(Front row, L-R): Michael Bush, BMI’s Jean Banks, Jane Smulyan, Randy Klein, Kristin Maloney, Adam Matthias, Rick Freyer, Raymond Bokhour, Phoebe Kreutz, David Spencer, Robert Yarnall, Sara Wordsworth, Andrew Sherman; (Back Row)Jack Lechner, Andy Monroe, Robert Maggio, Diane Daltner, Nancy Golladay, Pat Cook, Doug Katsaros, Frank Evans, Dan Irsael, Ben H Winters, Robert Sislen, Chris Boal

The evening began with composer Brad Alexander and book writer/lyricist Adam Mathias’s See Rock City & Other Destinations, winner of the 2008 Richard Rodgers Award and 2007 BMI Foundation Jerry Bock Award. Anthony Rapp (Rent) and Jill Abramovitz (Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me) performed two songs from the show, followed by Jenifer Foote, currently in the Broadway revival of a Chorus Line, who performed the title song from BMI Foundation Harrington Award-winning writer Stephen Sislen and Ben H. Winters’ Room 16.

Pat Cook presents retirement award to Advanced Class moderator Richard Engquist.

The showcase continued with selections from The Dirty Hippie Jam Band Project, with a performances from Sandie Rosa and Bret Carr; Pleasantville, an adaptation from the film of the same title; The Kid, based on the book by Village Voice columnist Dan Savage; The Thing About Joe, with a performance of “Some Girls” by Kevin B. McGlynn; Shall We Dance, featuring an ensemble performance of “He Needs Me”; Drive, created by composer/lyricist Andy Monroe; China Doll Overdrive, with a performance from Workshop composer Adam Overett and Mick Bleyer; My Blue Heaven, created by composer Andy Karl and lyricist Diane Daltner; National Geographic, spawned from author Chris Boal and Grammy Award-winning composer Andrew Sherman; and The Suicide, with a performance of “Hold the Pity Pudding.”

Anthony Rapp performs “See Rock City”.

Pat Cook, artistic coordinator of the Workshop, presented an award to Richard Engquist on his retirement as the moderator of the Advanced Workshop. Engquist has been moderating the Second Year and Advanced classes for 25 years.

The finale of the showcase featured Anthony Rapp, star of the original cast of Rent, singing the title song from the BMI Foundation Jerry Bock Award-winning musical See Rock City.

Writers previously showcased include Best Musical Tony winners Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx (Avenue Q); Tony- and Pulitzer Prize-winning Edward Kleban (A Chorus Line); triple Tony Award winner Maury Yeston, (Nine, Titanic, Grand Hotel); eight-time Oscar-winner and nine-time Grammy-winner Alan Menken (The Little Mermaid, Little Shop of Horrors); Drama Desk winner Carol Hall (Best Little Whorehouse in Texas); Tony Award recipients Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty (Ragtime, Seussical); Tony and Grammy winners Judd Woldin and Robert Brittan (Raisin); Tony nominees Michael Korie and Scott Frankel (Grey Gardens; and Tony nominee Jeff Blumenkrantz (Urban Cowboy).

Valparaiso High School students and teachers gather with Workshop faculty at the day-long interactive seminar. Pictured are (back row): Dan Nellessen, Elizabeth Uzelac, Drew Nellesen, Richard Engquist, Tom Leland, Andria Kessler, Molly Vass, Tanau Popli, Aaron Porter, Mark Blane, Alan Chambers; (middle row): Ann Nellessen, Becky Schoon, Kathy McMillan, Laura Punter, Jamie Patton, Lindsay Babcock, Erin Gerig, Erika Marinello; (front row): Frank Evans, Jean Banks, Nancy Golladay, Alice Gambel, David Spencer, Pat Cook and Daniel Pritchett.

BMI Workshop moderators Rick Freyer and Pat Cook, who also serves as Artistic Coordinator, gave a short presentation, and then joined faculty members David Spencer (Kleban Award recipient for Weird Romance), Frank Evans (Jerry Bock Award for Dinner at Eight), Richard Engquist (Outer Critics Circle nominee for Kuni-Leml) and Librettist Workshop moderator Nancy Golladay to critique the students' songs. Spencer, author of "The Musical Theatre Writer's Survival Guide," also spoke about writing hit musicals.

Special guest Michael Korie and Workshop faculty member Frank Evans

Special guest Michael Korie-Kleban and Larson Award-winning lyricist of Grey Gardens, which opened to rave reviews at Broadway's Walter Kerr Theatre-participated in a Q&A session with the students, who saw a performance of his show the night before. Korie's other credits include the operas Kabbalah and Harvey Milk, performed at New York City Opera and San Francisco Opera, and the upcoming musical version of Dr. Zhivago, which premiered in La Jolla, Calif., this summer.

Congratulating Robert Sherman Scholarship recipient Drew Nellessen (center) are Alice Gambel, creator of the Valparaiso Musical Theatre program, and BMI's Jean Banks, who supervises the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop.

The Valparaiso students also caught a performance of the Broadway revival of A Chorus Line, the multiple Tony Award-winning musical developed by lyricist Edward Kleban in the BMI Workshop.

During the session, Valparaiso alumnus and Millikin University senior Drew Nellessen was awarded the BMI Foundation's first Robert Sherman Scholarship, a new award endowed by the BMI composer of Mary Poppins (opening soon on Broadway). Nellessen, who participated in the high school's 2002 visit, is currently preparing to star as "Vinnie" in Millikin's production of Lucky Stiff, and has also performed in the university's productions of Sugar, The Secret Garden and Damn Yankees.

Deemed "the Harvard of musical theatre" by The New York Times, the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop was founded in 1961 by Lehman Engel, dean of American musical theatre, to create a setting where new writers could learn their craft. In addition to A Chorus Line, it is the birthplace of such celebrated musicals as Nine, Raisin, Little Shop of Horrors and Avenue Q, among others. An innovative program widely regarded as the foremost training ground for new writing voices, the BMI Workshop has been recognized with such prestigious awards as the 2006 Tony Honor for Excellence in the Theatre, the 2005-2006 Drama Desk Award, and the 2005 Drama League Award for Excellence in Musical Theatre. The Workshop is supervised by BMI's Jean Banks, Senior Director of Musical Theatre.

Photos by Dana Rodriguez]]> 2006-11-10T03:00:00+00:00 http://www.bmi.com/news/entry/335046 Alessandrini, Gerard, Cook, Patrick, Engel, Lehman, Engquist, Richard, Evans, Frank, Freyer, Rick, LaChiusa, Michael John, Lopez, Robert, Marx, Jeff, Menken, Alan, Smulyan, Jane, Spencer, David, Woldin, Judd, Yeston, Maury, Musical Theatre, New York, Tony Awards BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop, an innovative program widely regarded as the foremost training ground for new writing voices, was presented with a special Tony Award at the 16th Annual Tony Honors for Excellence in the Theatre. Tony Award winners and Workshop alumni Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty presented the prestigious award to Advanced Workshop moderators Richard Engquist and Maury Yeston at a gala luncheon held Oct. 24 at Tavern on the Green in New York City.

Pictured after the ceremony at Tavern on the Green are (front row): Tony Honors recipient Gerard Alessandrini, BMI Workshop moderator Maury Yeston, American Theatre Wing President Douglas Leeds, Shubert Organization Chairman Gerald Schoenfeld, actress Angela Lansbury, American Theatre Wing Chairman Sondra Gilman, Tony Honors host Cynthia Nixon, BMI Workshop moderator Richard Engquist, Tony Honors recipient Biff Liff; (middle row): Workshop alumni and Tony Honors presenters Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty, Workshop Steering Committee members Nancy Golladay, Jane Smulyan and David Spencer; (back row): Workshop moderator Rick Freyer, Workshop alumnus Judd Woldin (composer of Raisin, the Workshop's first Tony-winning musical), BMI Workshop Director Jean Banks, Workshop Steering Committee members Patrick Cook and Frank Evans, and Workshop alumna Linda Kline.

In accepting the crystal trophy, Yeston, the Tony Award-winning BMI composer (Titanic, Grand Hotel, Nine) who has led the Workshop for more than 25 years, said, "Lehman wanted to pass on his expertise in writing musicals and he got together with an extraordinary corporation, BMI, and they did something unprecedented that I don't think has ever been done before or since: They made a workshop. BMI put up the money, they provided the infrastructure and the room and the piano, and they've been doing this for more than 40 years, free of charge, no strings attached. It is a real privilege to sit there and to see these shows come into existence week by week and song by song."

American Theatre Wing President Douglas Leeds, American Theatre Wing Chairman Sondra Gilman, BMI Workshop moderator Maury Yeston, who accepted the Tony Honor on the Workshop's behalf, and Workshop alumna Lynn Ahrens, who presented the award

Deemed "the Harvard of musical theatre" by The New York Times, the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop was founded in 1961 by the late Lehman Engel, dean of American musical theatre, to create a setting where new writers could learn their craft. With more than 250 composers, lyricists and bookwriters who are actively writing new works for the musical theatre, noted alumni include Yeston, as well as Tony Award winners Jeff Marx and Robert Lopez (Avenue Q), Edward Kleban (A Chorus Line), Alan Menken (Beauty and the Beast, Little Shop of Horrors), and Michael John LaChiusa (Hello Again, Marie Christine, The Wild Party).

(Back row): Workshop committee members Patrick Cook, Jean Banks and Frank Evans; and (front row): Lynn Ahrens and Maury Yeston

The BMI Workshop's 2006 Tony Honor for Excellence in the Theatre adds to an impressive trophy shelf that already boasts a special 2006 Drama Desk Award "for nurturing, developing and promoting new talent for the musical theater," and the 2005 Drama League Award for Excellence in Musical Theatre.

In addition to the BMI Workshop, Forbidden Broadway and its creator Gerard Alessandrini- a BMI composer and Workshop alumnus-were also honored with a Tony Honor, given to individuals and organizations that have demonstrated extraordinary achievements in the field of theatre, but that are not eligible in any of the established Tony categories. Winners are chosen by the Tony Administration Committee.]]> 2006-10-27T05:00:00+00:00 http://www.bmi.com/news/entry/334786 Artists, Bryant, Del, Cook, Patrick, Cunningham, Ryan, Engel, Lehman, Engquist, Richard, Evans, Frank, Flaherty, Steve, Freyer, Rick, LaChiusa, Michael John, Lopez, Robert, Marx, Jeff, Menken, Alan, Smulyan, Jane, Spencer, David, Yeston, Maury Past and Present Members Nominated for Outstanding Music and Lyrics

The BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop will receive a special Drama Desk Award "for nurturing, developing and promoting new talent for the musical theater." This prestigious award will be presented to the Workshop during the 2006 Drama Desk Awards ceremony, set for May 21 at LaGuardia Concert Hall at New York's Lincoln Center.

Upon hearing the news, BMI President and CEO Del Bryant said, "We are thrilled to have been selected for this unique honor. It is a recognition that the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop has truly become part of the fabric of Broadway over the past 45 years. The real credit goes to Lehman for his inspiration and vision, and to the many talented composers, lyricists and librettists who have so generously given of their time and passion to nurture generations of emerging talent."

Deemed "the Harvard of musical theatre" by The New York Times, the Workshop was founded in 1961 by BMI, the performing right organization, and the late Lehman Engel, dean of American musical theatre, to create a setting where new writers could learn their craft. It is the birthplace of such classic musicals as A Chorus Line, Nine, Little Shop of Horrors, Beauty and the Beast and current Broadway favorite Avenue Q. The Workshop was also honored with the 2005 Drama League Award for Excellence in Musical Theatre and received the 2004 Broadway Theatre Institute Award for excellence in theatre education.

Tony Award-winning BMI composer Maury Yeston (Nine, Titantic), a longtime moderator of the Workshop who also cut his teeth with Engel, commented, "If you think about it, it may be the greatest impact that any corporation has had on American culture, certainly on the sector of that culture we call musical theater. In addition to its mission of training the next generation of Broadway creators in the art and craft of the musical, it has created a community among these creators. Because of the Workshop, these people know each other, work together and collaborate. The list is truly impressive: Jeff Marx met Bobby Lopez (Avenue Q), Howard Ashman met Alan Menken (Little Shop of Horrors, Beauty and the Beast), Lynn Ahrens met Steve Flaherty (Ragtime, Once On This Island), and so many other teams. It's a nebula - a place where stars are born - where talent coalesces into new stars, and it's happening today, right now, making future stars."

The Workshop is supervised by BMI's Jean Banks, Senior Director of Musical Theatre, along with Artistic Coordinator Patrick Cook, who heads the Workshop Steering Committee. Other faculty members include Richard Engquist, Frank Evans, Frederick Freyer, Nancy Golladay, Alan Menken, Jane Smulyan, David Spencer and Yeston.

In addition to the special award presented to the Workshop, past and present members were also nominated for Drama Desk Awards, including alumni Michael John LaChiusa (Best Music and Best Lyrics for See What I Wanna See) and Michael Korie (Best Lyrics for Grey Gardens), and current Workshop member Ryan Cunningham for his I Love You Because lyrics.

Hosted by actor Harvey Fierstein for the third consecutive year, the annual Drama Desk Awards honor excellence in theater for Broadway, Off Broadway and Off-Off Broadway during the season. The ceremony will be taped and subsequently broadcast nationwide on PBS stations; in New York, the program will be shown on Thirteen/WNET and on NYC-25 TV. For the fourth year in a row, the awards ceremony will be webcast by TheaterMania.com.]]> 2006-04-30T18:00:00+00:00 http://www.bmi.com/news/entry/234538 Artists, Alessandrini, Gerard, Blumenkrantz, Jeff, Cook, Patrick, Cryer, Gretchen, Engquist, Richard, Evans, Frank, Ford, Nancy, Freyer, Rick, Lopez, Robert, Marx, Jeff, Menken, Alan, Spencer, David, Woldin, Judd, Yeston, Maury, Musical Styles, Musical Theatre Broadway composers who honed their craft at the famed BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop will join together in song for a one-night-only concert on September 14 at 59E59 Theaters (59 East 59th Street) at 8pm. The evening is a cooperative production of BMI, the Prospect Theatre Company and Musical Mondays Theatre Lab. General Admission tickets are $20.00 and can be purchased at Ticket Central at 212 479-4200.

Now entering its fifth decade, the BMI Workshop -- deemed "the Harvard of musical theatre" by The New York Times -- is the launching pad for musicals such as A Chorus Line, Little Shop of Horrors, Nine, Avenue Q and most recently Musical of Musicals! - The Musical.

The event is part of the New York Musical Theatre Festival (a three-week celebration from September 12 to October 2) and features the performing talents of Maury Yeston, two-time Best Score Tony Award winner for Nine and Titanic, and writers Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx, 2004 Tony winners for Avenue Q. Composer Judd Woldin (Best Musical Tony for Raisin) performs with lyricist Richard Engquist (Drama Desk Award for Kuni-Leml) from their recent off-Broadway musical Little Ham.

Drama Desk Award winner Gerard Alessandrini, whose Forbidden Broadway is now in its 21st season, hosts the event. Nancy Ford, lyricist with composer Gretchen Cryer for the current American Girls Revue, will perform her standard, "Old Friend," introduced in her long-running I'm Getting My Act Together and Taking It on the Road. David Spencer is performing "And I Knew" from Weird Romance, his collaboration with Oscar and Golden Globe winner Alan Menken.

Jeff Blumenkrantz, nominated for a Tony for his work on Urban Cowboy, will be performing his own work, as will Jonathan Larson Fellow Beth Falcone. Composer Barbara Anselmi and lyricist Will Randall reprise their hit from the last BMI Showcase, "It Shoulda Been You" from The Wedding Project.

Jerry Bock Award winner Frank Evans is represented with songs from War Brides, which will be featured as part of the NYMF Festival on September 27 at BMI. Patrick Cook, Workshop Artistic Coordinator and his composing partner Rick Freyer, who co-wrote the Drama Desk nominated Captains Courageous, will be singing songs from their new musical version of Mr. Smith Goes to Washington.

The BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop, recently honored with the 2005 Drama League Award for Excellence in Musical Theatre, was founded in 1961 by the late Lehman Engel, dean of American musical theatre, to create a setting where new writers could learn their craft. Since its inception, the Workshop has been operated by BMI free of any cost to participants; admission is based on merit.

Dedicated to discovering new work and new artists, the New York Musical Theatre Festival celebrates the diversity, creativity and future of musical theatre. NYMF is a flagship program of the National Music Theater Network, a 501(c) (3) not-for-profit organization, and is America's largest annual musical theatre event. NYMF is produced in association with Cadillac and Virgin Megastores and proudly supported by amNewYork, the Village Voice, WB11, Receptasign, King Displays, Rosco Lighting, Scharff Weisberg Inc, Dodger Stages, TheaterMania.com, BroadwayWorld.com, broadway.com, HX, Next and Manhattan Living.

Valparaiso High School students gather after a special session of the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop with moderators and committee members (seated) Jane Smulyan, Nancy Golladay, Frank Evans, Rick Freyer and Pat Cook. Photo: Dana Rodriguez

Workshop Artistic Coordinator and First Year moderator Pat Cook and First Year co-moderator Rick Freyer gave the young writers a crash course on the craft of writing music and lyrics for the musical theatre. During the school year, the students participate in a musical theatre writing course led by Alice L. Gambel, which employs the teachings of Lehman Engel.

The songwriting teams presented works in progress to Cook, Freyer, Librettist moderator Nancy Golladay, and committee members Jane Smulyan and Frank Evans for their critiques and advice.

The night before, the group of 30 students and their chaperones saw a performance of Tony Award-winning musical "Avenue Q," written by Workshop members Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx. Marx led a talk-back session for the students after the show.

Students from Valparaiso visited the BMI Musical Theatre Workshop in 2002; the Workshop also hosted a similar event for winners of the Scholastic Writing Competition.]]> 2004-11-22T17:00:00+00:00 http://www.bmi.com/news/entry/234105 Artists, Cook, Patrick, Evans, Frank, Freyer, Rick, Spencer, David, Musical Styles, Musical Theatre, Pop Scholastic Arts and Writing Awards participated in a streamlined version of the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop. The visit to the BMI Workshop was part of several events these middle and high school students attended throughout New York City, including seminars and workshops at CBS, MTV, Lincoln Center Theatre and The New York Times, followed by an awards ceremony at Carnegie Hall.

Pictured at the BMI office are (standing) Workshop committee members Rick Freyer, Frank Evans, Pat Cook and David Spencer, BMI's Jean Banks, and (seated) Scholastic Arts and Writing Awards winners Krystyn McIlraith, Rebecca Wellbourne and Tara Burton. Photo by Gary Gershoff

Organized by BMI Workshop committee member Frank Evans, who served as a national juror for the Scholastic Awards, participants heard from Patrick Cook, Artistic Coordinator of the Workshop, as well as associate moderators Rick Freyer and David Spencer. The BMI writers demonstrated the differences and similarities in pop and theatre songs and answered questions about writing for the musical theatre.]]> 2004-06-17T18:00:00+00:00 http://www.bmi.com/news/entry/233918 Artists, Freyer, Rick, Lopez, Robert, Marx, Jeff, Musical Styles, Musical Theatre Jeff Marx and Robert Lopez, co-writers of the hit Broadway show Avenue Q, stopped by the BMI New York office recently to critique the first round of charm songs from the First Year class of the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop. Marx and Lopez met in the Workshop and developed Avenue Q there.

Seen here are First Year class Co-Moderator Rick Freyer, Jeff Marx, Robert Lopez and BMI's Jean Banks. Photo: Eric Miller

]]> 2003-12-07T17:00:01+00:00 http://www.bmi.com/news/entry/233703 Artists, Engquist, Richard, Evans, Frank, Flaherty, Steve, Freyer, Rick, Spencer, David, Musical Styles, Musical Theatre recently held its second "Master Class," a new program launched in December that features theatre "Masters" critiquing two projects developed in the Workshop. The first Master Class included John Kander and Sheldon Harnick who critiqued Absolutely Anything by Erick Goldstein and Brian Cimmet and Up in the Air by Warren Loy and Chris Todd. Theatre composers Steve Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens, who wrote Once on This Island, A Man of NO Importance and Ragtime, presided over the second Workshop Master Class.

Lynn and Steve, who met in the Workshop and have since gone on to a successful collaboration, commented on the works and gave suggestions as to how they could be improved. They are pictured here with members of the Workshop Steering Committee: (l-r) Jean Banks, Pat Cook, Nancy Golladay, Rick Freyer, Jane Smulyan, Frank Evans, Flaherty, Richard Engquist, Ahrens and David Spencer, who moderated the evening.

Photo: Eric Miller

]]> 2003-04-29T18:00:00+00:00 http://www.bmi.com/news/entry/233678 Artists, Blumenkrantz, Jeff, Evans, Frank, Freyer, Rick, Hubbard, Alison, Oler, Kim, Musical Styles, Musical Theatre

Pictured after the performances are BMI's Jean Banks; Michel Ogborn; Pat Cook, co-moderator of the First Year / Artistic Coordinator of the Workshop and co-producer of the evening; Beth Falcone; Jeff Blumenkrantz; Kim Oler; David Arthur; Alison Hubbard; Frank Evans, co-producer of the evening; Andy Monroe; Adam Overett; Rick Freyer, co-moderator of the First Year and co-producer of the evening. Other writers who presented their work at the cabaret included Jason Coll, Martin Fernandi, Kark Kissin and Susan Murray.

photo by Eric Miller
]]> 2003-03-17T17:00:00+00:00