Gretchen Cryer News

The Dramatists Guild of America held their annual awards ceremony last night at The Lambs Club in New York. The ceremony was hosted by Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson Lopez. Check out a look back at the festivities below!

R. Erin Craig / La Vie Productions and Kevin Connor in association with Antoinette DiPietropolo and BoCo Student Government present a reading ACADEMY, conceived and developed by Andrew Kato, and written by John Mercurio, on Monday, February 24, 2014 at Boston Conservatory in Boston, MA.

VOW is an inaugural and extremely ambitious musical theatre workshop being presented by the Marymount Manhattan College Musical Theatre Program (Pat Hoag Simon, Coordinator for Musical Theatre) and The Directory Of Contemporary Musical Theatre Writers (David Sisco, Founder & Curator) that opens wide the creative process of the Broadway musical theatre industry to twenty very fortunate musical theatre students currently enrolled in Marymount Manhattan College's progressive Musical Theatre Program.

VOW is an inaugural and extremely ambitious musical theatre workshop being presented by the Marymount Manhattan College Musical Theatre Program (Pat Hoag Simon, Coordinator for Musical Theatre) and The Directory Of Contemporary Musical Theatre Writers (David Sisco, Founder & Curator) that opens wide the creative process of the Broadway musical theatre industry to twenty very fortunate musical theatre students currently enrolled in Marymount Manhattan College's progressive Musical Theatre Program.

Today, check out part two of this year's curtain call highlights 2013, and catch up on anything that you might have missed within the last 12 months!

The BMI-Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop will present its autumn Smoker, a semiannual showcase of new songs from Workshop writers, on Thursday, November 21 in BMI's New York office.

Talk about saving the day! When a presenter canceled a show at the last minute, singer William Blake came to Birdland's rescue in true showbiz fashion. In two short weeks, he concocted a concert and a sold-out house, which might be a Broadway at Birdland record. Scroll down for photos!

On Monday night, the Dramatists Guild Fund hosted their Annual Gala at the Edison Ballroom in New York. This year's event honored legendary playwrights, composers, and lyricists who have greatly impacted the American theater. Below you can check out photos of the attendees in the BroadwayWorld.com series 'In The Spotlight' by acclaimed photographer Walter McBride!

Last night, the Dramatists Guild Fund hosted their Annual Gala at the Edison Ballroom in New York. This year's event honored legendary playwrights, composers, and lyricists who have greatly impacted the American theater. BroadwayWorld was there for the special night and you can check out coverage from the star-studded red carpet below!

The Show Goes On Productions presents To Carry On... a Tribute to the Life and Music of Laura Nyro written and performed by Mimi Cohen. Gretchen Cryer directs and Jeffrey Klitz music directs. The production opens on Ms. Nyro's 66th birthday, tonight, October 18th, and runs for six performances beginning tonight, October 18 to Sunday, October 27, 2013, at The TBG Theatre, 312 West 36th Street, 3rd Floor in NYC.

On Monday, July 30, 2013, The New York Innovative Theatre Awards (IT Awards), the organization dedicated to celebrating Off-Off-Broadway, announced the 2013 award recipients at the ninth Annual IT Awards Ceremony at Mason Hall at the Baruch Performing Arts Center in New York. The Dramatists Guild Fund was awarded the 2013 Ellen Stewart Award, presented to an individual or organization demonstrating a significant contribution to the Off-Off-Broadway community through service, support and leadership. Playwright Tina Howe presented the award to both Gretchen Cryer, President of the Dramatists Guild Fund, and Rachel Routh, Executive Director of the Dramatists Guild Fund.

'Possibility Junkie' is a new musical theater work by David Ippolito (music, lyrics, book) and directed by Gretchen Cryer ('I'm Getting My Act Together and Taking It On the Road'), who co-authored the book. The story is based loosely on the career of David Ippolito, who is known to hundreds of thousands of people across the country and around the world as 'That Guitar Man from Central Park.' Part singer/songwriter, part storyteller, part social-commentator and humorist, Ippolito has become famous for his simple catch phrase, 'It's just us,' and his ability to turn a large crowd of strangers into a group of friends. Theater for the New City will present the world premiere tonight, September 28 to October 20, 2013.

The Show Goes On Productions presents To Carry On… a Tribute to the Life and Music of Laura Nyro written and performed by Mimi Cohen. Gretchen Cryer directs and Jeffrey Klitz music directs. The production opens on Ms. Nyro's 66th birthday, Friday, October 18th, and runs for six performances beginning Friday, October 18 to Sunday, October 27, 2013, at The TBG Theatre, 312 West 36th Street, 3rd Floor in NYC.

In mid-August, the news website Bloomberg.com reported that 54 Below, the popular new nightclub that opened last June in the basement of the old Studio 54, needed a major cash infusion in the six-figure range if it was going to survive. Perhaps if they just book Liz and Ann Hampton Callaway on a regular basis-either individually or together-their bottom line will start singing a happy tune. The sisterly songbirds recently sold out a five-show run at the venue with a revival of their crowd-pleasing show 'Sibling Revelry.'

The Dramatists Guild of America recently held their Second National Conference Having Our Say: Our History, Our Future, on August 22-25, 2013 in Chicago, IL. The conference included keynote speeches, legal and business seminars, workshops, and conversations with theatre elite. Participating Council and visiting artists include Kristen Anderson-Lopez, Gretchen Cryer, Rebecca Gilman, Carol Hall, Winnie Holzman, David Ives, Lisa Kron, Martha Lavey, Bobby Lopez, Terrence McNally, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Marsha Norman, Theresa Rebeck, Stephen Schwartz, Jeff Sweet, John Weidman, George C. Wolfe, and Charlayne Woodard. Check out a look back at the national conference below!

'Possibility Junkie' is a new musical theater work by David Ippolito (music, lyrics, book) and directed by Gretchen Cryer ('I'm Getting My Act Together and Taking It On the Road'), who co-authored the book. The story is based loosely on the career of David Ippolito, who is known to hundreds of thousands of people across the country and around the world as 'That Guitar Man from Central Park.' Part singer/songwriter, part storyteller, part social-commentator and humorist, Ippolito has become famous for his simple catch phrase, 'It's just us,' and his ability to turn a large crowd of strangers into a group of friends. Theater for the New City will present the world premiere September 28 to October 20, 2013.

Last weekend, August 22-25, 2013, the Dramatists Guild of America held its second ever national conference in Chicago, at the Hilton Chicago on South Michigan Avenue. The Dramatists Guild is the professional association of playwrights, librettists, lyricists and composers writing for the stage. And with almost 7,000 members, that's a lot of creative energy!

The Dramatists Guild of America is pleased to announce their Second National Conference Having Our Say: Our History, Our Future, which will be held from today, August 22-25, 2013 in Chicago, IL.

Angelina Fiordellisi, Founding Artistic Director of Cherry Lane Theatre, announces the following productions for the company's 2013-14 season:

Jason Rabinowitz, Christina Sajous, Jennifer Sanchez, Frederick Weller and Renee Elise Goldsberry have been getting great reviews and audience reactions in I'm Getting My Act Together and Taking It on the Road, the final Encores! Off-Center presentation of the 2013 season. Today, Michael Riedel reports that the successful response might earn the show a transfer.