FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE For More Information Contact: May 15, 2007 Irene Cho, [email protected] 435.658.3456 2007 TONY NOMINATIONS INCLUDE PLAYS DEVELOPED AT SUNDANCE INSTITUTE THEATRE LABS GREY GARDENS and SPRING AWAKENING Among Musicals and Actors Nominated for Awards Park City, UT– Two musicals supported by the Sundance Institute Theatre Program were nominated today for an impressive number of Tony Awards by the American Theatre Wing. SPRING AWAKENING, developed at the Sundance Institute Theatre Lab received eleven nominations, including Best Musical and Best Direction of a Play. Duncan Sheik (composer), Steven Sater (book & lyrics) and Michael Mayer (director) spent three weeks as Sundance Fellows in Sundance, Utah, developing the project in the summer of 2000. GREY GARDENS, developed at the 2005 Sundance Institute Theatre Lab at White Oak in northern Florida, received ten nominations including Best Musical and Best Choreography. Sundance Fellows for this musical include Scott Frankel (composer), Michael Korie (lyricist) Doug Wright (book) and Michael Greif (director). “Work selected for the Sundance Institute Theatre Labs defines what we call “independent theatre”, in the same way that the Sundance Film Festival and film programs herald the best of Indie film,” said Philip Himberg, Producing Artistic Director, Sundance Institute Theatre Program . “We look for work by artists with genuine vision, projects that takes risks, and that challenge traditional form. The fact that this kind of theatre can find and does find production – not only in regional theatres, but on Broadway – is a real testament to the broadening appeal of dynamic new work, as well as to new audiences hungry for imaginative and creative theatre.” Sundance Institute Theatre Program The Sundance Institute Theatre Program is a program of the Sundance Institute. Through its developmental activities at the SUNDANCE INSTITUTE THEATRE LAB, the SUNDANCE INSTITUTE PLAYWRIGHTS RETREAT AT UCROSS and the SUNDANCE INSTITUTE THEATRE LAB AT WHITE OAK, the Program identifies and assists emerging theatre artists, contributes to the creative growth of established artists, and encourages and supports the development of new work for the stage. Under the guidance of Producing Artistic Director Philip Himberg, over 85% of the work coming out of the Program’s labs has found professional production at theatres across the United States, Mexico and Europe. In addition to projects that have found success on Broadway, Sundance continues to feed the regional theatre landscape with projects such as Stew’s PASSING STRANGE, which opened recently at New York’s Public Theatre; Doug Wright’s I AM MY OWN WIFE; Adam Guettel and Craig Lucas’ THE LIGHT IN THE PIAZZA; Tanya Barfield’s BLUE DOOR, Moisés Kaufman’s THE LARAMIE PROJECT and Lisa Kron’s WELL. –more– 2007 TONY NOMINATIONS INCLUDES PLAYS DEVELOPED AT SUNDANCE INSTITUTE THEATRE LABS 05/15/07, page 2 of 2 The complete list of nominations for SPRING AWAKENING and GREY GARDENS follows: SPRING AWAKENING Best Musical Best Book of a Musical (Steven Sater) Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical (Jonathan Groff) Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical (John Gallagher Jr.) Best Director of a Musical (Michael Mayer) Best Lighting Design of a Musical (Kevin Adams) Best Costume Design of a Musical (Susan Hilferty) Best Scenic Design of a Musical (Christine Jones ) Best Original Score, Music and/or Lyrics, Written for the Theatre (Duncan Sheik, Music; Steven Sater, Lyrics) Best Orchestrations (Duncan Sheik) Best Choreography (Bill T. Jones) GREY GARDENS Best Musical Best Book of a Musical, Doug Wright Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical, Christine Ebersole Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical, Mary Louise Wilson Best Director of a Musical, Michael Grief Best Original Score, Music and/or Lyrics, Written for the Theatre (Scott Frankel, Music; Michael Korie, Lyrics) Best Lighting Design of a Musical (Peter Kaczorowski) Best Scenic Design of a Musical (Allen Moyer) Best Costume Design of a Musical (William Ivey Long) Best Orchestrations (Bruce Coughlin) # # # .