During the years when he was supporting himself waiting on tables in SoHo, Jonathan Larson received several grants and awards, mostly modest, to further his creative work. One of them supported a workshop tryout of the show that would become the hit musical "Rent."
On Monday night, the day before what would have been Larson's 37th birthday, and nine days after the first anniversary of his death, a $10,000 grant bearing his name was presented by his father, Allan Larson, to the 52nd Street Project, a theater program for disadvantaged youngsters from the Clinton area in New York City. It was the first official grant given by the Jonathan Larson Performing Arts Foundation."Jonathan could have used an award like this one himself," his sister, Julie Larson McCollum, said during the private dinner that preceded the award ceremony at O'Neals', a restaurant near Lincoln Center. "It would have made a huge difference in his life."
Larson cared deeply about nurturing American theater, she said, and his family and friends set up the foundation to ensure his "continued presence" as a supporter of the performing arts.
The particulars of the foundation are not final. An executive secretary has yet to be hired. Grant categories and standards of eligibility have yet to be determined.
"I have to confess we are ill-prepared to be receiving applications," said Todd Robinson, a screenwriter and former college roommate of Larson who is acting as vice president of the foundation.
Once a board of directors has been assembled, the foundation will invite applications from playwrights, composers, directors and nonprofit theater companies. Awards will be selected by a committee of theater professionals.
The foundation hopes to be fully operating by Larson's next birthday anniversary, but the organizers wanted to announce an award in time for this year's. The 52nd Street Project was their choice.
The restaurant, closed to the public, was turned over to a gathering of some 230 people that included Larson's family and friends as well as the cast of "Rent" and show business figures like Betty Comden and Adolph Green and Molly Ringwald.
The guests also heard some of the songs that are to be part of a March 3 benefit for the foundation called "Today 4 U: The Unsung Music of Jonathan Larson" at the Nederlander Theater on West 41st Street, where "Rent" is now playing.
With Tim Weil, the music director of the hit show, officiating from the keyboards, Diane Fratantoni, who recently appeared in the Broadway revival of "She Loves Me," sang Larson's "Hosing the Furniture." The song, from his show "Sitting on the Edge of the Future," is the fractured fantasy of a 1930s housewife dreaming about an easy-to-clean space-age house.
Timothy Britten Parker, another friend of the composer, sang "All for Now," a melancholic ballad. Roger Bart, an actor and singer, performed "LCD Readout," a wistfully lyrical song from Larson's futuristic show "Superbia."
Ringwald, a friend of Larson's, sang a song of farewell, "Destination Sky," from a score he wrote for "Away We Go!," a children's show produced by public television and now available on video.
Finally, a home video was shown of Larson performing from his 1989 autobiographical one-man show, "Tick, Tick . . . Boom!," a performance that reduced a table of tearful cast members from "Rent" into a tangle of consoling arms.
In presenting the award, Allan Larson praised the 52nd Street Project for providing opportunities "for kids from impossible economic circumstances" to be creative and to gain literacy and self-esteem. The project has presented more than 600 plays in Off Broadway theaters that donate the space; many of the works are written by the young participants, who range in age from 8 to 18. The program, he said, is now being replicated in 10 cities around the country.
Accepting the award were Willie Reale, the founder and artistic director of the 52nd Street Project, and Carol Ochs, its executive director. Thanks to the $10,000 award, Reale said, "10 new children this autumn will take a course in playwriting, feel good about themselves, and that will all be on Jonathan."
The Larson legacy continues, Reale said. "Among the many souls Jonathan touched, we will add 10 small ones. One for each finger."