Second Stage Theatre Creates the Donna Perret Rosen Award

Second Stage Theatre announced today the establishment of The Donna Perret Rosen Award, an annual cash prize to be awarded to a promising composer/lyricist. The $10,000 award was established at the off-Broadway company's annual gala to honor Second Stage Theatre trustee Donna Perret Rosen in recognition of her long-standing commitment to young artists and new works. The award will be chosen by Tony Award-winners James Lapine, Susan Stroman, and Jack Viertel. The first "Donna Award" will be awarded in 2012.

"Donna Perret Rosen is one of the most passionate advocates for the arts in New York City and I am very excited to celebrate her contributions by establishing this award in her honor," stated Artistic Director Carole Rothman. "Since becoming a Board Member in 2003, Donna has been a tireless champion of new work and we are thrilled that we can honor her contributions with this annual award."

Donna Perret Rosen adds, "This honor delights me because it underscores my commitment to young and mid-career talent. I feel especially fortunate with this selection of panelists, who share my enthusiasm for the American musical."

Second Stage Theatre Trustee DONNA PERRET ROSEN is a life-long advocate for music and art and has been on the Board of Second Stage Theatre since 2003. For 23 years, Donna was the director of New Orleans' legendary Galerie Simonne Stern. In addition to Second Stage Theatre, Donna is a Trustee of the Whitney Museum of American Art, Vice-Chairman of the American Friends of the British Museum, Vice-President of the Venetian Heritage Society, and on the Advisory Committee to New Orleans Museum of Art. Ms. Perret Rosen was recently honored at Second Stage Theatre's annual gala, which raised over $1 million dollars for the not-for-profit company.

Founded in 1979 under the leadership of Artistic Director Carole Rothman, Second Stage Theatre produces a diverse range of premieres and new interpretations of America's best Contemporary Theatre, including Tiny Alice and Peter and Jerry by Edward Albee; The Good Times Are Killing Me by Lynda Barry; The Little Dog Laughed by Douglas Carter Beane; Little Murders by Jules Feiffer; The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee by William Finn and Rachel Sheinkin; A Soldier's Play by Charles Fuller; Afterbirth: Kathy & Mo's Greatest Hits by Mo Gaffney and Kathy Najimy; Becky Shaw by Gina Gionfriddo; Painting Churches and Coastal Disturbances by Tina Howe; Ricky Jay and His 52 Assistants and On the Stem by Ricky Jay; Next to Normal by Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey; Living Out by Lisa Loomer; This Is Our Youth and The Waverly Gallery by Kenneth Lonergan; Some Men by Terrence McNally; eurydice by Sarah Ruhl; Everyday Rapture by Dick Scanlan and Sherie Rene Scott; Let Me Down Easy by Anna Deavere Smith; Saturday Night by Stephen Sondheim; Crowns by ReGina Taylor; Uncommon Women and Others by Wendy Wasserstein; Spoils of War by Michael Weller; Before It Hits Home, Jar the Floor and Birdie Blue by Cheryl L. West; Jitney by August Wilson; Lemon Sky, Serenading Louie and Sympathetic Magic by Lanford Wilson; and Metamorphoses and The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci by Mary Zimmerman.

The company's more than 130 citations include the 2010 Pulitzer prize for Next to Normal, the 2009 Tony Awards for Best Score, Best Orchestrations, and Best Actress in a Musical (Alice Ripley) for Next to Normal, the 2007 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play (Julie White, The Little Dog Laughed), 2005 Tony Awards for Best Book of a Musical (Rachel Sheinkin, ...Spelling Bee) and Best Featured Actor in a Musical (Dan Fogler, ...Spelling Bee), 2002 Tony Award for Best Director of a Play (Mary Zimmerman for Metamorphoses), the 2002 Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Body of Work, 27 Obie Awards, six Outer Critics Circle Awards, two Clarence Derwent Awards, 12 Drama Desk Awards, nine Theatre World Awards, 12 Lucille Lortel Awards, the Drama Critics Circle Award and 15 AUDELCO Awards.

In 1999, Second Stage Theatre opened its state-of-the-art, 296-seat theatre, designed by renowned Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas. In 2002, Second Stage launched "Second Stage Theatre Uptown" series to showcase the work of up and coming artists at the McGinn/Cazale Theatre. The Theatre supports artists through several programs that include residencies, fellowships and commissions, and engages students and community members through education and outreach programs.

Second Stage Theatre has acquired the right to purchase the historic Helen Hayes Theatre, located at 240 W. 44th Street. With this new home, Second Stage will be the only theatre company on Broadway dedicated exclusively to the development and presentation of contemporary American theatrical productions. Second Stage will also become one of only four non-profit theatre companies that own and operate theatres on Broadway. The company will continue to lease and operate their original theatres on the city's Upper West Side and in Midtown Manhattan.

For more information, please visit www.2ST.com