The Fred Ebb Foundation, established in 2005 under the terms of Fred Ebb’s will, has twin purposes. First, it bestows an annual award to an aspiring musical theatre songwriter or songwriting team that has not yet achieved significant commercial success. Second, it makes an annual contribution to Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. Since its first contribution in 2005, the Ebb Foundation has donated more than ten million dollars to Broadway Cares.
On the project kickoff call, I spoke with one of Fred’s good friends. I wanted to get beyond just the “what does the website need to do” questions, and deeper into the personality of the late Fred Ebb. The old website was lifeless and plain–which was the exact opposite of what Fred was like. He was devoted to family & friends, had a distinct sense of humor, and could answer virtually any musical theatre trivia question. So I took design inspiration from the theatre stage and its lighting and kept the layout interesting and off-kilter.
