New York City - The American Theatre Wing announced today that the recipients of the 2011 Jonathan Larson® Grants are Danny Larsen (Composer/Co-Lyricist) and Michelle Elliott (Bookwriter/Co-Lyricist), "Cloaked;" Marisa Michelson (Composer) and Joshua H. Cohen (Bookwriter/Lyricist), "Tamar and the River;" and Andy Monroe (Composer), Jack Lechner (Lyricist) and Michael Zam (Bookwriter), "The Kid." The prestigious grants, totaling $10,000, will be presented on Tuesday, March 29, 2011 at a private event in New York City. The event will feature special performances of the recipients' work.

The grants, given annually to honor emerging composers, lyricists and book writers, help to continue Tony Award®-winning composer Jonathan Larson's dream of infusing musical theatre with a contemporary, joyful, urban vitality. This year's recipients were selected by an expert panel consisting of Maria Goyanes (Associate Producer at The Public Theater), Amanda Green ("Bring it On: The Musical") and David Yazbek ("The Full Monty," "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels," "Women on the Verge of Nervous Breakdown").

Dedicated to celebrating excellence and supporting theatre, the American Theatre Wing awards the Larson Grants to artists to recognize and showcase their work with no strings attached - except to put it to the best use possible to help further the artist's creative endeavors.

Past recipients of the Larson Grants include Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey ("Next to Normal"), Chad Beguelin and Matthew Sklar ("The Wedding Singer"), John Bucchino ("A Catered Affair"), Laurence O'Keefe ("Bat Boy: The Musical"), Michael Korie ("Grey Gardens"), and current selection panel member Amanda Green.

The American Theatre Wing (Theodore S. Chapin, Chairman, Board of Directors; Howard Sherman, Executive Director) is a not-for-profit organization best known as the creator of the Antoinette Perry "Tony" Awards®, which it presents annually with The Broadway League. In addition to Downstage Center, In The Wings, Working in the Theatre and a host of other online resources, The Wing sponsors many activities, all dedicated to recognizing excellence and supporting education in theatre.

Visitors to americantheatrewing.org can listen to, watch or download from ATW's extensive media collection, and learn more about all of its programming for students, aspiring and working professionals, and audiences who want to learn more about the making of theatre. Follow ATW on Facebook.com/TheAmericanTheatreWing and Twitter.com/TheWing.