Photographer: Ben Strothmann

The York Theater Company, endorsed by the Noël Coward Foundation, recently awarded this prestigious prize to Douglas J. Cohen. The award recognizes the work of a "triple threat" theatre writer who, like Coward, writes book, lyrics and music for a new musical. Cohen is honored for his musical The Gig, which is based on a screenplay by Frank D. Gilroy. This year's judges included Nancy Ford, John Kander, Richard Maltby, Mel Marvin, Brian Murray, Susan H. Schulman, and Tony Walton.

Douglas was awarded two Richard Rodgers Development Grants from the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters for No Way To Treat A Lady and The Gig, presented by Stephen Sondheim and was a 1998 Gilman & Gonzalez-Falla Musical Theater Award recipient.

The Gig, based on Frank D. Gilroy's movie, was produced at the Goodspeed Opera House, the American Stage Company, and the Sacramento Music Circus, Boston's Lyric Stage, and Theatre Baden-Baden (Germany) following successful workshops at the Manhattan Theatre Club and the O'Neill Music Theatre Center. The Gig recently received a concert at the York Theatre Company which was later recorded by Jay Records.

Originally produced Off-Broadway at the Hudson Guild in 1987, No Way To Treat A Lady (based on the William Goldman novel) was revived Off-Broadway at the York Theatre in 1996 for and extended run where it was nominated for two Outer Critics Circle Awards including best revival and was recorded by Varese Sarabande Records. In 1998, it was produced in London at the Arts Theatre starring Tony winner Donna McKechnie and Olivier winner Joanna Riding. Other regional productions include the Coconut Grove Playhouse, Signature Theatre, Barrington Stage, Boston's Lyric Stage, and productions in Italy and Germany.

Children's Letters To God, a musical based on the bestseller, had three readings at the York Theatre and premiered at Cape Cod's Harwich Junior Theatre and Dallas' Lyric Theatre this past December, with Douglas serving as lyricist and earning a Drama Desk nomination as Outstanding Lyricist. (Composer David Evan's and bookwriter Stuart Hample are his collaborators.)