Photos: Ariana DeBose, Nicholas Christopher, More Celebrate Stephen Schwartz at New Dramatists Spring Luncheon
The New Dramatists Annual Spring Luncheon, honoring award-winning
composer and lyricist Stephen Schwartz, was held May 26 in the
Broadway Ballroom at the New York Marriott Marquis. Check out photos from the star-studded event, featuring many of the creators and stars of the 2026 theatrical season as well as artists connected to Schwartz’s musicals, in the gallery below.
Attendees included Christopher Abbott (Death of a Salesman), playwright Stephen Adly-Guirgis (Dog Day Afternoon), lyricist Lynn Ahrens (Ragtime), Betsy Aidem (Liberation), composer Steve Bargonetti (Joe Turner’s Come and Gone), composer and lyricist Jim Barne (Two Strangers…), Shoshana Bean (The Lost Boys), Ali Louis Bourzgui (The Lost Boys), Kit Buchan (Two Strangers…), Aya Cash (Giant), Sara Chase (Schmigadoon!), Nicholas Christopher (Chess), Hannah Cruz (Chess), playwright Nilo Cruz (Anna in the Tropics), lyricist and book writer Gretchen Cryer (I’m Getting My Act Together and Taking It on the Road), producer Lowe Cunningham (Schmigadoon!), Jim Dale (Barnum), director Lear deBessonet (Ragtime), Ariana DeBose (The Baker’s Wife), Brandon J. Dirden (Waiting for Godot), Rachel Dratch (The Rocky Horror Show), composer Stephen Flaherty (Ragtime), Susannah Flood (Liberation), Ana Gasteyer (Schmigadoon!), director and choreographer Christopher Gattelli (Schmigadoon!), Frankie Grande (Titanique), lyricist Amanda Green (Hands on Hardbody), Joshua Henry (Ragtime), book writer Chris Hoch (The Lost Boys), book writer Winnie Holzman (Wicked), book writer David Hornsby (The Lost Boys), playwright Samuel D. Hunter (Little Bear Ridge Road), Qween Jean (Cats: The Jellicle Ball), producer Tom Kirdahy (Ragtime), Judy Kuhn (Fun Home), Conner Leavitt (11 to Midnight), Whitney Leavitt (Chicago), director Zhailon Levingston (Cats: The Jellicle Ball), Caissie Levy (Ragtime), Nichelle Lewis (Ragtime), playwright David Lindsay-Abaire (The Balusters), director Jamie Lloyd (Waiting for Godot), choreographer Arturo Lyons (Cats: The Jellicle Ball), director Joe Mantello (Death of a Salesman), Michael McCorrie Rose (The Queen of Versailles), Marla Mindelle (Titanique), “Tempress” Chasity Moore (Cats:The Jellicle Ball), playwright Lynn Nottage (Ruined), songwriter Benj Pasek (Dear Evan Hansen), songwriter Justin Paul (Dear Evan Hansen), Bryce Pinkham (Chess), Christiani Pitts (Two Strangers…), director Bill Rauch (Cats: The Jellicle Ball), playwright Mark Rosenblatt (Giant), Ben Levi Ross (Ragtime), producer Daryl Roth (Kinky Boots), Constantine Rousouli (Titanique), playwright Robert Schenkkan (All The Way), Anna Devere Smith (Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992), producer David Stone (Wicked), Richard Thomas (The Balusters), Sam Tutty (Two Strangers…), Aaron Tveit (Chess), Brandon Uranowitz (Ragtime), playwright Paula Vogel (How I Learned to Drive), book writer John Weidman (Assassins), director Whitney White (Liberation), choreographer Omari Wiles (Cats: The Jellicle Ball), and Layton Williams (Titanique).
READ: Stephen Schwartz Never Planned to Come Back to Broadway. Then a ‘Twister of Fate’ Descended
“For
five decades, composer and lyricist Stephen Schwartz has been building
an impressive body of work defined by adventure and artistic
experimentation,” said New Dramatists Artistic Director Emily Morse in an earlier statement.
“Like the generations of playwrights supported by New Dramatists, Mr.
Schwartz is unafraid to reinvent himself, and with the phenomenon of Wicked, Mr.
Schwartz’s magic is solidified in our cultural imagination. This May,
New Dramatists looks forward to honoring him at our Spring Luncheon; for
his influential legacy, for the work he will continue to make, and for
mentoring and nurturing the next generation of musical theatre makers.”
Schwartz wrote the music and lyrics for the current Broadway hit Wicked and has also contributed music and/or lyrics to Godspell, Pippin, The Magic Show, The Baker’s Wife, Working (which he also adapted and directed), Rags, Children of Eden, and The Queen of Versailles. For film, in addition to the two-part adaptation of Wicked, he wrote the songs for The Prince of Egypt and collaborated with Alan Menken on the songs for Disney’s Pocahontas, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and Enchanted. Schwartz has been inducted into the Theatre Hall of Fame and the
Songwriters Hall of Fame and has been given a star on the Hollywood Walk
of Fame. Awards include three Academy Awards, four Grammy Awards, and a Special Tony Award.
Founded in 1949, New Dramatists is rooted in the vision of writers
banding together to develop their work, share resources, and expand
their role in the contemporary American theatre. Alumni include Robert
Anderson, Annie Baker,
Kia Corthron, Nilo Cruz, Lonne Elder III, Horton Foote, Richard Foreman,
Maria Irene Fornes, Melissa James Gibson, David Greenspan, John Guare,
Quiara Alegría Hudes, William Inge, David Lindsay-Abaire, Eduardo
Machado, Taylor Mac, Donald Margulies, Joe Masteroff, Tarrell Alvin
McCraney, Lynn Nottage, Suzan-Lori Parks, Sarah Ruhl, John Patrick
Shanley, Mac Wellman, August Wilson, Lanford Wilson, Paula Vogel, Doug
Wright, Chay Yew, and more.
Visit NewDramatists.org.
