Beth Falcone and Kait Kerrigan Win Kleban Awards

Beth Falcone and Kait Kerrigan have picked up the 19th annual Kleban Awards as outstanding up-and-coming musical theater lyricist and librettist, respectively. Each award comes with a $100,000 cash prize, to be paid out over two years. The awards will be presented on June 1 in a private ceremony at BMI.

Falcone is best known as the composer-lyricist of Wanda’s World, while Kerrigan’s work includes The Unauthorized Autobiography of Samantha Brown, Henry & Mudge, and The Woman Upstairs.

This year’s judges were lyricist Sheldon Harnick, record producer Thomas Z. Shepard, and playwright Sherman Yellen.