Congratulations also go to BMI-affiliated comedian/actor Billy Crystal, whose autobiographical one-man show "700 Sundays" earned a statuette for Best Special Theatrical Event, and to BMI writer David Mamet for "Glengarry Glen Ross," which won for Best Revival of a Play.

The Tony Awards, which honor the best of Broadway, are presented by Tony Award Productions, a joint venture of the League of American Theatres and Producers and the American Theatre Wing.

Mike Nichols	Billy Crystal	David Mamet

]]> 2005-06-05T19:00:00-05:00 http://www.bmi.com/news/entry/234435 Artists, Crystal, Billy, Mamet, David, Nichols, Mike, Yazbek, David, Musical Styles, Musical Theatre 59th Annual Tony Awards, announced May 10 from the heart of New York's Theatre District. Both are up for the coveted Best Musical Tony.

Eric Idle	Larry Hochman	Tim Curry

A spoof on the zany 1975 film Monty Python and the Holy Grail, "Spamalot" picked up a total of 14 nominations, including two for BMI composer and show creator Eric Idle (PRS) for Best Book and Best Original Score. He shares the score mention with co-writer John Du Prez (PRS). Also adding to the King Arthur tale's share were BMI composers Larry Hochman, nominated for Best Orchestrations, and Tim Curry, who took home a nomination for Best Performance by a Leading Actor. The show's director, Mike Nichols, also a BMI writer, earned a nod for Best Direction; he picked up an additional nomination for Best Special Theatrical Event as producer of "Whoopi: The 20th Anniversary Show."

Mike Nichols	David Yazbek

"Dirty Rotten Scoundrels," based on the popular 1988 movie of the same name, earned 11 Tony nominations, with BMI composers David Yazbek and Jeffrey Lane receiving nods for Best Original Score and Best Book, respectively. The show stars John Lithgow and Norbert Leo Butz as Lawrence Jameson and Freddy Benson, two con artists working the French Rivera trying to swindle money from rich women.

In addition, BMI-affiliated comedian/actor Billy Crystal's solo show, "700 Sundays," earned its producer a Best Special Theatrical Event nomination, while BMI writer David Mamet's "Glengarry Glen Ross" received a nomination for Best Revival of a Play.

The 59th Annual Tony Awards will take place on Sunday, June 5 at Radio City Music Hall and will be broadcast live on CBS starting at 8:00pm.

Shapiro's score to Girlfight is a contemporary one, employing a small ensemble consisting of guitar, piano and percussion. The main theme is a piano solo, and it allows Shapiro to branch the concert world experiences into film. When asked about the challenges of working both in film and classical, Shapiro explained, "It is enormously difficult. I feel like I'm neglecting either one world or the other. I love both, and have made a concerted attempt to keep my feet in both worlds."

Shapiro also explained how working in the film world has allowed him to push himself as a composer: "I grew up with pop and classical music, and loved both of them. When I began writing concert music, I tended to wear a different hat than I would wear when writing film or popular music - and it's only recently that I've begun to try to allow that part of my palate back into my concert writing."

Shapiro recently completed the David Mamet comedy State and Main, and will be scoring his next film, Heist, with Gene Hackman and Danny DeVito. He is currently working on Wet Hot American Summer, a comedy starring Janeane Garofalo and Molly Shannon.