Twyla Tharp Honored at Kennedy Center

Matthew Neff | Dec 08, 2008 | 1

Twyla, looking thrilled, with the rest of the bunch /Getty Images

Twyla Tharp is one of six recipients of the Kennedy Center Honors. Twyla Tharp won a Tony Award for her choreography for Movin' Out and was Tony-nominated for her direction of that Billy Joel-scored production. Her other Broadway credits include the mega boring and ill-conceived The Times They Are A-Changin', Singin' in the Rain, The Catherine Wheel and Push Comes to Shove. She is also, as we all know, an accomplished choreographer in the concert dance world.

Kennedy Center Chairman Stephen A. Schwarzman said, "Choreographer Twyla Tharp is an American original, whose work has indelibly enriched the vocabulary of modern dance, contemporary ballet, and the Broadway musical."

Other recipients of the 31st Annual Kennedy Center Honors include stage and screen star Morgan Freeman; singer George Jones; Academy Award-winning actress, director and singer Barbra Streisand and "The Who" musicians Pete Townshend and Roger Daltrey.

Barbra Streisand starred on Broadway in I Can Get It for You Wholesale and Funny Girl, earning Tony Award nominations for both performances. She received a 1970 Special Tony Award. The actress, composer and director has won two Academy Awards: for Best Actress in a Leading Role in "Funny Girl" and for Best Music, Original Song (with Paul Williams) for the "A Star Is Born" song "Evergreen." Her Grammy-winning recordings are numerous

Pete Townshend won a 1993 Tony Award for Best Score for The Who's Tommy (the Best Score prize was a tie between Tommy and Kander and Ebb's Kiss of the Spider Woman). Townshend was also Tony-nominated (with Des McAnuff) for Best Book of a Musical for Tommy.

Morgan Freeman, recently on Broadway in The Country Girl, earned a Tony nomination and a Drama Desk Award for his work in The Mighty Gents. He has also appeared on Broadway in Hello, Dolly!; Purlie; and The Gospel at Colonus and Off-Broadway in The Dozens. Freeman won the Academy Award for his performance in "Million Dollar Baby" and was nominated for his roles in "The Shawshank Redemption," "Driving Miss Daisy" and "Street Smart."

Last year's honorees included actor, comedian and playwright Steve Martin; pianist Leon Fleisher; singer Diana Ross; film director Martin Scorsese; and songwriter Brian Wilson.

The ceremony will be broadcast on CBS December 30 at 9:00 p.m. (ET/PT).

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Ballet, Jazz, Tap, Modern, Broadway, Teacher, Enthusiast, Performance, 2008, Barbra Streisand, Center, Honors, Kennedy, Morgan Freeman, Pete Townshend, Twlya Tharp (all tags)