It's music to the ears of theatre songwriters: You've just won a commission. Five emerging writers will be given money toward creating new musicals for Signature Theatre in Arlington, VA, the troupe announced June 19.

Hello, diva lovers. I'd like to dedicate today's column to one of the most gifted comedic actresses of her time, Madeline Kahn, who lost her battle with ovarian cancer last week. Kahn, who received a Tony Award for her riotous portrayal of Dr. Gorgeous Teitelbaum in Wendy Wasserstein's The Sisters Rosensweig, was equally at home on the stage or on screen, earning Tony nominations for her work in In the Boom Boom Room, On the Twentieth Century and Born Yesterday while meriting Academy Award nominations for such screen roles as "Blazing Saddles" and "Paper Moon." Though difficult to choose from her eclectic array of characters, I think my favorite Kahn performance was in the aforementioned "Paper Moon" as the good-bone-structured Trixie Delight, opposite the father-and-daughter team of Ryan and Tatum O'Neill. The operatically-trained performer had the ability to make you laugh with a simple inflection of the voice, and she could also move you in both song and the spoken word. This unique, multi-talented actress will be much missed. In lieu of flowers, Kahn's family asks that donations be made to the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund (One Penn Plaza, Suite 1610, New York, NY 10001).

Hello, diva lovers. I'd like to dedicate today's column to one of the most gifted comedic actresses of her time, Madeline Kahn, who lost her battle with ovarian cancer last week. Kahn, who received a Tony Award for her riotous portrayal of Dr. Gorgeous Teitelbaum in Wendy Wasserstein's The Sisters Rosensweig, was equally at home on the stage or on screen, earning Tony nominations for her work in In the Boom Boom Room, On the Twentieth Century and Born Yesterday while meriting Academy Award nominations for such screen roles as "Blazing Saddles" and "Paper Moon." Though difficult to choose from her eclectic array of characters, I think my favorite Kahn performance was in the aforementioned "Paper Moon" as the good-bone-structured Trixie Delight, opposite the father-and-daughter team of Ryan and Tatum O'Neill. The operatically-trained performer had the ability to make you laugh with a simple inflection of the voice, and she could also move you in both song and the spoken word. This unique, multi-talented actress will be much missed. In lieu of flowers, Kahn's family asks that donations be made to the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund (One Penn Plaza, Suite 1610, New York, NY 10001).

Jayne Houdyshell, a 2012 Tony Award nominee for her performance in Follies, fills out Playbill.com's questionnaire of random facts, backstage trivia and pop-culture tidbits.

Jayne Houdyshell, a 2012 Tony Award nominee for her performance in Follies, fills out Playbill.com's questionnaire of random facts, backstage trivia and pop-culture tidbits.