonprofit arts presenters, and support for innovative music education initiatives in schools and communities across the country. For more information about the work of the Foundation, please visit our website at www.bmifoundation.org. For exclusive news and content, follow @bmifoundation on Twitter and Instagram, and like “BMI Foundation” on Facebook at facebook.com/bmifoundation.