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Stewart F. Lane and Bonnie Comley. |
New York City - The Theatre Museum Awards were held on May 17, 2010 at The Players Club. The event was hosted by Gala Chair
Bonnie Comley, Theatre Museum President
Helen Marie Guditis, and Chairman of the Theatre Museum Board,
Stewart F. Lane. The evening was comprised of a cocktail hour which included a silent auction with jeweler
Judith Ripka and a theatre tickets raffle followed by an SRO performance with top Broadway talent. In tribute to its Career Achievement Award winners
Richard M. Sherman and
Robert B. Sherman, the show featured highlights from the brothers' songbook - with selections from "Mary Poppins," "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang," "Over Here" and "Busker Alley."
"It was an evening filled with the songs of one of the greatest composing teams in the history of American music," says Broadway producer and Chairman Lane "We're thrilled to be able to honor a duo that has contributed so much to the American musical. We look forward to their work being heard on Broadway for many years to come."
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Helen Marie Guditis, Richard Sherman and Noah Racey. |
Disney Theatrical Productions' president and producer
Tom Schumacher presented the Career Achievement Award to the Sherman Brothers. Schumacher claimed "The Sherman brothers are a part of everyone's life. Important life lessons can be found in their lyrics - a plea for kindness and 'It's a Small World'," which was written as a prayer for peace. Inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2005, the Sherman Brothers won Academy Awards in 1965 for Best Musical Score for "Mary Poppins" and Best Music, Original Song for "Chim Chim
Cher-ee." During their tenure with
Walt Disney, they composed over 200 tunes. As pop music composers, the team created such top-10 hits as "You're Sixteen," "Let's Get Together," and "Tall Paul."
The one night only performance was directed by Tony, Oscar, Emmy and Drama Desk Award winner
Tony Walton. In addition to his work as a director, for five decades Walton has been among Broadway's top scenic and costume designers. His 50-plus productions include the original presentations of "Chicago," "Pippin," "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum," "Streamers," "Golden Boy," "Woman of the Year," "Hurlyburly," "Steel Pier," "I'm Not Rappaport," "Seussical," "Well," and "A Tale of Two Cities." He's also lent his talents to the revivals of "Annie Get Your Gun," "1776," "Our Town," "Company," "Uncle Vanya" and "Anything Goes." Walton's film credits include his Oscar-winning work for "All That Jazz," as well as "The Wiz," "
Equus," "Regarding Henry," "Heartburn" and "Deathtrap."
Performing the Sherman Brothers songbook were Tony award-winning actor
Jim Dale,
Sarah Rice,
John Bolton,
Jennifer Evans,
Kevin Cahoon,
Jessica Grove,
Noah Racey and
Annika Boras. The musical conductor was
Aaron Gandy. Sherman took to the stage for a grand finale of two of his most widely recognizable songs, "Winnie The Pooh" and "It's a Small World."
The Theatre Museum also honored Samuel French, Inc. with its Theatre Arts Education Award, the award was presented to
Leon Embry by
Tappan Wilder. The Mint Theater Company was presented with the Museum's Theatre History Preservation Award;
George Morfogen presenting to Artistic Director
Jonathan Banks. The Mint Theatre company specializes in producing worthwhile but neglected stage works from the past, and has just been nominated for four 2010 Drama Desk Awards for its production of "So Help Me God."
For more information go to
www.thetheatremuseum.org.
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