The 2026 Kleban Prize for Musical Theatre

By: Darryl Reilly

“For several years I’ve been a finalist. I felt like Sheila instead of Cassie, only this room would get that!” joked the beaming Eric Price who was this year’s lyricist recipient of the Kleban Prize for Musical Theatre. During his witty acceptance speech Mr. Price recounted that after graduate school he got a job in the office of legendary director and producer Hal Prince. “It was the most exhilarating apprenticeship imaginable.” Price recently became a father with his wife; his joy was palpable “That makes winning this time so special.”

Presto Change-o is the title of Price’s musical in progress created with composer Joel Waggoner about a magician and his female assistant. The alluring Talia Suskauer beautifully sang the bouncy song “Ta-Da!” from it with Josh Kight on piano.

Price has also written a musical based on playwright Richard Greenberg’s The Violet Hour with composer Will Reynolds. Santino Fontana majestically sang the soaring title song accompanied by Mr. Reynolds on piano.

“Cleveland…Ohio?” misheard librettist recipient Phillip Christin Smith for Kleban when he got his congratulatory phone call while at his shift as a cater waiter at the venue where his husband was the manager. The charming Mr. Smith’s droll and passionate speech detailed the path of his impending musical Some Charter School Presents The Medea–a rap tragedy which began during his time as a Hunter College student. Smith also wrote the lyrics and co-wrote the music with Ryan Blihovd.

Smith, Miriam Muriithi, and Vaibu Mohan performed two catchy hip-hop-style numbers, “The Nurse’s Lament” and “Medea Comes Outside” from this cheeky adaptation of the Greek classic set at a high school. The vibrant accompanying trio consisted of Blihovde on drums, Greg Paladino on keyboard, and Mohan Ritsema on bass.

Edward Kleban (1939-1987) was the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning lyricist of A Chorus Line. He made provisions in his will establishing the Kleban Foundation and the Kleban Prize for Musical Theatre which are administered by New Dramatists; its first recipients were chosen in 1991. Smith and Price were the 36th annual dual citations to an emerging lyricist and librettist “of extraordinary promise” who each receive $100,000 in two annual installments.

This year there were approximately 800 applicants for those designations and the festive 60-minute announcement ceremony was held on February 2, 2026, at the Manhattan headquarters of the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP). Several theatrical luminaries spoke during the event.

“I start with a show’s writers two or three years before the show happens, that is crucial for me” said premier Broadway director and choreographer Susan Stroman during her remarks. “This is a very special event.”

“ASCAP was built on the backs of Jerome Kern, Irving Berlin, and Stephen Sondheim, we’re proud to welcome the next generation” said that organization’s Senior Vice President Seth Saltzman.

“This award reminds us of when someone said yes to us instead of no. This is a moment when some lives will be changed” said board member and lyricist and director Richard Maltby, Jr.

“A Chorus Line changed everything. Edward Kleban struggled and often couldn’t pay his rent before. He founded this award to give promising musical theater artists the freedom and the time to write. He was a great man. It is a thrill and an honor to be here every year” emotionally remarked board member and composer and lyricist Maury Yeston.

The 2026 Kleban Prize for Musical Theatre (February 2, 2026)
New Dramatists
ASCAP, 250 West 57th Street, in Manhattan
For information, visit www.newdramatists.org/kleban-prize-musical-theatre