LAST week, I was pleased to draw attention to the “Mimi” award, a new prize meant to “nurture” play wrights that comes with a whopping cash prize of $200,000 (to be presented by Ed McMahon at a ceremony in New York on Oct. 21).
I applauded the Mimi’s advisory board for its bold decision to give the money to impoverished playwright Tony Kushner, who wrote “Angels in America.”
He told his house organ, the New York Times, that he was going to bank the $200,000 “to buy me time to work on plays.”
(A longer version of “Homebody/Kabul,” I hope; at just four hours, the original left me wanting more.)
My column touched a nerve, prompting a blizzard of e-mails, nearly all of them, I regret to say, critical of the Mimi.
Bretton B. Holmes wrote: “At the risk of sounding like a bitter, daunted, unknown playwright, I have to tell you, it is quite ridiculous that the Mimi went to Tony Kushner and not someone like me.
“Keep up the pressure on these playwrights that need ‘nurturing’ yet who are already famous. Maybe one of these days I’ll get lucky and you’ll be writing a story about me.”
(Not until you have a pool, Bretton.)
Wall Street Journal critic Terry Teachout accused the Mimi of “longing to dance with the stars,” and suggested the board of trustees “presumably think they’ll be buying themselves a much higher profile in the world of art.”
Clearly, Mimi’s gotten off on the wrong foot and could use some friendly advice, which I am happy to supply.
I want Mimi to succeed because I truly believe that what the theater needs more than anything else right now is another award. We’ve got new plays galore but not nearly enough awards. And any art form without plenty of award ceremonies (where you can eat and drink for free) is in serious trouble.
If Mimi stumbles, how will writers such as Neil Simon, David Mamet, Aaron Sorkin and Mel Brooks survive?
I looked closely at Mimi’s press release and found an area of concern: If an advisory board is going to give someone $200,000, that board probably shouldn’t be made up of the recipient’s friends.
Announcing this year’s award, advisory board member Oskar Eustis, the director of the Public Theater, said: “Tony Kushner stands at the very pinnacle of American playwriting by virtue of his talent, the scope of his ambition, and his commitment to making theater that speaks to the heart of our national discourse.”
Now, I take Oskar at his blather, but he and Tony have been friends for years. You can see them blathering together in “Wrestling With Angels,” a documentary about Kushner.
The folks behind the Mimi might want to check in with other theater awards to see how they do things.
Take the Kleban, named after “A Chorus Line” lyricist Ed Kleban, who died in 1987. His estate gives out $300,000 a year to emerging lyricists.
“You are not eligible if you’ve had more than two years of your work cumulatively on Broadway,” says Maury Yeston, head of the foundation.
“Before he hit it big, Ed really struggled, and he created an award for people who have not yet succeeded.”
Yeston adds: “We don’t seek publicity. What we do is throw a little party for the winners and their friends and families, and the winners play a song or two from something they’re writing.”
The Mimi, which hoped to “make a splash!” by enriching Kushner, is throwing a big party later this month at Rockefeller Center.
I’ve already RSVP’d.
If they can give Tony $200,000, think of how much they’ll spend on hors d’oeuvres.