Independent Arts News Reporting Hammerstein Museum to Honor Tony Award-Winning Songwriters Lynn Ahrens & Stephen Flaherty at Fourth Annual Gala
Reported on Friday, July 31, 2026
Pictured Above: Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty. Photo Credit: Contributed.
NEWRSOOM POST: DOYLESTOWN, PENNSYLVANIA
October 4 “Something Wonderful” Gala Featuring a Concert by Broadway Star Liz Callaway
Will Benefit Highland Farm Restoration and Educational Programs
Doylestown, PA – The nonprofit Oscar Hammerstein Museum & Theatre Education Center will honor Tony Award-winning songwriting team Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty with its prestigious Ockie Award at the fourth annual Something Wonderful Gala on Sunday, October 4, 2026, at The Inn at Barley Sheaf Farm in Holicong, Pennsylvania.
Fresh off their 2026 Tony Award win for Best Revival of a Musical for Ragtime, Ahrens and Flaherty will be recognized for embodying Oscar Hammerstein II’s enduring values of optimism, empathy, and mentorship. Named for Hammerstein’s childhood nickname, the Ockie Award honors individuals, organizations, or nonprofits whose educational, humanitarian, or philanthropic work reflects his remarkable legacy.
“The Tony Award-winning revival of Ragtime is a powerful reminder that musicals can inspire tolerance, optimism, and hope,” said Gregory Kammerer, Hammerstein Museum Board member. “Those values were central to Oscar Hammerstein’s work, and they shine through Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty’s songwriting, making them fitting recipients of this honor.”
The elegant evening will feature cocktails, a gourmet three-course dinner, live auction, and an intimate concert by Tony and Grammy Award nominee and Emmy Award winner Liz Callaway. Linda Leffingwell Paton serves as Gala Chair, with three-time Tony Award-winning director and choreographer Kathleen Marshall serving as Honorary Chair. Broadway performer Jenny Lee Stern will serve as Master of Ceremonies.
Proceeds from the gala will support the restoration of Highland Farm in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, Oscar Hammerstein II’s longtime home and creative epicenter, as well as the museum’s educational programs and general operating expenses.
The gala is presented with generous support from the Zazyczny Foundation and Café with Soul. Liz Callaway’s appearance is underwritten by Hammerstein Museum Board member Gregory Kammerer and his husband, Fred White.
Individual tickets are $500. Sponsorships and reserved tables, each offering a variety of benefits, are also available. For tickets and sponsorship information, visit https://www.hammersteinmuseum.org/2026gala. The Oscar Hammerstein Museum & Theatre Education Center is a registered nonprofit organization, and a portion of each ticket purchase is tax-deductible.
ABOUT THE HONOREES
LYNN AHRENS & STEPHEN FLAHERTY are among the most celebrated musical theatre writing teams of their generation. They received Tony, Drama Desk, and Outer Critics Circle Awards for Ragtime, which also earned the 2026 Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical. They were nominated for two Academy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards for the animated feature film Anastasia, which they later adapted into a Broadway musical that has since enjoyed acclaimed productions around the world.
Their Broadway collaborations include Once On This Island (2018 Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical), Seussical, Rocky, My Favorite Year, and Chita Rivera: The Dancer’s Life. Their Off-Broadway works include A Man of No Importance, Dessa Rose, The Glorious Ones, Lucky Stiff, Knoxville, and the forthcoming Little Dancer, which will premiere in London in 2027.
Individually, Lynn Ahrens is an Emmy Award winner and Lilly Award recipient whose work includes Schoolhouse Rock and A Christmas Carol for Madison Square Garden. Stephen Flaherty recently received the Richard Rodgers Award for Lifetime Achievement and has composed numerous acclaimed theatrical works.
Together, they co-founded the Dramatists Guild Fellows Program for Emerging Writers, which has mentored new playwrights and musical theatre writers since 2000. They were inducted into the Theater Hall of Fame in 2015.
ABOUT LIZ CALLAWAY
Tony and Grammy Award nominee and Emmy Award winner Liz Callaway made her Broadway debut in Stephen Sondheim’s Merrily We Roll Along before starring in Baby, Miss Saigon, The Look of Love, The Three Musketeers, and Cats. She received a Drama Desk Award nomination for The Spitfire Grill and has appeared in numerous acclaimed productions in New York and around the world.
Callaway performed the Academy Award-nominated song “Journey to the Past” from the animated feature Anastasia and has also provided the singing voice for Jasmine in two Aladdin sequels, among many other film and television credits. Her eight solo recordings include To Steve With Love: Liz Callaway Celebrates Sondheim, which earned a 2023 Grammy Award nomination. Her newest album, The Wizard and I: Liz Callaway Sings Stephen Schwartz, was released in 2026.
ABOUT JENNY LEE STERN
Bucks County native Jenny Lee Stern is a Broadway veteran whose credits include Rocky and A Christmas Story. She toured nationally as Mary Delgado in Jersey Boys after originating the role in the Chicago and Toronto productions.
She earned critical acclaim Off-Broadway in the Forbidden Broadway series and is a frequent performer at New York’s 54 Below and Green Room 42. Regionally, she is especially known for her acclaimed portrayal of Patsy Cline in Always…Patsy Cline. Her television credits include The Sopranos and The Mysteries of Laura.
