The American Theatre Wing has announced the recipients of the 2024 Jonathan Larson® Grants, recognising outstanding emerging musical theatre composers, lyricists, and librettists. This year’s winners include Fred Ebb Award-winning duo Cheeyang Ng and Eric Sorrels, composer and lyricist Joriah Kwamé, Richard Rodgers Award-winning composer Dylan MarcAurele, award-winning composer and lyricist Kate Douglas, and the writing team of Shannon Burkett and Obie Award-winning composer Heather Christian.
Each recipient will receive a $16,000 unrestricted grant, along with a $2,500 Saw Island Foundation Recording Grant to support the creation of new demo recordings that better reflect their artistic vision.
To celebrate these rising talents, two special concerts showcasing their work will be held at Joe’s Pub at The Public Theater, NYC, on 31 March 2025. The first performance at 6:30 p.m. will be invite-only, while the 9:00 p.m. show will be open to the public on a pay-what-you-can basis. Tickets are available via the Public Theater’s website.
“We are continuously bowled over by this generation of composers, lyricists, and book-writers shaping the next wave of musical theater,” said American Theatre Wing President and CEO Heather Hitchens. “The talent and range of this year’s Jonathan Larson Grant winners is profound, and many were not strangers to us, having been finalists in previous years.”
This year’s recipients were selected by a panel of industry leaders, including Public Theater Artistic Director Oskar Eustis, Creative Artists Agency talent and literary agent Kevin Lin, award-winning actor and comedian Larry Owens, and Grammy-nominated composer and lyricist Rona Siddiqui.
Named in honor of the late Jonathan Larson, the composer of Rent who posthumously won a Pulitzer Prize and four Tony Awards, the grants are awarded annually to exceptional emerging artists. Past recipients include Benj Pasek and Justin Paul (Dear Evan Hansen, La La Land), Michael R. Jackson (A Strange Loop), Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey (Next to Normal), and many more. The grants often serve as an early indicator of theatre’s next great voices.
The American Theatre Wing, also known as the founder and co-presenter of the Tony Awards, continues to champion theatrical excellence through its wide range of grants, awards, and programs aimed at supporting emerging talent and fostering creative growth.
The American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League announced last week that Tony, Emmy and Grammy Award-winner and three-time Oscar nominee Cynthia Erivo will host The 78th Annual Tony Awards 2025. This year’s ceremony returns to Radio City Music Hall in New York City, on Sunday 8 June 2025.
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