Cinco Paul to receive Rodgers New Horizons Award at Carnegie Hall
Cinco Paul will receive The ASCAP Foundation Richard Rodgers New Horizons Award on Monday, Oct. 5, at Carnegie Hall in New York City. The presentation will take place during the concert programme “A Celebration of Rodgers & Hart,” as reported by Billboard.
The award honours ASCAP composers and lyricists who make a significant Broadway or off-Broadway debut. It is funded by the Estate of Mary Rodgers and the Rodgers Family Foundation. ASCAP confirmed the honour in a press release on Oct. 2, according to ASCAP.
Paul is recognised for Schmigadoon! on stage. He wrote the book, music and lyrics for the adaptation. In musical theatre, the book covers dialogue and story structure, while music and lyrics cover the songs. The production is running on Broadway at the Nederlander Theater.
On June 7, Schmigadoon! won the Tony Award for Best Musical. Paul won two further Tonys, for Best Original Score and Best Book of a Musical. The Tonys, voted by theatre professionals, are Broadway’s main annual awards.
The stage show grew out of television. Paul co-created Apple TV’s Schmigadoon! and served as showrunner, the lead writer-producer in charge of a series, across both seasons. He wrote all of the songs. He later won a Primetime Emmy for writing the song “Corn Puddin’” and received a Grammy nomination for Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media for Schmigadoon!.
Before that, Paul worked in film with writing partner Ken Daurio. Together they co-wrote family films that made over $4 billion worldwide. The credits include the first three Despicable Me films, Horton Hears a Who, The Lorax and The Secret Life of Pets.
What makes this stand out is the route. Few writers move from animation to TV comedy songs to a Broadway book and score. Past recipients of the New Horizons Award include Michael R. Jackson, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, and David Hein and Irene Sankoff.
