FRED EBB AWARD

Robert L. Freedman and Steven Lutvak have won the 2nd Annual Fred Ebb Award for songwriting, presented by the Fred Ebb Foundation and the Roundabout Theatre Company at the American Airlines Theatre on Broadway, November 28, 2006. Four songs from KIND HEARTS AND CORONETS performed by Melissa Errico, Nancy Anderson, Malcolm Gets and other Broadway performers.

KLEBAN AWARD

Robert L. Freedman and Steven Lutvak were awarded the 2006 Kleban Award for lyric writing at a reception at ASCAP in New York on May 23, 2006. The Kleban Foundation gives an award annually to a librettist and a lyricist in honor of the late Edward Kleban ("A Chorus Line"). This year, the team of Freedman and Lutvak split the $100,000 prize with lyricist Allison Hubbard. At the reception, Steve and Will Chase performed the song "Poison In My Pocket" from KIND HEARTS AND CORONETS.

Pictured at the ASCAP reception honoring the winners of the 2006 Kleban Award are, L. to R.: Allison Hubbard, Felicia Needleman, Laurence Holzman, Steven Lutvak, Robert L. Freedman, and ASCAP's Michael A. Kerker.

KIND HEARTS AND CORONETS

Robert L. Freedman and Steven Lutvak's new musical KIND HEARTS AND CORONETS was presented at a 3-week workshop at the Sundance Institute Theatre Lab in Utah, July 10-30, 2006. In the cast: Raul Esparza and Robert Petkoff (pictured), Nancy Anderson, Judith Blazer, Jordan Gelber, Roderick Hill, Judy Kuhn, Tregoney Shepherd and Price Waldman, under the direction of Ron Lagomarsino.

KIND HEARTS AND CORONETS had a staged reading at the Huntington Theatre in Boston on April 6, 2006. Douglas Sills (pictured below), Jonathan Hadley, Nancy Anderson, Jill Paice, Marilyn Caskey, Bill Gross, Price Waldman, and Tregoney Shepard starred.

KIND HEARTS AND CORONETS is based on the classic British film comedy from 1949 which stars Alec Guinness in multiple roles. Time magazine recently named it one of the 100 Greatest Films of all time. Read what Roger Ebert wrote about KIND HEARTS AND CORONETS.

Three one-hour presentations of excerpts from the show were held in New York City on October 1, 2004, with a cast including Nancy Anderson (Wonderful Town, Kiss Me Kate), Raul Esparza (Taboo, The Normal Heart, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang), Sean Allan Krill (Thoroughly Modern Millie), Rebecca Luker (The Sound of Music, The Music Man, Showboat), and James Warwick (An Ideal Husband, Noel and Gertie); and on January 18 and 19, 2005, with a cast including Ms. Anderson, Mr. Esparza, Melissa Errico (My Fair Lady, One Touch of Venus, High Society, Amour), Malcolm Gets (Caroline In The City, A New Brain, Amour), and John Horton (Noises Off, Kiss Me Kate, Amadeus).

See photos from the KIND HEARTS AND CORONETS presentations.

CAMPAIGN OF THE CENTURY







Robert L. Freedman and Steven Lutvak’s new musical, CAMPAIGN OF THE CENTURY, has won the 2006 California Musical Theatre Award from the Beverly Hills Theatre Guild. A staged reading of the show was held on June 4, 2006, in Beverly Hills. Featured in the cast were John Rubinstein, Josh Radnor and Jean Louisa Kelly (pictured), Kaitlin Hopkins, Stan Chandler, Corinne Kason, Michael Kostroff, Ron Orbach, Steve Vinovich and Tregoney Shepherd. Based on a book by Greg Mitchell, CAMPAIGN OF THE CENTURY centers on the comic chicanery, media manipulation, and outrageous shenanigans surrounding Upton Sinclair's race for Governor of California in 1934.

A staged reading of CAMPAIGN OF THE CENTURY was held on September 19, 2005, at 3:00 and 7:00 p.m., at Makor, 35 West 67th St., NYC, under the auspices of the New York Musical Theatre Festival. The cast featured Tony winner Michael Rupert as Upton Sinclair (pictured), with Sally Mayes, Evan Pappas, Stacie Morgain Lewis, Elsa Carmona, Michael DeVries, Sean Allan Krill, Ron Orbach, Tom Alan Robbins, and KT Sullivan. Steven Lutvak was the Musical Director, and Robert L. Freedman directed. See photos of the NYMF presentation.

A concert version of the show starring Michael Rupert was presented as the closing event of this year's Chicago Humanities Festival on November 14, 2004.  The cast included Rob Alton, Roger Anderson, Brian Herriott, Trace Hultgren, Glory Kissel, Frances Limoncelli, Susie McMonagle, Rachel Rockwell, Malcolm Rothman, Daniel Tatar and Tracy Warren. Robert directed, and Steven Lutvak was musical director. See photos of the Chicago Humanities Festival presentation.

Staged readings of CAMPAIGN OF THE CENTURY were previously held in December, 2003, and May, 2004, at American Musical Theatre of San Jose, with a cast that included Augie Amato, Elsa Carmona, David Curley, Richard Frederick, Angela Gunter, John Hickok, Corinne Kason, Dana Lewenthal, Meg MacKay, Craig Mason, Marsha Mercant, Timothy Meyers, Ren Reynolds, and Diana Torres-Koss. The readings were produced by Marc Jacobs, and directed by Robert L. Freedman. The musical director was Craig Bohmler.

AGE OF CONSENT
Robert is writing AGE OF CONSENT, a new film for Lifetime Television, based on the true story of Sandra “Beth” Geisel, an Albany high school teacher and mother of four who pleaded guilty to having sex with a 16-year-old student. The producer is Ira Pincus, for Blueprint Entertainment.

FULL CIRCLE FAMILY
Robert is writing FULL CIRCLE FAMILY, a new film for Lifetime Television, based on the true story of a Teenage Mom who gives her baby up for adoption, with a surprising twist. Judith A. Polone produces for Lions Gate Entertainment.

MURDER IN THE HAMPTONS
Robert wrote this true crime movie for Lifetime-TV, starring Poppy Montgomery. The premiere on July 11, 2005 received the highest rating of any movie on basic cable all year, and the second highest in three years.

William Inge House Residency
Robert L. Freedman and Steven Lutvak were invited to be Playwrights-In-Residence at the Willliam Inge House in Independence, Kansas, February 13-26, 2005.

Sundance Institute
Robert L. Freedman and Steven Lutvak were invited by the Sundance Institute to participate in their annual Playwrights Retreat at UCROSS in Wyoming, in February, 2004. Robert and Steve worked on their new musical CAMPAIGN OF THE CENTURY, and returned to UCROSS in August, 2004, and March, 2005, to work on their musical adaptation of the classic film comedy KIND HEARTS AND CORONETS.

KINDERGARTEN WARS
Robert has completed writing the Lifetime-TV comedy KINDERGARTEN WARS, produced by Danielle Von Zerneck and Mia Sara, and Von-Zerneck-Sertner Films. The film tells the story of an upwardly-mobile couple trying to get their child into the "right" Kindergarten.

FASTEN YOUR SEATBELTS
Robert has written the A&E drama FASTEN YOUR SEATBELTS, from a script by Alfred Uhry, about legendary film star Bette Davis, with Susan Sarandon attached to star, and Robert Allan Ackerman ("Life With Judy Garland") to direct. Producers are Greg Gugliotta and Stan Brooks.