The award nominations were announced at the National Theatre. “Heidi” was nominated for Outstanding Resident Production, Theatre for Young Audiences, as well as for Outstanding Lead Actress, Resident Musical (Tara Giordano, who played the role of Heidi.) The awards will be announced on Monday April 5th, at the Warner Theatre.

– Nelson Pressley, The Washington Post – Full Review

– Jayne Blanchard, The Washington Times – Full Review

– Bob Anthony, All Arts Review 4 You – Full Review

– David Cannon, Maryland Sentinel – Full Review

– Joel Markowitz, DC Theatre Scene – Full Review

“Heidi” is a first — time collaboration between playwright Martha King De Silva and playwright/ lyricist/composer Joan Cushing. De Silva and Cushing have both been commissioned for new work by Imagination Stage previously; De Silva, most recently for “Junebug and the Reverend,” which had its world premiere at Imagination Stage in 2007, and Cushing for Junie B. Jones & a Little Monkey Business!; Miss Nelson Has a Field Day!, and Petite Rouge, all of which premiered at Imagination Stage and have enjoyed subsequent productions throughout the world.

The idea for the collaboration came from Janet Stanford, the Artistic Director of Imagination Stage, who envisioned that De Silva’s and Cushing’s talents would be an excellent complement to each other. For the team, “Heidi” is a story about the transformative power of a child’s love set against the magical and equally transformative landscape of the Swiss Alps.

The opportunity to work with one another has been a creative stretch for both artists who are each very accustomed to working individually. "Fortunately," says, De Silva, "we like one another and we like the Heidi story, which was a great way to begin. The collaboration has enabled us both to do what we excel at — I tend to be a linear thinker who throws the story "on the wheel" very quickly and then revises constantly. Joan tends to think in a more spontaneous way. She injects the magic and wonderful musical moments, all with a very keen sense of what will be entertaining for a child. Any trepidation we might have had at the outset of this project quickly evaporated when we started playing with the outline a year ago.”

Audiences will immediately recognize the well-loved characters of Heidi, her grandfather, Peter, and Clara and will be introduced to some new ones as well, including a Greek chorus of town gossips and a quartet of singing goats.

Cushing’s plays for young audiences have been produced at theatres across the U.S, including: Seattle Children’s Theatre, Childsplay, Dallas Children’s Theatre, Orlando Shakespeare Festival, Children’s Theatre of Charlotte, Mill Mountain Theatre, Barter Theatre, First Stage Milwaukee, Nashville Children’s Theatre, Walnut Street Theatre, Stage One Louisville, Oregon Children’s Theatre, Manhattan Children's Theatre, California Theatre Center, and Omaha Theatre Co. TYA Magazine has called her the "the most produced playwright in children's theatre."