It Ain't Nothin' But The Blues producer Anne Strickland Squadron (center) was awarded the Robert Whitehead Award for Outstanding Achievement in Commercial Theatre Producing Feb. 15. With her are producer Whitehead for whom the award is named (left) and founding executive director of CTI Frederic B. Vogel (right). The Whitehead award for "outstanding commercial producing" goes to a CTI graduate every year. CTI was founded in New York City in 1981 as the nation's only formal training program for commercial theatre producers, providing a 14-week seminar in which hopeful producers meet industry leaders in a lecture-discussion setting.

The Whitehead Award, named for longtime producer Robert Whitehead, who produced Master Class, has previously been given to Eric Krebs (Electra), Benjamin Mordecai (The Piano Lesson), Susan Quint Gallin (Other People's Money), Dennis Grimaldi (Annie Warbucks), Kevin McCollum (Rent), Randall L. Wreghitt (The Food Chain, Beauty Queen of Leenane), Marc Routh (The Mystery of Irma Vep) and Liz Oliver (Last Night of Ballyhoo).