Photo Coverage: Tony Kushner Receives Steinberg Distinguished Playwright Award

The ‘Steinberg Distinguished Playwright Award' was presented to Tony Kushner at a ceremony on Tuesday, October 21, at 620 Loft & Garden at Rockefeller Center.  The honor comes with a cash prize of $200,000, making this by far the largest award ever created to honor and encourage artistic achievement in the American theater. Mr. Kushner was also presented with ‘The Mimi,' a statue designed by Tony Award-nominated scenic designer and architect David Rockwell.

Commencing this year (and to be awarded on a biennial basis thereafter), ‘The Steinberg Distinguished Playwright Award' (‘The Mimi') honors an American playwright whose body of work has made significant contributions to the American theater.

Oskar Eustis, Artistic Director of The Public Theater, on behalf of the advisory committee that selected Mr. Kushner, commented, "The Steinberg Distinguished Playwright Award will make an outstanding contribution to the vitality and health of the American theater. A prize of this magnitude both honors the recipient and the field itself.  I know I speak for the entire selection committee when I say it has been a privilege to choose the first playwright to be honored.  Tony Kushner stands at the very pinnacle of American playwriting by virtue of his talent, the scope of his ambition, and his commitment to making theater that speaks to the heart of our national discourse. He is a great writer, a great public intellectual, and a great human spirit."

The members of the Board of Directors of The Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust are Carole A. Krumland, James D. Steinberg, Michael A. Steinberg, Seth M. Weingarten and William D. Zabel.

Photos by Peter James Zielinski

Steinberg Distinguished Playwright Award Recipient Tony Kushner

Oskar Eustis, Polly Carl, and Eduardo Machado

Robert LuPone

Michael Steinberg, Carole Krumland, and James Steinberg

David Rockwell

Ben Schenkman

Martha Lavey

Michael Grief

Aasif Mandvi

William Zabel

Aasif Mandvi, Ben Schenkman, and Linda Emond

Ken Thompson

Tovah Feldshuh and Tony Kushner