Andy Sandberg, Artistic Director and CEO of the Hermitage Artist Retreat, announced today that Imani Uzuri, the 2022 recipient of the $35,000 Hermitage Major Theater Award (HMTA), will have a workshop presentation of her newly commissioned musical this month at New York Theatre Workshop on Monday, November 18. Imani Uzuri is an award-winning composer, vocalist, librettist, improviser, and lyricist, and the Hermitage is collaborating with NYTW to present this concert reading of Uzuri’s new musical Lighthouse of the Singing Birds to an invitation-only audience. Her original commission is coming to fruition less than two years from the date the recipient learned of her recognition. The Hermitage Major Theater Award was established in 2021 to recognize a playwright or theater artist with a substantial commission to create a new, original, and impactful piece of theater. This national, jury-selected award, established by the Hermitage with generous support from Flora Major and the Kutya Major Foundation, offers one of the largest nonprofit theater commissions in the country. Uzuri receives a cash prize of $35,000, as well as a residency at the Hermitage (Sarasota County, Florida), plus developmental and financial support for these upcoming developmental readings in New York. The prize is intended to bridge the connection between the Hermitage (Sarasota County, Florida), where the commission is born, and other leading arts and culture centers around the world, including New York, London, Chicago, and notable arts capitals where great theater is frequently developed and presented. HMTA winners are nominated and selected by a jury of recognized arts leaders in the field of theater. The 2022 Award Committee that selected Imani Uzuri includes two-time Tony Award-winning composer Jeanine Tesori, Tony Award-nominated producer, educator, artistic director Christopher Burney, and New York Theatre Workshop Artistic Director Patricia McGregor.