Why This Award Matters

One Musical. One Meaningful Investment.

Creating a new musical takes time, collaboration, and resources. Writers need opportunities to hear their work, explore new ideas, and discover what comes next. An important step forward can depend on having the support to make that work possible.

The Peter J. Hengel Award for New Musical Theatre is our response to that need: a $25,000 investment in the continued development of an exceptional new musical.

Why We Focus Our Support

Rather than dividing our resources among many smaller grants, the National Foundation for Musical Theatre strives to make one significant investment each year. By concentrating our support, we aim to provide enough funding to help a creative team take a meaningful next step.

That step will look different for every musical. It might mean bringing artists together for a reading, testing revisions in a workshop, or exploring the work through a developmental production.

Helping Possibility Become Progress

The award recognizes artistic promise and supports the work still ahead. We look for a moment when our investment can help an extraordinary new musical move forward.

Our goal is simple: help artists turn possibility into progress—and keep making musicals happen.

The Foundation strives to present the award annually, subject to the availability of funds and Board approval.