'Jip: His Story' Wins American Harmony Prize

Curtain Call, Inc., the sponsoring organization for The American Harmony Prize - a new award given to works of musical theater that explore our country's many ethnic, religious and gender identifications - is pleased to announce that the 2007/2008 American Harmony Prize will be awarded to the musical:

Jip: His Story by Danny Duncan and Emily Klion (San Francisco, CA): Based on a novel by Katherine Paterson. It tells the tale of a nineteenth century Vermont boy who was found on the side of the road as a toddler. Due to his dark complexion, he is assumed to be the son of a gypsy and sent to live on a local poor farm. But, when a runaway slave hunter catches sight of him twelve years later, Jip learn the truth about his identity, as well as about the buried racial attitudes of the town in which he was raised. A workshop version of Jip: His Story was performed at The Marsh Youth Theater in San Francisco, CA, in May of 2005.

As the winning entry, Jip: His Story will receive a performance of highlights from the musical as a part of Curtain Call's Musical Mondays Series of New Musicals in Concert on Monday, February 25, 2008 at 7:30PM in the Kweskin Theatre. Call 203-329-8207 or visit www.curtaincallinc.com for reservations or further details.

The other finalists for the 2007/2008 American Harmony Prize were:
Congo Square by Frank Gagliano and Claibe Richardson (Pittsburgh, PA)
Georgia by Lori McKelvey (Greenwich, CT)
It Matters Where You're Buried - Brick Top & Comstock by Beth Campbell (Old Lyme, CT)

Brief excerpts of either a song or a scene from each of the three additional finalists will be performed as a part of a medley at the beginning of the February 25concert reading of Jip: His Story.

Musical Mondays at Curtain Call and the American Harmony Prize are made possible, in part, by funding from the Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism, the BMI Foundation Inc. and the Puffin Foundation Ltd.