NEW YORK CITY: The American Theatre Wing has announced the recipients of the 2021 Jonathan Larson Grants for musical theatre writers. This year’s recipients are Grace McLean (music and lyrics), Zeniba Now (lyrics and book), Kit Mee Kuen Yan (lyrics and book), and two writing teams: Shayok Misha Chowdhury and Laura Grill Jaye (music, lyrics, and book), and the Lazours (music, lyrics, and book).

Named in honor of the award-winning Rent and Tick, Tick…Boom! composer/lyricist/playwright, the $10,000 unrestricted grants, which also come with residencies, concerts, and recording opportunities, are awarded to early-career composers, lyricists, librettists, and writing teams to further their careers and support their creative endeavors.

“Each year, the Jonathan Larson Grants are a reminder of the hundreds of tenacious theatremakers waiting for the right opportunity to be seen and recognized,” said American Theatre Wing president and CEO Heather Hitchens in a statement. “By saying ‘yes’ to artists such as these five deserving recipients, we honor Jonathan’s legacy by supporting what’s new and next in musical theatre.”

Members of the selection panel included 2016 Larson Grant recipient César Alvarez, talent agent Di Glazer, producer Mara Isaacs, and director/writer/musician Whitney White.

There will be a ceremony featuring performances to celebrate the 2020 and 2021 recipients (since the 2020 presentation was postponed due to the pandemic), to be announced at a later date. Last year’s recipients include the Bengsons (music and lyrics), Anna K. Jacobs (music and lyrics), Rona Siddiqui (music and lyrics) and Benjamin Velez (music and lyrics).