Composer Davis and lyricist-book writer Collins will receive the $10,000 honor in a private March 27 ceremony that will feature performances from Southern Comfort. The musical traces the relationship of two transgender friends who live openly in rural Georgia.

The Larson grants recognize the work of new theatre writers whose goals match those of the late Rent author, who aimed to infuse musical theatre with a "contemporary, joyful, urban vitality." The American Theatre Wing administers the grants.

Tony Award winners Mark Hollmann (Urinetown) and Robert Lopez (The Book of Mormon, Avenue Q) selected Davis and Collins as the 2012 recipients.

Previous Larson Grant recipients include Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey (Next to Normal), Chad Beguelin and Matthew Sklar (The Wedding Singer), John Bucchino (A Catered Affair), Laurence O’Keefe (Bat Boy: The Musical) and Michael Korie (Grey Gardens).