LONDON and NEW YORK CITY: The finalists for the 48th annual Susan Smith Blackburn Prize have been announced. They are Barbara Bergin (Ireland) for Dublin Gothic, Hannah Doran (U.K./Ireland) for Meat Kings! (Inc.) of Brooklyn Heights, Amy Jephta (South Africa) for A Good House, Frances Poet (U.K.) for Small Acts of Love, Ro Reddick (U.S.) for Cold War Choir Practice, Jasmine Sharma (U.S.) for Pigeonhole, Jen Silverman (U.S.) for Regressions, DeLanna Studi (Cherokee Nation) for “I” is for Invisible (marking the first time a Native writer has been named as a finalist for the prize in its history), Else Went (U.S.) for Initiative, and Bess Wohl (U.S.) for Liberation. The winner will be announced next year. For nearly 50 years, the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize has recognized visionary women+ playwrights whose voices have defined and redefined contemporary theatre.
NEW YORK CITY: The 2025 Kurt Weill Book Prize of $5,000 has been awarded to The Shadow of the Empress: Fairy-Tale Opera and the End of the Habsburg Monarchy by Larry Wolff, Silver Professor of History at New York University. Published by Stanford University Press, it was the unanimous top choice. Wolff’s work brings new perspectives to the context and creation of the well-known opera Die Frau ohne Schatten, composed by Richard Strauss to a libretto by Hugo von Hofmannsthal. The three-member jury noted his “extraordinary narrative skill, which will appeal to an academic readership as well as one far beyond.”
They also awarded special recognition to Masi Asare, associate professor of theatre and performance studies at Northwestern University and a Tony-nominated songwriter and dramatist, for Blues Mamas & Broadway Belters: Black Women, Voice, and the Musical Stage, published by Duke University Press. Judges cited its “pioneering approach” to a “convincing demonstration of vocal theory through the history of many Broadway singers.”
For the article prize, the three-member panel awarded two equal prizes, each carrying an award of $2,000: “Ligeti’s Unfinished Alice in Wonderland,” by Houston Grand Opera audience education and communications manager Joseph Cadagin (published in Perspectives of New Music), and University of Oregon associate professor of music theory Drew Nobile’s “Sondheim’s Dissonant Tonality” (published in Here for the Hearing: Analyzing the Music in Musical Theater, edited by Michael Buchler and Gregory J. Decker).
Awarded biennially by the Kurt Weill Foundation for Music, the Kurt Weill Prizes have recognized distinguished scholarship in music theatre since 1900, including opera and dance.
INDEPENDENCE, KAN.: Qui Nguyen has been named the William Inge Theatre Festival’s 2026 Playwright Honoree. The Emmy-winning writer, filmmaker, and playwright will be presented with the William Inge Distinguished Achievement in the American Theatre Award at the festival, which runs April 23-25, 2026 in Independence, Kansas. The official theatre festival of Kansas, produced by Independence Community College, will celebrate Nguyen’s career and achievements, alongside performances, workshops, readings of new plays, and special events honoring the legacy of William Inge and the artists who continue to shape American theatre.
Nguyen’s career has been defined by originality, cultural impact, and fearless storytelling. One of the most influential voices in contemporary American theatre, he is known for his vibrant blend of heartfelt narratives, pop-culture flair, and genre-bending theatrical style. A co-founder of the groundbreaking “geek theatre” company Vampire Cowboys, Nguyen has written numerous acclaimed plays including Vietgone, Poor Yella Rednecks, Bike Wreck, and celebrated Vampire Cowboys productions such as She Kills Monsters, which was honored with a 2024 Kennedy Center College Theatre Festival Gold Medallion Award—as well as Revenge Song, Soul Samurai, The Inexplicable Redemption of Agent G, Alice in Slasherland, Fight Girl Battle World, and Living Dead in Denmark.
The Inge Festival is named for the Pulitzer- and Oscar-winning dramatist William Inge (1913-1973), a native of Independence, a small town in southeast Kansas. Since its founding in 1981, the Inge Festival has welcomed to Independence Community College scores of accomplished writers, including Arthur Miller, Stephen Sondheim, Wendy Wasserstein, Lynn Nottage, and many others.
PHILADELPHIA: The Pew Center for Arts and Heritage has announced $8.6 million in new funding to support Philadelphia arts organizations. Arden Theatre Company, the Wilma Theater, and Philadelphia Theatre Company (PTC) will each receive $360,000 Creative Project Grants for new shows. The grant will fund Arden’s Their Eyes Were Watching God, an adaptation of Zora Neale Hurston’s 1937 novel by James Ijames; the Wilma’s Animal Farm Project, a multimedia docutheatre work devised by Justin Jain and Eva Steinmetz in response to George Orwell’s allegorical novel; and PTC’s La Guagua 47: An American Musical, a bilingual musical by Alba Martínez, directed by Laurie Woolery, that explores belonging, migration, and searching for home. Additionally, EgoPo Classic Theater has received a $66,660 Evolving Futures Grant for strategic planning. Individual artist Pew fellowships include Bearded Ladies Cabaret founder and director Rose Jarboe and costume designer Rebecca Kanach.
NEW YORK CITY: Theatre Producers of Color (TPOC) has announced its 2026 class of 25 emerging producers who will participate in workshops, mentorship, and training in commercial producing. They are Alana Raquel Bowers, Amanda Velez, Andrew Otchere, Anil Singh, Charlotte San Juan, Emma Clark, Hershey Suri, Ian Joseph Avila, Jason Aguirre, Kareem M. Lucas, Kriss Jackson-Harper, Kristian Arnell, Lihi Dor, Lour Yasin, marcus d. harvey, Mark Marasol, Melle Powers, Michiho Shimasaki, Nakeisha Daniel, Nasir Ellis, Noxolo Selepe, Ray Archie, Sue-Tanya Lee, Yiqing (Lana) Zhang, and Youri Kim. TPOC aims to empower the next generation of BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, or people of color) producers with education, training, and mentorship, aiming to diversify Broadway and break down barriers in a traditionally underrepresented field by expanding access to producing roles and championing diverse stories.
BOCA RATON, FLA.: The 48th Carbonell Awards, honoring South Florida theatre, has announced its 2024-25 recipients. In a ceremony on Nov. 17 at Florida Atlantic University’s University Theatre in Boca Raton, Florida, GableStage and Slow Burn Theatre Company tied as top winners, with four wins each (including best play for GableStage’s production of Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’s Appropriate). Maltz Jupiter Theatre won three awards for its production of Once, including best musical. Arca Images, Theatre Lab, and Zoetic Stage won two awards each. Arca Images was recognized for Nilo Cruz’s bilingual play Tres Veces Cruz (Three Times Cruz), with wins for its leading actress, Andrea Ferro, and its costume design by Gema Valdés. Theatre Lab’s The Last Yiddish Speaker won for outstanding new work. Zoetic Stage’s wins included Stuart Meltzer for outstanding direction of a play on The Pillowman.
Special citations included the Bill von Maurer Award for Theatrical Excellence, which honors a company that exemplifies excellence for the totality of its programming, awarded to GableStage. At the ceremony, the Carbonell Awards announced a new Special Award starting in 2026: the Christine Dolen Award for Outstanding Debut, named after the late theatre critic for the Miami Herald and Carbonell Judge Emerita. A complete list of recipients is here.
