Congratulations to producer Liz Oliver, winner of the sixth Annual Robert Whitehead Award for "outstanding new theatre producer." The award will be presented Feb. 24 at NYC's Tavern on the Green restaurant. Producer Gerald Schoenfeld (of the Shubert Organization) will present the award.

Established in 1993 by the Commercial Theatre Institute, The Robert Whitehead Award honors "outstanding achievement in commercial producing" by a CTI graduate -- CTI being the nation's only formal training program for theatre producers.

Robert Whitehead, for whom the award is named, has been a producer for five decades. Previous Whitehead Award winners are Benjamin Mordecai (1993), Dennis Grimaldi (1994), Kevin McCollum (1995), Randall L. Wreghitt (1996) and Marc Routh (1997).

Oliver was a producer of the 1996 Broadway revival of Buried Child and then went on to the current, Tony-winning Last Night of Ballyhoo. She's also working on the upcoming Quentin Tarantino and Marisa Tomei revival of Wait Until Dark.

Other programs by CTI include hands-on training by industry leaders drawn from the ranks of producers, general managers, union reps, lawyers and press agents. Those interested in CTI's programs might want to check out their next seminar series, held April 24-26 in New York City. For information call (212) 586-1109. Founded in 1981, CTI is a joint project of Theatre Development Fund and the League of American Theatres & Producers.

-- By David Lefkowitz