The Jonathan Larson Grants provide unconditional financial support to early-career musical theatre composers, lyricists and librettists. The programme is administered by the American Theatre Wing and focuses on artistic merit and commitment to musical theatre rather than financing a specific production.
Deadline: 4 September 2026.
About the Jonathan Larson Grant
The grant supports the next generation of musical theatre creators with unrestricted funding that can be used according to their professional and artistic needs.
Eligible creative applicants include:
- Musical theatre composers
- Lyricists
- Librettists
- Collaborative musical theatre teams
- Early-career artists developing their professional practice
The funding is intended to support the artist’s broader artistic development and career, rather than a single project or production.
What Can the Grant Support?
Grant support can be used to help artists:
- Continue developing their musical theatre practice
- Advance their artistic careers
- Develop new work
- Strengthen their professional capacity
- Continue writing and composing
- Explore new creative ideas
- Work toward future fully producible stage works
Eligibility Requirements
Applicants must:
- Be an individual composer, lyricist, librettist or eligible collaborative team
- Be eligible to work in the United States
- Reside or work in the United States at least part-time
- Work primarily in musical theatre
- Demonstrate commitment to developing their artistic career
Collaborators can apply together, including composer-lyricist, composer-librettist, and composer-lyricist-librettist teams.
What Type of Work Is Eligible?
Submitted work must be predominantly:
- In English
- Focused on musical theatre
- Representative of the applicant’s strongest artistic work
Works primarily belonging to opera, symphonic music, film scoring, or other non-musical-theatre genres are not eligible.
Early-Career Focus
The programme is specifically intended for artists in the early stages of their musical theatre careers.
Applicants should demonstrate:
- Artistic development
- Serious commitment to musical theatre
- Existing creative work
- Potential for continued growth
- Dedication to developing new stage work
Selection emphasizes artistic merit and dedication to the craft, rather than simply the commercial success of previous work.
Who Cannot Apply?
The programme does not support:
- Previous Jonathan Larson Grant recipients
- Producing organizations
- Applicants who cannot legally work in the United States
- Applicants who do not reside or work in the United States at least part-time
- Works primarily outside musical theatre
- Applications that fail to meet the programme requirements
Application Requirements
Applicants must submit their materials through the online application portal.
The required materials include:
Artistic statement — explains the applicant’s artistic practice, goals and commitment to musical theatre.
Creative curriculum vitae — highlights relevant professional and artistic experience.
Comprehensive work sample list — identifies the applicant’s musical theatre work and submitted samples.
Work Samples
Applicants may submit materials such as:
- Audio recordings
- Lyric sheets
- Libretto excerpts
- Other appropriate musical theatre materials
The strongest samples should demonstrate the applicant’s artistic voice, technical ability, originality, and potential for continued development.
Letters of support are optional and may come from theatre artists, educators, or established theatre professionals.
How to Apply
- Confirm your U.S. work and residency eligibility.
- Decide whether to apply individually or as a collaborative team.
- Prepare your artistic statement.
- Prepare your creative CV.
- Compile your work sample list.
- Select your strongest musical theatre samples.
- Prepare documentation of adaptation rights where applicable.
- Add optional support letters if they strengthen your application.
- Review all application requirements.
- Submit your application online.
Each applicant or team may submit only one application during a grant cycle.
Important Deadline
Application deadline: 4 September 2026
Before submitting, applicants should ensure they meet the U.S. work and residency requirements, that their work is primarily musical theatre, that their samples represent their strongest work, and that all required application materials are complete.
The programme offers early-career musical theatre creators flexible support to develop their artistic voice, create new work, take creative risks and build sustainable careers.
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