Theatre Program Alumni Triumph During Awards Season

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Theatre Program Alumni Triumph During Awards Season: Gentleman's Guide, Appropriate, and more

Liesl Tommy and Branden Jacob-Jenkins at the 2012 Theatre Lab. Photo by Fred Hayes © Sundance Institute

Nate von Zumwalt, Editorial Manager
Tuesday, June 17th, 2014

Last week, the 68th annual Tony Awards marked the unofficial coda to theater awards season with a triumphant evening for Robert Freedman and Steven Lutvak’s musical, A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder. But often the zenith of a project’s creative life tends to eclipse its own fascinating journey, like Gentleman’s voyage since participating at the 2006 Sundance Institute Theatre Lab. That raucous black comedy, along with a handful of other award winners below, each at some stage participated in the Theatre Program’s three-week play development retreat designed to support the creation of new work by playwrights, directors, composers and librettists. And while the mission to produce new work invariably trumps any desire for award recognition, the below artists and projects nonetheless warrant acknowledgment.

Most recently, Branden Jacobs-Jenkins work-shopped his Obie Award winner Appropriate – a self-described family drama with a winding, surprise-filled storyline – at the 2012 Theatre Lab. That same year, Lisa Kron and Jeanine Tesori brought their musical adaptation of the acclaimed graphic novel by Alison Bechdel, Fun Home, to the intensive retreat. Below, check out all of the Theatre Program-supported award winners along with some shots from their time at the Lab. Congrats to our alumni!

Tony Awards

A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder Robert Freedman and Steven Lutvak

Best Direction of a Musical / Darko Tresnjak
Best Book of a Musical / Robert L. Freedman
Best Musical
Best Costume Design of a Musical / Linda Cho

Obie Awards

Appropriate by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins

Best New American Play
Best Performance / Johanna Day
Best Direction / Liesl Tommy

Fun Home by Lisa Kron and Jeanine Tesori

Best Performance / Sydney Lucas
Best New Musical

Drama League Awards

A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder by Robert Freedman and Steven Lutvak

Distinguished Production of a Musical

Drama Desk Awards

A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder by Robert Freedman and Steven Lutvak

Outstanding Musical
Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical / Lauren Worsham
Outstanding Director of a Musical / Darko Tresnjak
Outstanding Lyrics / Robert L. Freedman and Steven Lutvak
Outstanding Book of a Musical/Robert L. Freedman
Outstanding Production Design / Aaron Rhyne

The Glass Menagerie

Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play / Celia Keenan-Bolger

Post by Sundance Film Festival.