Royalties from the estate of late Tony-winning Hairspray co-librettist Mark O'Donnell, who died in 2012 at the age of 58, will be donated in perpetuity to The Actors Fund, the non-profit human services organization that assists members of the arts and entertainment industry.
Mr. O鈥橠onnell鈥檚 brother Stephen announced the news September 12.
O鈥橠onnell made his Broadway debut with Hairspray, co-writing the show鈥檚 book with the late Thomas Meehan. The musical features a score by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman.
The Actors Fund has also announced plans to launch The Mark O鈥橠onnell Prize, which will be given annually to emerging theatre artists who show talent and promise. The award comes with a $25,000 cash prize and is open to writers, composers, directors, and designers. Playwrights Horizons will co-administer the honor.
The inaugural recipient will be announced at a private October 25 ceremony at The Actors Fund Arts Center in Downtown Brooklyn, a state-of-the-art black box theatre and arts hub, which is being renamed The Mark O鈥橠onnell Theatre in his honor.
鈥淢y twin brother was a lovable oddball,鈥� said Steve O鈥橠onnell in a statement. 鈥淎 kindly, brilliant and massively talented artist who could be both silly and serious, hilarious and moving.鈥�
鈥淲e鈥檙e humbled by this very generous gift鈥攁 fitting tribute to Mark鈥檚 brilliant talent,鈥� added Brian Stokes Mitchell, chairman of The Actors Fund. 鈥淢ark鈥檚 legacy will help to fund not only ongoing programs for those in need, crisis or transition in performing arts, but also support a new generation of creative artists.鈥�
鈥淲e are excited to honor Mark O鈥橠onnell鈥檚 legacy and talent through this wonderful, generous award,鈥� said Tim Sanford, artistic director of Playwrights Horizons. 鈥淢ark was a brilliant, affable, and idiosyncratic writer who was deeply proud of his relationship with Playwrights Horizons. I鈥檓 sure he would be amazed and delighted to be held up as both a beacon of inspiration and a font of material support for other unusual, visionary theater artists whose work may fall off the grid of aesthetic normalcy. Uncategorizable theater makers like Mark and the artists his award will support are important, splendid examples of the mysterious ecology of voices that give our artistic community its humane texture.鈥�
