Tony Award winner Debra Monk (the upcoming Curtains) presented the award on behalf of The Fred Ebb Foundation and the Roundabout Theatre Company. The ceremony and reception at The Penthouse Lounge at The American Airlines Theatre began at 4:30 PM.

The songwriting team — who just earned the 2006 Kleban Award for lyric writing — have collaborated on Kind Hearts and Coronets, which was developed at the Sundance Theater Lab and presented as part of the Huntington Theater Company's Breaking Ground Series in Boston. An all-star performance of three numbers from that current project were performed during the Nov. 28 evening. The duo also teamed on the 2006 California Musical Theatre Award winner Campaign of the Century.

The Fred Ebb Award — which includes a $50,000 prize — was established to "recognize excellence in musical theatre songwriting by a lyricist, composer, or songwriting team that has not yet achieved significant commercial success," according to a press announcement. The aim of the honor is to encourage and support new musical theatre works.

At left (from top): Award recipients Robert L. Freedman and Steven Lutvak; Dee Hoty, John Kander and Karen Ziemba; Melissa Errico and Nancy Anderson; Kaitlin Hopkins and Malcolm Gets; Tony and Gen Walton, and John McMartin; Jason Danieley and Marin Mazzie.

Below: Malcolm Gets, Jason Danieley, Robert L. Freedman, Marin Mazzie, Karen Ziemba, Melissa Errico, Steven Lutvak, Nancy Anderson and Price Waldman at the Second Annual Fred Ebb Award at the Penthouse Lounge at the American Airlines Theatre.

photos by Aubrey Reuben