The Kleban Foundation has announced the recipients of the 35th annual Kleban Prize for Musical Theatre. The 2025 Kleban Prize for the most promising musical theatre lyricist has been awarded to Benjamin Velez. The 2025 Kleban Prize for the most promising musical theatre librettist has been awarded to Madeline Myers. The Kleban Foundation will present the prizes on Mon Feb 3 at 5:00 PM in a private ceremony (by invitation only) hosted by ASCAP and BMI at ASCAP (250 W 57th St). Featuring musical performances from work by this year’s prize recipients, the event will be hosted by Richard Maltby, Jr and Maury Yeston. Since its inception, Kleban Prize winners have been selected by judging panels comprised of the theatre’s most respected artists and administrators. The trio of judges making the final determination this year were choreographer Raja Feather Kelly, designer Clint Ramos and producer Rachel Sussman. The Kleban Foundation was established in 1988 under the will of Edward L Kleban which made provisions for annual prizes, which in recent years have totaled $100,000 each, payable over two years, to be given to the most promising lyricist and librettist in American musical theatre. The application window for the 2026 Kleban Prize will open on March 17, 2025 and close at 5:00PM EST on May 15, 2025. Press contact: Brett Oberman/Keith Sherman & Associates (212/764-7900)...