The 2007 Kurt Weill Prize for outstanding scholarship on twentieth-century musical theater, carrying a cash award of $2500, has been awarded to bruce d. mcclung, Associate Professor of Musicology at the University of Cincinnati – College Conservatory of Music, for his book, Lady in the Dark: Biography of a Musical (Oxford University Press, 2006). In his production history incorporating scripts, correspondence, clippings from Gertrude Lawrence’s scrapbooks, and other artifacts, mcclung traces a revolutionary and controversial work through its Broadway run, national tour, and revivals. Lady in the Dark: Biography of a Musical also received the George Freedley Award, 2006 Special Jury Prize, from the Theatre Library Association.

In addition to the book prize, a $500 Kurt Weill Book Prize for outstanding article has been awarded to Elizabeth B. Crist, Assistant Professor of Music at Princeton University, for “Mutual Responses in the Midst of an Era: Aaron Copland’s The Tender Land and Leonard Bernstein’s Candide” (The Journal of Musicology, Volume 23, Issue 4, fall 2006). In her article Crist compares a pair of stage works critical of McCarthyism, with special focus on two crucial musical ensembles, and examines the works’ broader political implications.

The Kurt Weill Prize is awarded biennially for distinguished scholarship on twentieth-century musical theater, and the 2007 prize covered books and articles first published in the calendar years 2005 and 2006. The 2007 four-member selection panel consisted of representatives from the Modern Language Association, the American Musicological Society, the American Society for Theatre Research, and the Kurt Weill Foundation for Music.