New Dramatists Luncheon, Honoring Taymor, to Feature Lion King and Spider-Man Performances | Playbill

Related Articles
News New Dramatists Luncheon, Honoring Taymor, to Feature Lion King and Spider-Man Performances New Dramatists will honor Tony Award-winning director-designer Julie Taymor during its 61st Annual Spring Benefit Luncheon May 18.

//assets.playbill.com/editorial/85a54c054ee3a09d8788fe91332ba63a-jultaymor200.jpg
Julie Taymor Photo by Aubrey Reuben

The nation's oldest non-profit workshop "dedicated to the development of new playwrights" will honor Taymor with its 2010 Lifetime Achievement Award at a ceremony at the New York Marriott Marquis.

Peter Gelb, general manager of The Metropolitan Opera, will present Taymor with her award.

Entertainment will include performances from Taymor's The Lion King and the upcoming Spider-Man, Turn Off the Dark, featuring Reeve Carney as Peter Parker. There will also be a screening of clips from Taymor's theatre, opera and film projects.

Tributes to Taymor will be presented by Glen Berger, Taymor's collaborator for the book of Spider-Man; Elliot Goldenthal, Taymor's longtime collaborator; and Thomas Schumacher, president and producer, Disney Theatrical Productions.

"Julie Taymor is all artist," said Todd London, artistic director, New Dramatists, in a previous statement. "She's a director, designer, writer, film-maker, visual visionary. She does what our writers do — creates wonder out of nothing — and she does it majestically, with rampant imagination. We're honored to honor her, because her example of unbounded creativity sets a standard for all of us. Her art is something to marvel at. It's something to aspire to." The annual luncheon salutes an artist who has made an "outstanding artistic contribution to the American theatre." Past honorees include Horton Foote, Edward Albee, Harvey Fierstein, Chita Rivera, Meryl Streep, Angela Lansbury, Julie Andrews, Glenn Close, Stephen Sondheim, Arthur Miller, Neil Simon, Jerry Herman, Terrence McNally, Barbara Cook, John Kander & Fred Ebb, August Wilson, George C. Wolfe and Gwen Verdon.

After Julie Taymor won the MacArthur "genius" award for her innovative work in theatre in 1991, she received two 1998 Tony Awards for her work on The Lion King, one for direction (the first woman to receive that honor) and one for costume design. Taymor's other Broadway credits include the Tony Award-nominated Lincoln Center Theater production of Juan Darien and the Drama Desk-nominated The Green Bird. Taymor's film directing credits include "Titus," "Frida" and "Across the Universe." Taymor will be represented on Broadway next season with Spider-Man, Turn Off the Dark.

New York Marriott Marquis is located in New York at 1535 Broadway. Tickets, priced at $300, are available by calling (212) 757-6960.

*

Founded in 1949 by Michaela O'Harra in association with Richard Rodgers, Oscar Hammerstein II, Moss Hart, Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse, New Dramatists has fostered the works of Paula Vogel, August Wilson, William Inge, Paddy Chayefsky, John Guare, John Patrick Shanley, Emily Mann and Suzan-Lori Parks. New Dramatists was the recipient of a special Tony Award for Excellence in Theatre in 2001, and its playwrights have garnered 15 Pulitzers, 24 Tonys, 68 Obies, 17 Drama Desk Awards, 4 MacArthur Fellowships, and 12 Susan Smith Blackburn Awards.

 
RELATED:
Today’s Most Popular News:
 X

Blocking belongs
on the stage,
not on websites.

Our website is made possible by
displaying online advertisements to our visitors.

Please consider supporting us by
whitelisting playbill.com with your ad blocker.
Thank you!