The Off Broadway Alliance, the organization of Off Broadway producers, theaters, general managers, press agents and marketing firms, has announced the nominees for the 2^nd Annual Off Broadway Alliance Awards, honoring commercial and not-for-profit productions that opened Off Broadway during the 2011-2012 season.

Awards will be presented in six competitive categories: Best New Musical, Best New Play, Best Musical Revival, Best Play Revival, Best Special Event and Best Family Show.  Winners in all categories will be selected by secret ballot by members of the awards committee of the Off Broadway Alliance.

In addition to the competitive awards, five Off Broadway Alliance Legend of Off Broadway Awards are being presented for sustained achievement in the world of Off Broadway.  The 2012 Legend of Off Broadway recipients are Edward Albee, Gerard Alessandrini, Kathleen Chalfant, Catherine Russell and Mary Louise Wilson.

Two 2012 Off Broadway Alliance Hall of Fame Awards are being presented posthumously to Howard Kissel and Theodore Mann.

Winners will be announced on May 22.  A complete list of nominees follows.

Nominees and Honorary Award Recipients

2012 Off Broadway Alliance Awards

Best New Musical

• The Blue Flower
• Once
• Queen of the Mist
• SILENCE! The Musical
• Sistas: The Musical

Best New Play

• 4000 Miles
• Milk Like Sugar
• Sons of the Prophet
• Tribes
• Unnatural Acts

Best Musical Revival

• Carrie
• Ionescopade
• Rent

Best Play Revival

• Beyond the Horizon
• The Cherry Orchard
• Cymbeline
• The Lady From Dubuque
• A Moon for the Misbegotten

Best Special Event

• The Devil’s Music: The Life and Blues of Bessie Smith
• An Iliad
• The Patsy
• Traces
• Voca People

Best Family Show

• Alice in Wonderland
• The Amazing Max and the Box of Interesting Things
• The Berenstain Bears LIVE!
• The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
• The Ohmies
• Stinkykids, The Musical

Legend of Off Broadway Honorees

Edward Albee
Gerard Alessandrini
Kathleen Chalfant
Catherine Russell
Mary Louise Wilson

Off Broadway Alliance Hall of Fame Honorees

Howard Kissel
Theodore Mann

The Off Broadway Alliance is a non-profit corporation organized by theater professionals dedicated to supporting, promoting and encouraging the production of Off Broadway theater and to making live theater increasingly accessible to new and diverse audiences.  The Alliance holds monthly meetings and membership is open to everyone in the Off Broadway theater community.

Among its initiatives, The Off Broadway Alliance founded and sponsors 20at20, the biannual event that lets theatergoers purchase $20 tickets to dozens of Off Broadway shows 20 minutes before curtain.  It produces a free Seminar Series focusing on the culture, business and history of Off Broadway featuring major players from the Off Broadway scene.  And the Alliance created the Off Broadway Economic Impact Report, which outlines Off Broadway’s over $500 million annual impact on the economy of the City of New York.

The Off Broadway Alliance, the organization of Off-Broadway producers, theaters, general managers, press agents and marketing firms, presented its inaugural Off Broadway Alliance Awards Ceremony June 21 at Sardi’s.

Honorees included Off Broadway Legends Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt, Julie Halston, Charles Busch, Everett Quinton and Blue Man Group.

Awards were given to: NEWSical as Best Musical, FREUD’S LAST SESSION as Best Play, HELLO AGAIN as Best Musical Revival, THE MERCHANT OF VENICE as Best Play Revival and SLEEP NO MORE as Best Unique Theatrical Experience.

In addition, Romulus Linney, Landford Wilson and Ellen Stewart were inducted into the Off Broadway Hall of Fame at the ceremony.

The Off Broadway Alliance was formed to promote and support Off Broadway theatre, encourage new producers, plan for the future of the industry and share information and ideas. OBA holds monthly meeting which are open to everyone in the Off Broadway community. For more information email info@offbroadwayalliance.com.

The Off Broadway Alliance, the organization of Off Broadway producers, theaters, general managers, press agents and marketing firms, has announced the winners of the 1st Annual Off Broadway Alliance Awards, honoring commercial and not-for-profit Off Broadway productions that opened during the 2010-2011 season.

2011 Off Broadway Alliance Awards Winners

Best New Musical
NEWSical the Musical: Full Spin Ahead

Best New Play
Freud’s Last Session

Best Unique Theatrical Experience
Sleep No More

Best Musical Revival
Hello Again

Best Play Revival
The Merchant of Venice
Public Theater

Audience Choice Award for Best Long-Running Show
Blue Man Group

Click here to view the complete list of the nominees and winners.

The Off Broadway Alliance, the organization of Off Broadway producers, theaters, general managers, press agents and marketing firms, has announced the nominees for the 1st Annual Off Broadway Alliance Awards, honoring commercial and not-for-profit productions that opened in an Off Broadway theater during the 2010-2011 season.

Awards will be presented in six competitive categories: Best New Musical, Best New Play, Best Theatrical Experience, Best Musical Revival, Best Play Revival and Best Long-Running Show.  Winners in all categories except Best Long-Running Show will be selected by secret ballot by members of the awards committee of the Off Broadway Alliance.

Winner of the Best Long-Running Show award will be selected by audience vote.  Click here to place your vote before 11:59pm on April 25, 2011.

In addition to the competitive awards, six Legend of Off Broadway Awards are being presented for sustained achievement in the world of Off Broadway.  The 2011 Legend of Off Broadway recipients are Blue Man Group, Charles Busch, Julie Halston, Tom Jones, Everett Quinton and Harvey Schmidt.

The 2011 Hall of Fame Awards are being presented posthumously to Romulus Linney, Ellen Stewart and Lanford Wilson.

Winners will be announced on April 28.  View the complete list of nominees.

The American economy was in recession, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average was yo-yo-ing in the 600s when Marjorie and Malcolm Gray found a new investment to offset a battering in the stock market. It was the spring of 1960, and after dropping by a neighbor’s home on Long Island to hear a couple of hopeful musicians play songs from their new Off Broadway musical, “The Fantasticks,” the Grays bought a stake in the show for $330.

The other day, 50 years later, Ms. Gray. now a widow, received her latest dividend from the musical, a $200 check in return for that stake. She has earned about $80,000 so far on the original $330 investment, or an average of $1,600 a year since 1960. And she will continue to receive money until 2020 because of the investment terms for the original production, which ran a record-setting 42 years at the Sullivan Street Playhouse in Greenwich Village.

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