**** FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ****

May. 2012

The Theatre Museum 2012 Gala Celebration of Awards for Excellence Featuring an Array of the Prestigious Honorees and Presenters
Heading The Theatre Museum’s festivities at the legendary Players Club in Gramercy Park was the effervescent song and dance man John Bolton. Bolton, whose recent stage appearances include the Broadway-bound A Christmas Story: the Musical, and the touring companies of The Music Manand Same Time, Next Year, marked his third straight appearance as The Theatre Museum Award’s Master of Ceremony. The versatile performer has frequently been seen on Broadway in such musicals as Curtains, Spamalot, Contact, Damn Yankees, and Titanic. Witty introductions of the presenters and exuberant songs by Bolton and familiar Broadway faces who are also Stagedoor alums such as Marni Raab, Jeff Blumenkranz, Noah Silverman, Katherine Doherty, Nick Christopher, Derek Speedy, Julia Murney, and Etai BenShlomo kept the evening moving at a lively and delightfully enjoyable pace under the direction of Lawrence Lesher. Musical director Kimberly Grigsby was onstage at the piano.
Broadway director, producer, writer and lyricist Richard Maltby, whose credits include Ain’t Misbehavin’, Big, Miss Saigon, and Ring of Fire, presented the award for Theatre Arts Education to Stagedoor Manor.
Since 1976, young artists have flocked to Stagedoor Manor to pursue their dreams of performing. And on Monday, April 30, 2012, some of the Manor’s best and brightest paid tribute to their alma mater.
“When you consider the top training grounds for theatre, Stagedoor Manor has to be among the best, “ says Theatre Museum president Helen Marie Guditis. “The Theatre Museum is proud to be honoring an organization that has contributed so much to the performing arts.”
Last year, Stagedoor Manor was host to young actors from 27 countries and 46 states.

The Museum also honored Frederick O. Olsson with its distinguished Career Achievement Award. A stage veteran with a lifelong and multifaceted dedication to all things theatre, Olsson served as master carpenter for 38 shows at The Broadway Theatre, while also continuing his career as a singer and performer.
Longtime resident of Queens, New York, Olsson attended the Juilliard School of Music, and the Columbia University School of Engineering. He then spent his lengthy career combining his two passions. Olsson appeared in two Broadway shows, Arms and the Girl (1950), and Music in the Air (1951) while he simultaneously juggled his job as carpentry foreman on the construction of the United Nations Security Building. Soon after, he began overseeing the stage design for productions such as South Pacific, Mr. Wonderful, A Most Happy Fella, Gypsy and My Fair Lady. In 1964, Mr. Olsson joined The Shubert Organization, the largest theatrical firm in the world, where he excelled as Facilities Director, becoming Senior Consultant in 1992.
IATSE Local One president James J. Claffey, Jr. proudly presented Olsson with his Career Achievement honor.

The 2012 Theatre History Preservation Award went to Don B. Wilmeth, Emeritus Professor of Theatre and of English at Brown University. Professor Wilmeth has either written, co-authored or edited over forty books on theatre, He is co-editor of the award-winning three-volume Cambridge History of American Theatre and writer of George Frederick Cooke: Machiavel of the Stage (Hewitt Award). For a decade, the professor was series editor for Cambridge University Press' "Studies in American Theatre and Drama" and is currently editor of Palgrave Macmillan's "Studies in Theatre and Performance History." An ardent collector of theatre and entertainment ephemera and memorabilia, he has mounted three public exhibits drawn from his collection.
Professor Wilmeth accepted his award from Laurence Maslon, Associate Chair/Associate Arts Professor at the NYU Tisch Graduate School of Acting.

The Award for Distinguished Service to the Theatre went to the Theatre Communications Group (TCG). For 50 years, this national organization has existed to strengthen, nurture and promote the professional not-for-profit American theatre. TCG’s constituency has grown from a handful of groundbreaking theatres to nearly 700 member theatres and affiliate organizations and more than 13,000 individuals nationwide. TCG is North America’s largest independent publisher of dramatic literature, with 11 Pulitzer Prizes for Best Play on its booklist. TCG also publishes the award-winning AMERICAN THEATRE magazine and ARTSEARCH®, the essential source for a career in the arts.
Two time Pulitzer Prize finalist and distinguished playwright Tina Howe bestowed the award.

The Theatre Museum’s 2012 Awards Gala kicked off at 6:00 pm with a cocktail reception and buffet dinner featuring a silent auction hosted by award-winning jewelry designer Judith Ripka. The Awards Presentation began at 7:30 pm, culminated in a rousing sponsors’ toast to the honorees at 9:30 pm.
Founded in 2003, The Theatre Museum is New York’s first and only chartered, non-profit museum dedicated to the history of theatre. Currently a museum-at-large -- it presents exhibitions on a myriad of subjects in collaboration with other cultural institutions. The Museum's community outreach includes teaching children how to write, direct and stage live theatre, as well as the presentation of the Theatre Museum Awards for Excellence at its annual Gala. Its primary mission is to preserve, protect and perpetuate the legacy of theatre through innovative programming. The Theatre Museum grew out of the legacy of The Broadway Theatre Institute.
The Museum’s Board of Trustees includes five-time Tony Award-winning producer and owner and operator of the Palace Theater Stewart F. Lane (Chairman), Helen M. Guditis (President), James Heinze (Treasurer), Joseph Benincasa (Secretary), and William Walters (Trustee).

For more information, please contact:
Press (212) 764-4112
press@thetheatremuseum.org
www.thetheatremuseum.org

**** FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ****

Feb. 2012

STAGEDOOR MANOR, THEATRE COMMUNICATIONS GROUP, DON B. WILMETH, PHD AND THEATRE INDUSTRY LEGEND FREDERICK O. OLSSON ARE THE DISTINGUISHED HONOREES AT THE 2012 THEATRE MUSEUM AWARDS

Continuing its tradition of celebrating outstanding achievement in theatre arts, The Theatre Museum will present its 2012 Awards on April 30 at Manhattan’s legendary Players Club in Gramercy Park, New York.

The Theatre Arts Education Award will be bestowed to Stagedoor Manor. Since 1976, Stagedoor Manor has been an oasis of discovery and unconditional acceptance for passionate young performers seeking a community where dreams are understood and shared. Even though Carl and Elsie Samuelson created this program almost 40 years ago, it is still a family business, currently run by sisters Cindy and Debra. Committed to encouraging all levels of talent and experience, Stagedoor Manor admits students without auditions on a first come basis. Boasting a nine-week schedule of 40 full-scale productions, the organization prides itself in searching out cutting-edge material as it keeps its casts and classes small. Continuously expanding, the program adds new theaters and classrooms almost yearly, seeks out fresh material directly from the Broadway stage, and lures a constant flow of leading professionals from the industry. Last year, Stagedoor Manor was host to young actors from 27 countries and 46 states. Well known alumni include Natalie Portman, Robert Downey, Lea Michelle, Adam Pascal, and Zach Braff.

The Theatre Communications Group (TCG) will be honored with the Award for Distinguished Service to the Theatre. For 50 years, this national organization has existed to strengthen, nurture and promote the professional not-for-profit American theatre. TCG’s constituency has grown from a handful of groundbreaking theatres to nearly 700 member theatres and affiliate organizations and more than 13,000 individuals nationwide. TCG is North America’s largest independent publisher of dramatic literature, with 11 Pulitzer Prizes for Best Play on the TCG booklist. It also publishes the award-winning AMERICAN THEATRE magazine and ARTSEARCH®, the essential source for a career in the arts. In all of its endeavors, TCG seeks to increase the organizational efficiency of its member theatres, cultivate and celebrate the artistic talent and achievements of the field, and promote a larger public understanding of, and appreciation for, the theatre.

Citing his invaluable contribution to the preservation of theatre history, the 2012 Theatre History Preservation Award goes to Don B. Wilmeth, Emeritus Professor of Theatre and of English at Brown University. A university mainstay for 36 years, Wilmeth has either written, co-authored or edited more than forty books on the subject. He co-edited the award-winning, three-volume Cambridge History of American Theatre and wrote George Frederick Cooke: Machiavel of the Stage (Hewitt Award). Contributor to dozens of reference works, for a decade he was series editor for Cambridge University Press' "Studies in American Theatre and Drama" and is currently editor of Palgrave Macmillan's "Studies in Theatre and Performance History." An ardent collector of theatre and entertainment ephemera and memorabilia, he has mounted three public exhibits drawn from his collection.

Anyone familiar with Broadway knows the groundbreaking work of this year’s Career Achievement Award -- Frederick O. Olsson. As a master carpenter for 38 shows at The Broadway Theatre, he has overseen the stage design for such wonderful productions as “South Pacific,” “Mr. Wonderful,” “A Most Happy Fella,” “Gypsy,” and “My Fair Lady.” Also an active singer and performer, Olsson’s dedication to his craft can best be summed up with his motto -- “Do your best, be your best – no matter what the job is and be a good person.”

A Queens, NY native, Olsson attended the Juilliard School of Music, and the Columbia University School of Engineering. He starred in two Broadway productions, “Arms and the Girl” (1950) and “Music in the Air” (1951), while he simultaneously juggled his job as carpentry foreman on the construction of the United Nations Security Building. Soon after, he began his long stint as one of the stage’s most respected master carpenters.

Mr. Olsson joined the Shubert Organization, the largest theatrical ?rm in the world, in 1964 where he excelled as Facilities Director, becoming Senior Consultant in 1992.

Overseeing The Theatre Museum tribute is prolific director and writer Gordon Greenberg. Busily hopping between London’s West End and both US coasts, Greenberg recently joined forces with Stephen Schwartz and Lin Manuel Miranda to direct the revival of Stud Terkel’s “Working” for Broadway in Chicago. Texas born and New York raised, Greenberg attended Stanford University and NYU Film School. He is a member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society and the Lincoln Center Directors Lab.

Preparations for this star-filled evening are in full swing with details to follow shortly. The celebration will kick off at 6 pm on April 30 at the Player’s Club at 16, Gramercy Park South. Business attire is requested.

Tickets for the Reception and Buffet Dinner, Presentation, and journal opportunities are available through The Theatre Museum website, by calling the office (212 764 4112), or by emailing awards@thetheatremuseum.org.

Founded in 2003, The Theatre Museum is New York’s ?rst and only chartered, non-pro?t museum dedicated to the history of theatre. Currently a museum-at-large -- it presents exhibitions on a myriad of subjects in collaboration with other cultural institutions. The Museum's community outreach includes teaching children how to write, direct, and stage live theatre, as well as the presentation of the Theatre Museum Awards for Excellence at its annual Gala. Its primary mission is to preserve, protect, and perpetuate the legacy of theatre through innovative programming. The Theatre Museum grew out of the legacy of The Broadway Theatre Institute.

The Museum’s Board of Trustees include five-time Tony Award- winning producer and owner and operator of the Palace Theater Stewart F. Lane (Chairman), Helen M. Guditis (President), James Heinze (Treasurer), Joseph Benincasa (Secretary), and William Walters (Member).

For more information, please contact:
(212) 764-4112
press@thetheatremuseum.org
http://www.thetheatremuseum.org

**** FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ****

May 7, 2011

HAL PRINCE, JIM BROCHU, TOVAH FELDSHUH, HOWARD MCGILLIN AND ANITA GILLETTE LEAD THE 2011 THEATRE MUSEUM AWARDS GALA CELEBRATION OF SHELDON HARNICK AND HIS SONGS.

Classic tunes from Fiddler on the Roof, Fiorello!, She Loves Me, The Apple Tree, and others will fill the air at New York’s legendary National Arts Club on Monday May 16, 2011 as The Theatre Museum pays tribute to famed Broadway lyricist Sheldon Harnick -- its 2011 Career Achievement Award recipient.

The musical tribute, directed by renowned film, television and Broadway showman Tony Walton, boasts performances from a dynamic array of Broadway talent including Jim Brochu, Gregg Edelman, Tovah Feldshuh, Jenny Fellner, Anita Gillette, Jessica Grove, Elizabeth Inghram, and Howard McGillin. Mary-Mitchell Campbell serves as the evening’s musical director.

Sparkling stage song and dance man John Bolton will once again take the stage as the evening’s Master of Ceremonies.

Hal Prince, who produced the original productions of Fiorello! and Fiddler on the Roof, who also both produced and directed She Loves Me, will present the award to his friend and colleague Harnick. Best known for his collaboration with composer Jerry Bock, Harnick’s career spans six decades and features numerous honors including three Tony Awards and a Pulitzer Prize.

Prolific Tony Award winning producer Bonnie Comley, whose stage productions include The Merchant of Venice, Priscilla: Queen of the Desert, Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, Enron, Alfred Hitchcock’s The 39 Steps and Legally Blonde will be presented The Theatre Museum’s Distinguished Service to the Theatre Award by Broadway icon Jim Dale.

The Theatre History Preservation Award will be bestowed upon Frank Cullen and Donald McNeilly for their exhaustive efforts to preserve and chronicle the history of Vaudeville which include co-founding The American Vaudeville Museum in 1982. Modern day vaudevillian Trav S. D., best known for the book No Applause, Just Send Money, will present the award.

And The Frank Sinatra School of the Arts, founded by Tony Bennett, will receive The Theatre Museums Theatre Arts Education Award. Offering New York City 8th and 9th graders a specialized program that emphasizes the arts, the schools principal, Donna Finn, will accept the award from Peter Avery, Director of Theater, NYC Dept. of Education.

The Theatre Museums 2011 Awards Gala will kick off at 6:00 pm with a cocktail reception featuring a silent auction hosted by Judith Ripka. The Awards Presentation will begin at 7:00 pm, culminating in a sponsors toast to the honorees at 8:30 pm.

Tickets and journal opportunities are available through The Theatre Museum website, by calling the office (212 764 4112), or by emailing awards@thetheatremuseum.org.

Founded in 2003, The Theatre Museum is New York’s first and only chartered, non-profit museum dedicated to the history of theatre. It is a museum-at-large -- presenting exhibition’s on a myriad of subjects in collaboration with other cultural institutions. The Museum's community outreach includes teaching children how to write, direct and stage live theatre, as well as the presentation of the annual Theatre Museum Awards for Excellence at its annual Gala. Its primary mission is to preserve, protect and perpetuate the legacy of theatre through innovative programming.

**** FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ****

March 1, 2011

FROM VAUDEVILLE TO TODAYS TOP BROADWAY HITS, THE 2011 THEATRE MUSEUM AWARDS GALA HONORS A SPECTRUM OF PERFORMING ARTS

Running the gamut from vaudeville and musical theatre classics, to todays top Broadway shows, with a touch of old blue eyes thrown in for good measure, the 2011 Theatre Museum Awards pay tribute to a wide range of the performing arts.

In an evening directed by renown showman Tony Walton, the only costumer/set designer to have won an Oscar, Emmy and Tony, the 2011 Theatre Museum Awards for Excellence will be presented on Monday, May 16, 2011 at the New York Players Club -- 16 Gramercy Park South. The night kicks off with a reception at 6:00 p.m. with the awards ceremony taking place immediately after.

We're very proud to honor such a diverse embodiment of the theatre, says Theatre Museum president Helen Marie Guditis. The Theatre Museum is dedicated to preserving and celebrating all aspects of the theatre arts. I dont think we could have picked better honorees to reflect this than our 2011 awards recipients.

Founded in 2003, The Theatre Museum is New Yorks first and only chartered, non-profit museum dedicated to the history of theatre. It is a museum-at-large -- presenting exhibitions on a myriad of subjects in collaboration with other cultural institutions. The Museum's community outreach includes teaching children how to write, direct and stage live theatre, as well as the annual Theatre Museum Awards for Excellence ceremony. Its primary mission is to preserve, protect and perpetuate the legacy of theatre through innovative programming.

Receiving The Theatre Museums prestigious Career Achievement Award is legendary Broadway lyricist Sheldon Harnick. In collaboration with composer Jerry Bock, Harnick created the music for such memorable shows as Fiddler on the Roof, Fiorello!, She Loves Me, The Apple Tree and The Rothchilds. His numerous honors include three Tony Awards and a Pulitzer Prize.

Harnick began his career in the 1950s by penning songs both on and off Broadway for such musical reviews as The Boston Beguine and Merry Little Minuet. He teamed with Bock in 1956 for The Body Beautiful and the duo never looked back. Some of Harnicks other efforts include Rex with Richard Rodgers, A Wonderful Life with Joe Raposo, A Christmas Carol with Michel Legrand, The Phantom Tollbooth with Arnold Black and co-librettist Norton Juster, and the operas Cyrano, Coyote Tales and Captain Jinks of the Horse Marines. In addition, he has translated The Merry Widow for Beverly Sills, Carmen, Ravels The Enchanted Child, and Stravinskys Soldiers Tale.

Prolific producer Bonnie Comley will be honored with The Theatre Museums Service to the Theatre Award. Among her current productions on Broadway are The Merchant of Venice with Al Pacino, Priscilla: Queen of the Desert, and War Horse. Other Broadway credits include Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, Come Fly Away, Enron, Alfred Hitchcocks The 39 Steps, Legally Blonde, Superior Donuts, as well as the Broadway revivals of American Buffalo, Sunday in the Park with George, Cyrano de Bergerac, Fiddler on the Roof, and Gypsy. In Londons West End, Ms. Comley produced the Olivier nominated Thoroughly Modern Millie, Ragtime and Lobby Hero. She won a Tony Award for producing Jay Johnson: The Two and Only.

Vice President of Stellar Productions, Intl Inc., and wife of theatre producer Stewart F. Lane, Comley has been awarded the Paul Newman Award from Arts Horizons, the Actors Fund Medal of Honor, and the Distinguished Producer Award from The Drama League. Her film efforts include producing Of Horse and Man, narrated by Glenn Close, Show Business: The Road to Broadway, Brooklyn Rules, Cyrano de Bergerac, starring Kevin Kline and Jennifer Garner, Company, and Sondheim: The Birthday Concert for PBS Great Performances.

His lifelong love of vaudeville and his dedication to keeping its memory alive makes Frank Cullen the perfect recipient for The Theatre Museums Theatre History Preservation Award.

Along with Donald McNeilly, Cullen founded The American Vaudeville Museum in 1982. Here, he was able to display the showbiz memorabilia he had collected since the age of 10. In 2008, the collection was transferred to the University of Arizona in Tucson, where it is available to view at Special Collections. Using McNeillys website www.vaudeville.org as a springboard, the two men produced 40 issues of the AVM quarterly "Vaudeville Times from 1998-2008."

When Routledge Press wanted to create an authoritative book on the subject, it seemed only natural that Cullen and McNeilly would be involved. The two large-format volumes, Vaudeville, Old & New: an Encyclopedia of Variety Performers in America, were published in 2007. Cullen served as lead researcher and writer.

Cullen and McNeilly also collaborated on Murder at the Tremont Theatre: The First Porridge Sisters Mystery (2010) and Murder at The Old Howard (due 2011), the first two of a projected series of five historically accurate showbiz whodunits set in Boston during the vaudeville era.

The Frank Sinatra School of the Arts will receive The Theatre Museums Theatre Arts Education Award.

Established in 2001 by world-famous entertainer Tony Bennett as a way to honor the memory of his friend and colleague Frank Sinatra, the Queens-based high school offers a specialized program in the arts as well as a full academic curriculum.

Currently 590 students -- selected from among New York Citys 8th and 9th graders -- are undertaking the schools rigorous academic curriculum and pre-conservatory studio education. Selection is determined through a competitive audition and academic records evaluation. Students pursue an arts study program in instrumental music, vocal music, fine arts, drama or dance.

The school is committed to community service through the arts -- allowing students in both an individual capacity and in groups to complete arts-related projects in facilities such as hospitals, day care centers, senior citizen homes and homeless shelters. Partnerships have also been formed with such groups as the Metropolitan Opera, Battery Dance Company, Museum of Modern Art, Queens Museum, American Theatre Wing, and Times Square Group, allowing students to participate in internships, apprenticeships, mentorships and other programs and projects.

**** FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ****

TORY BURCH’S EXCLUSIVE AFTERNOON EVENT BENEFITS THE THEATRE MUSEUM

July 26, 2010

Tory Burch, the lifestyle brand rooted in classic American sportswear, will be opening the doors of its East Hampton Boutique on Saturday, August 28, 2010 for an exclusive shopping event to benefit The Theatre Museum.

Hosted by five time Tony Award winning Broadway producers Stewart F. Lane and Bonnie Comley, and Theatre Museum President Helen Guditis, the event will take place from 4:00 to 6:00 PM at the Tory Burch Boutique at 47 Newtown Lane, East Hampton, NY 11937. A percentage of purchase proceeds will be donated to The Theatre Museum.

“It’s a chance to pick up some of the most stylish fashions on the market today, and, at the same time, help out a great organization like The Theatre Museum,” says Bonnie Comley, who is on the Museum’s board of advisors. “We’re thrilled that Tory Burch is lending its support with such a unique event.”

Launched in 2004, Tory Burch is an attainable luxury lifestyle brand defined by classic American sportswear with an eclectic sensibility. It embodies the personal style and spirit of its Chairman Tory Burch. Recognizing a void in the market for a designer aesthetic at an accessible price point, Tory wanted to create stylish yet wearable clothing and accessories for women of all ages. Tory Burch is carried at 33 freestanding Tory Burch stores across the US and Asia, www.ToryBurch.com and over 500 select department and specialty stores worldwide.

Lane is Chairman of the Theatre Museum. He and wife Bonnie Comley have lined up their shows for the upcoming Broadway season: Priscilla: Queen of the Desert, The Merchant of Venice with Al Pacino, and Bloody, Bloody, Andrew Jackson, and Off-Broadway: A Moment in Time, featuring the John Denver songbook.

Founded in 2003, The Theatre Museum is New York State's first and only chartered, non-profit museum dedicated to the history of theatre. It is a museum-at-large -- presenting exhibitions in collaboration with other cultural institutions. The Museum's programs include community outreach, such as teaching children how to write, direct and stage live theatre, and the annual Theatre Museum Awards for Excellence Gala. Its primary mission is to preserve, protect and perpetuate the legacy of theatre through innovative programming.

Tory Burch, Stewart F. Lane, Bonnie Comley photo credit: Rob Rich

**** FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ****

April 5, 2010

THE THEATRE MUSEUM HONORS AN ARRAY OF THEATRE LEGENDS AT ITS 2010 AWARDS

America's eminent composer/lyricist duo, Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman, will receive the prestigious Career Achievement Award at The Theatre Museum's 2010 Awards Gala.

In an evening hosted by popular stage, television and film performer Richard Kind and directed by the multi-talented Tony Walton, The 2010 Theatre Museum Awards for Excellence will take place on Monday May 17, 2010 from 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm at the New York Players Club. Presenters include Disney Theatrical Group president Tom Schumacher, Tappan Wilder, executor of Thornton Wilder's literary and dramatic properties, and actor George Morfogen.

Recognizing individuals and/or organizations that have made significant contributions to the life of the theatre, The Theatre Museum will present the Theatre Arts Education Award to Samuel French, Inc., which is celebrating its 180th anniversary as the premier publisher of and resource for stage plays and drama instruction books.

Specializing in producing worthwhile but neglected stage works from the past, the Mint Theater Company will be honored with the Museum's Theatre History Preservation Award.

"In selecting this year's honorees, we are recognizing those individuals and organizations whose efforts have set a trend and made a significant impact on the theatre," says Theatre Museum Board of Trustees president Helen Marie Guditis. "We are thrilled to have the opportunity to properly acknowledge these honorees that have, in their own unique way, given so much to the art and industry."

There are few musical teams whose body of work has delighted so many as The Sherman Brothers. In a career spanning five decades, Richard M. and Robert B. have received just about every conceivable musical honor, including nine Oscar nominations, three Grammys, twenty-four Gold and Platinum albums, and a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2005, the brothers won two Academy Awards in 1965 -- Best Musical Score for Mary Poppins and Best Music, Original Song for Chim Chim Cher-ee. They are also the creators of one the world's most recognizable songs, It's a Small World (After All).

The team first found success as pop music composers, penning such top- ten hits as You're Sixteen, Let's Get Together, and Tall Paul. In 1960, they joined forces with Walt Disney, and over the next ten years composed over 200 tunes for the studio's various enterprises. Their music can be heard in 36 Disney features, including Jungle Book, The Parent Trap, The Aristocats, Bedknobs and Broomsticks, The Happiest Millionaire, The One and Only, Genuine, Original Family Band, The Sword in the Stone, and The Winnie the Pooh series.

Addition musical score credits include Snoopy Come Home, Charlotte's Web, the Broadway musical hit Over Here!, and the fantasmagorical Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. The brothers also wrote both the screenplays and song scores for such features as Tom Sawyer, Huckleberry Finn, The Magic of Lassie, and The Slipper and the Rose, which was chosen as the 1976 Royal Command film. Recent musical efforts include songs for the Disney animated feature The Tigger Movie, Beverly Hills Cop 3, and the stage musical Busker Alley.

The Sherman Brothers currently have two hit shows on the boards. After an almost four year record-breaking run in London, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is presently on an English national tour. Mary Poppins is enjoying its fourth year as one of Broadway's biggest hits with touring productions around the world.

In November of 2008, the Shermans were awarded the 'National Medal of Arts' by President Bush in a ceremony at the White House.

Celebrating its 180th anniversary of continuous service to the theatrical community, Samuel French, Inc. represents thousands of playwrights, translators, lyricists, and composers throughout the world. From high school and college stagings, to countless community and professional theatrical productions, Samuel French facilitates the licensing of material that keeps performing arts humming. If you've ever been involved in a theatre production, chances are the script was purchased from Samuel French. Led by president and ceo Leon Embry and headquartered in NYC, the company also includes bustling performing arts bookstores in London, England, Hollywood and Studio City, California. Boasting the most comprehensive catalog of theatrical works in the world, Samuel French is also the leader in its field for theatre-related, film and television publications, offering just about any imaginable volume on these subjects.

Under the leadership of Jonathan Bank, The Mint Theater Company has become a leader in producing worthwhile plays from the past that have been lost or forgotten and, in the process, has brought a new vitality to these works.

Securing its unique place in the crowded theatrical landscape of New York, The Mint has given theatre scholars the priceless opportunity to come into contact with historically significant work that they've studied on the page but never experienced on the stage. Theatregoers have the opportunity to see plays that would otherwise be unavailable to them. Important plays with valuable lessons to teach -- plays that have been discarded or ignored -- are now read, studied, performed, discussed, written about, and enjoyed. Recent productions include Jules Romains' 1923 comedy Doctor Knock or the Triumph of Medicine and A. A. Milne's whimsical 1921 comedy Mr. Pim Passes. Harley Granville-Baker's The Voysey Inheritance finally enjoyed its New York debut 95 years after it was written thanks to The Mint. For its efforts, the company has received Special Obie and Drama Desk Awards, recognizing the importance of its mission and success in fulfilling it.

In addition to producing lost plays, The Mint also publishes its work and distribute its books, free of charge to libraries, theaters and universities. The catalog of books now includes an anthology of seven plays entitled Worthy but Neglected: Plays of the Mint Theater plus three volumes in the "Reclaimed" series, each featuring the work of a single author: Harley Granville Barker, St. John Hankin, and Arthur Schnitzler.

Founded in 2003, The Theatre Museum is New York State's first and only chartered, non-profit museum dedicated to the history of theatre. It is a museum-at-large -- presenting exhibitions in collaboration with other cultural institutions. The Museum's programs include community outreach, such as teaching children how to write, direct and stage live theatre, and the annual Theatre Museum Awards for Excellence Ceremony. Its primary mission is to preserve, protect and perpetuate the legacy of theatre through innovative programming.