An Evening of Playwrights, Honors, and Shrimp
Reports from Broadway about empty seats and struggling productions may be no surprise in this economy, but on October 2 playwrights had something to celebrate. At a fete held in the Dorothy Parker Suite at the Algonquin Hotel, accompanied by proud family and friends, eight talented writers received $20,000 awards from theatrical agent Helen Merrill. Ms. Merrill, who died in 1997, created the Helen Merrill Playwriting Awards in The New York Community Trust for emerging and distinguished playwrights. The committee that selects the recipients is made up of theater people, including some of her former clients. This marks the awards' 10th anniversary.
Award winner Michael Golemco blogged about the event: “I met Christopher Durang and Nilo Cruz. This was a thrill and a privilege. I had studied Christopher Durang’s work as a younger man, so when I met him I started schvitzing . . . The number of Pulitzer Prize winners in the house was high. And also the shrimp—the large, succulent, sweet and wonderful shrimp were awesome.”
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| The Selection Committee (from L to R): Morgan Jenness, Susan Hilferty, Emily Morse, Christopher Durang, and Richard Nelson |
Gay Young, director of donor relations at The Trust, said "Helen Merrill spent her career nurturing playwrights, and came to us to ensure that her legacy would be carried out in the way that she wanted. We think Ms. Merrill would be extremely happy to know that her unwavering support and dedication to the theater lives on, and that her playwrights aren’t starving artists.”
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| Some of the evening's winners (from L to R): Michael Golamco, Justin Sherin, Zakiyyah Alexander, Nilo Cruz, and Deborah Laufer. |
The Distinguished Playwriting Awards went to Nilo Cruz, Michael Weller, and Lanford Wilson. The winners of the Emerging Playwriting Awards were Zakiyyah Alexander, Bathsheba Doran, Michael Golamco, Deborah Laufer, and Justin Sherin.
View a slide show of the evening in the photo gallery.>>