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- author: AgentDoubleOOP
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- Alan Menken
- Albert Hackett
- Alfred Uhry
- Amour (musical)
- Anne Tyler
- Annie (musical)
- Arthur Laurents
- August Wilson
- Bartlett Sher
- Ben Brantley
- Berlin
- Bernadette Peters
- Beth Henley
- Broadway theatre
- Casey Nicholaw
- Charles Fuller
- Christopher Renshaw
- Claudia Shear
- Cyndi Lauper
- David Henry Hwang
- David Mamet
- Des McAnuff
- Dirty Blonde (play)
- Donald L. Coburn
- Donald Margulies
- Drama Desk Award
- Earthly Possessions
- Edward Albee
- Edward Kleban
- Falsettos
- Frances Goodrich
- Frank Rich
- George Abbott
- George C. Wolfe
- Golden Child (play)
- Graphic design
- Harold Prince
- HBO
- Horton Foote
- Hugh Grant
- Hugh Wheeler
- Into the Woods
- James Kirkwood, Jr.
- James Lapine
- Jerry Colker
- Jerry Zaks
- Joe Mantello
- Jonathan Larson
- Judy Davis
- Julie Taymor
- L. Arthur Rose
- La Jolla Playhouse
- Lanford Wilson
- Larry Gelbart
- Libretto
- Life with Mikey
- Long Wharf Theatre
- Lortel Archives
- Mandy Patinkin
- Mansfield, Ohio
- Margaret Edson
- Mark Ruffalo
- Marsha Norman
- Martin Charnin
- Marvin Hamlisch
- Matthew Bourne
- Mia Farrow
- Michael Bennett
- Michael Blakemore
- Michael Cristofer
- Michael J. Fox
- Michel Legrand
- Mike Ockrent
- Neil Patrick Harris
- Neil Simon
- New York Times
- Nicholas Dante
- Nicholas Hytner
- Off-Broadway
- Olivier Award
- Passion (musical)
- Paula Vogel
- Peter Masterson
- Phyllis Newman
- Playwrights Horizons
- Public Theater
- Revival (play)
- Robert Schenkkan
- Rupert Holmes
- Sam Shepard
- Sarah Kernochan
- Scott Ellis
- Sondheim on Sondheim
- Stage director
- Stephen Daldry
- Stephen Dorff
- Stephen Sondheim
- Susan Sarandon
- Susan Stroman
- Table Settings
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Berlin
Berlin (
/bɜrˈlɪn/; German pronunciation: [bɛɐ̯ˈliːn] (
listen)) is the capital city of Germany and one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.5 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city and is the second most populous city proper and the eighth most populous urban area in the European Union. Located in northeastern Germany, it is the center of the Berlin-Brandenburg Metropolitan Region, which has 5.9 million residents from over 190 nations. Located in the European Plains, Berlin is influenced by a temperate seasonal climate. Around one third of the city's area is composed of forests, parks, gardens, rivers and lakes.
First documented in the 13th century, Berlin was the capital of the Kingdom of Prussia (1701–1918), the German Empire (1871–1918), the Weimar Republic (1919–1933) and the Third Reich (1933–1945).Berlin in the 1920s was the third largest municipality in the world. After World War II, the city became divided into East Berlin—the capital of East Germany—and West Berlin, a West German exclave surrounded by the Berlin Wall (1961–1989). Following German reunification in 1990, the city regained its status as the capital of Germany, hosting 147 foreign embassies.
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Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City. Along with London's West End theatre, Broadway theatre is widely considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English-speaking world.
The Broadway theatre district is a popular tourist attraction in New York. According to The Broadway League, Broadway shows sold approximately $1.081 billion worth of tickets in calendar year 2011, compared with $1.037 billion for 2010. Attendance in 2011 was 12.13 million.
New York did not have a significant theatre presence until about 1750, when actor-managers Walter Murray and Thomas Kean established a resident theatre company at the Theatre on Nassau Street, which held about 280 people. They presented Shakespeare plays and ballad operas such as The Beggar's Opera. In 1752, William Hallam sent a company of twelve actors from Britain to the colonies with his brother Lewis as their manager. They established a theatre in Williamsburg, Virginia and opened with The Merchant of Venice and The Anatomist. The company moved to New York in the summer of 1753, performing ballad operas and ballad-farces like Damon and Phillida. The Revolutionary War suspended theatre in New York, but thereafter theatre resumed in 1798, the year the 2,000-seat Park Theatre was built on Chatham Street (now called Park Row). The Bowery Theatre opened in 1826, followed by others. Blackface minstrel shows, a distinctly American form of entertainment, became popular in the 1830s, and especially so with the arrival of the Virginia Minstrels in the 1840s.
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La Jolla Playhouse
La Jolla Playhouse is a not-for-profit, professional theatre-in-residence on the campus of the University of California, San Diego.
La Jolla Playhouse was founded in 1947 by Gregory Peck, Dorothy McGuire, and Mel Ferrer. In 1983, it was revived under the leadership of Des McAnuff. Since then, the Playhouse's repertoire has included forty-four world premieres, twenty-four West Coast premieres, and seven American premieres, and has won more than three hundred honors, including the 1993 Tony Award as America's Outstanding Regional Theatre. It is supported, in part, by grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, the California Arts Council, the City of San Diego, and the County of San Diego. It was announced on April 10, 2007 that Christopher Ashley would succeed McAnuff as Artistic Director.
La Jolla Playhouse provides a number of educational opportunities for children, teens, and adults interested in theatre arts, both as performers and behind-the-scenes. In addition, the Performance Outreach Program brings professional productions to schools, libraries, and community centers throughout San Diego.
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Long Wharf Theatre
Long Wharf Theatre is a nonprofit institution in New Haven, Connecticut, a pioneer in the not-for-profit regional theatre movement, the originator of several prominent plays, and a venue where many internationally known actors have appeared.
Founded in 1965, the theatre has received numerous awards over the years, including a Tony Award for Best Regional Theatre and Pulitzer Prizes for several of its original plays. The theatre, currently led by Artistic Director Gordon Edelstein and Managing Director Joshua Borenstein, is committed to the creation of new works and the reexamination of classic plays.
As of 2009, the theatre had recently staged world premieres by Craig Lucas, Paula Vogel, Athol Fugard and Anna Deavere Smith, among others. In addition, some of the nation’s leading actors, including Sam Waterston, Brian Dennehy, Judith Ivey and Anna Deavere Smith, have performed on the theatre’s stages.
Long Wharf Theatre was founded by Jon Jory and Harlan Kleiman in 1965 when Arthur Miller's The Crucible opened for a two-week engagement. Named after the Long Wharf in New Haven Harbor, the theatre was built in a vacant warehouse in a food terminal. The main stage seats were borrowed from a defunct movie house. The budget for the first year was $294,000, when more than 30,000 tickets were sold.
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Playwrights Horizons
Playwrights Horizons is a not-for-profit Off-Broadway theater located in New York City dedicated to the support and development of contemporary American playwrights, composers, and lyricists, and to the production of their new work.
Under the leadership of Artistic Director Tim Sanford and Managing Director Leslie Marcus, Playwrights Horizons continues to encourage the new work of veteran writers while nurturing an emerging generation of theater artists. Writers are supported through every stage of their growth with a series of development programs: script and score evaluations, commissions, readings, musical theater workshops, Studio and Mainstage productions.
Playwrights Horizons was founded in 1971 at the Clark Center Y by Robert Moss, before moving to 42nd Street where it has been instrumental in the revitalization of Theater Row. The current building was formerly a burlesque.
André Bishop served as Artistic Director from 1981 to 1991, followed by Don Scardino who served through 1995.
Playwrights Horizons' auxiliary programs include the Playwrights Horizons Theater School, which is affiliated with NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, and Ticket Central, a central box office that supports the off-Broadway performing arts community.
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United States
The United States of America (commonly abbreviated to the United States, the U.S., the USA, America, and the States) is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its forty-eight contiguous states and Washington, D.C., the capital district, lie between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, bordered by Canada to the north and Mexico to the south. The state of Alaska is in the northwest of the continent, with Canada to the east and Russia to the west, across the Bering Strait. The state of Hawaii is an archipelago in the mid-Pacific. The country also possesses several territories in the Pacific and Caribbean.
At 3.79 million square miles (9.83 million km2) and with over 312 million people, the United States is the third or fourth largest country by total area, and the third largest by both land area and population. It is one of the world's most ethnically diverse and multicultural nations, the product of large-scale immigration from many countries. The U.S. economy is the world's largest national economy, with an estimated 2011 GDP of $15.1 trillion (22% of nominal global GDP and over 19% of global GDP at purchasing-power parity). Per capita income is the world's sixth-highest.
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West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English-speaking world. Seeing a West End show is a common tourist activity in London.
Total attendances first surpassed 12 million in 2002 and 13 million in 2007, setting a new record for the West End. Since the late 1990s there has been an increase in the number of famous screen actors on the London stage.
The Theatre in London flourished after the English Reformation. The first permanent public playhouse, known simply as The Theatre, was constructed in 1576 in Shoreditch by James Burbage. It was soon joined by The Curtain. Both are known to have been used by William Shakespeare's company. In 1599, the timber from The Theatre was moved to Southwark, where it was used in building the Globe Theatre in a new theatre district formed, beyond the controls of the City corporation. These theatres were closed in 1642 during the interregnum.
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Yale School of Drama
The Yale School of Drama is a graduate professional school of Yale University providing training in every discipline of the theatre: acting, design (set design, costume design, lighting design, projection design), directing, dramaturgy and dramatic criticism, playwriting, stage management, sound design, technical design and production, and theater management.
The school traces its roots to the Yale Dramatic Association, the second-oldest college theatre association in the country, founded in 1900. The "Dramat" produced the American premieres of Albert Camus's Caligula and Shakespeare's Troilus and Cressida, as well as original works by Cole Porter, Stephen Vincent Benet, and Thornton Wilder written when they were students. This lively dramatic tradition led to the funding, in 1924, by Yale benefactor Edward S. Harkness, to establish the Department of Drama in the School of Fine Arts, and for the construction of the University Theatre, designed by James Gamble Rogers. George Pierce Baker, a teacher of playwriting, was the first chairman of the department. The first Master of Fine Arts in drama was granted in 1931.
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Yale University
Yale University is an American private Ivy League research university located in New Haven, Connecticut. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States.
Incorporated as the "Collegiate School," the institution traces its roots to 17th-century clergymen who sought to establish a college to train clergy and political leaders for the colony. In 1718, the College was renamed "Yale College" to honor a gift from Elihu Yale, a governor of the British East India Company. In 1861, the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences became the first U.S. school to award the PhD. Yale became a founding member of the Association of American Universities in 1900. Yale College was transformed, beginning in the 1930s, through the establishment of residential colleges: 12 now exist and two more are planned. Yale employs over 1,100 faculty to teach and advise about 5,300 undergraduate and 6,100 graduate and professional students. Almost all tenured professors teach undergraduate courses, more than 2,000 of which are offered annually.
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Alan Menken
Alan Menken (born July 22, 1949) is a pianist and composer of American musical theatre and film.
Menken is best known for his scores for films produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios. His scores for The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and Pocahontas have each won him two Academy Awards. He also composed the scores for The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Hercules, Home on the Range, The Shaggy Dog, Enchanted, and most recently, Tangled. Menken has collaborated on several occasions with lyricists including Howard Ashman, Tim Rice, Glenn Slater, and Stephen Schwartz. With nineteen nominations and eight wins, Menken has won the third most Oscars of any person, after Walt Disney (twenty-two wins) and Alfred Newman (nine wins).
Menken was born in New York, NY to a Jewish family, the son of Judith and Norman Menken, a dentist. He developed an interest in music at an early age, studying piano and violin. He went to New Rochelle High School in New Rochelle, New York. He attended college as a pre-med student, but later changed his focus to music at NYU Steinhardt. After college, he attended the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theater Workshop. He performed frequently in local clubs and worked as a composer of jingles and songs and as an accompanist.
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Albert Hackett
Albert Maurice Hackett (February 16, 1900 – March 16, 1995) was an American dramatist and screenwriter most noted for his collaborations with his partner and wife Frances Goodrich.
Hackett was born to Maurice Hackett and actress Florence Hackett (née Hart) in New York City, New York where he attended Professional Children's School and started out as a child actor, appearing on stage and in films. His brother was the actor Raymond Hackett. Their stepfather was the early film actor Arthur V. Johnson who married their mother Florence circa 1910. His sister-in-law was Blanche Sweet who was Raymond's wife for a time.
Not long after marrying screenwriter, Frances Goodrich, the couple went to Hollywood in the late 1920s to write the screenplay for their stage success Up Pops the Devil for Paramount Pictures. In 1933 they signed a contract with MGM and remained with them until 1939. Among their earliest assignments was writing the screenplay for The Thin Man (1934). They were encouraged by the director W. S. Van Dyke to use the writing of Dashiell Hammett as a basis only, and to concentrate on providing witty exchanges for the principal characters, Nick and Nora Charles (played by William Powell and Myrna Loy). The resulting film was one of the major hits of the year, and the script, considered to show a modern relationship in a realistic manner for the first time, was considered to be groundbreaking. However this is only because it was written and released before the enactment of the Hollywood Production Code, which strictly censored movies from mid-1934 until the early 1960s (see Pre-Code). The other Nick and Nora films show a steep decline regarding the "groundbreaking maturity" of the Charles' marriage.
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Alfred Uhry
Alfred Fox Uhry (born December 3, 1936) is an American playwright, screenwriter, and member of the Fellowship of Southern Writers. He is one of very few writers to receive an Academy Award, Tony Award (2) and the Pulitzer Prize for dramatic writing.
Uhry was born in Atlanta, Georgia, the son of Ralph K., a furniture designer and artist, and Alene Fox, a social worker, married as Uhry. He was born into a Jewish family. Uhry graduated from Druid Hills High School in 1954 and subsequently graduated from Brown University where he wrote two original musicals with Brownbrokers. Druid Hills High School's Uhry Theater is named in honor of Uhry. During his first years in New York City, learning the craft of lyric-writing, Uhry received a stipend from Frank Loesser; after his eventual success, Uhry often praised Loesser's generosity and encouragement. Uhry is married to Joanna Kellogg. They have four daughters and live in New York.
Uhry's early work for the stage was as a lyricist and librettist for a number of commercially unsuccessful musicals, including America's Sweetheart and a revival of Little Johnny Jones starring Donny Osmond. His first collaboration with Robert Waldman was the disastrous 1968 musical Here's Where I Belong, which closed after one performance. They had considerably better success with The Robber Bridegroom, which was mounted on Broadway in both 1975 and 1976, enjoyed a year-long national tour, and garnered Uhry his first Tony nomination.
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Anne Tyler
Anne Tyler (born October 25, 1941) is a Pulitzer Prize-winning American novelist.
The eldest of four children, she was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Her father was a chemist and her mother a social worker. Her early childhood was spent in a succession of Quaker communities in the mountains of North Carolina and in Raleigh. She didn't attend a school until she was 11 and this unorthodox upbringing enabled her to view "the normal world with a certain amount of distance and surprise".
She graduated at 19 from Duke University, and completed graduate work in Russian studies at Columbia University in New York City. She worked as a librarian and bibliographer before moving to Maryland.
She is noteworthy among contemporary best-selling novelists, for she rarely grants face-to-face interviews or does book tours, nor does she make many other public appearances, although she has made herself available through email interviews.
Tyler's ninth novel, Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant, which she considers her best work, was a finalist for both the Pulitzer Prize and the PEN/Faulkner Award in 1983. Her tenth novel, The Accidental Tourist, was awarded the National Book Critics Circle Award in 1985, was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in 1986 and was made into a 1988 movie starring William Hurt and Geena Davis. Her 11th novel, Breathing Lessons, received the Pulitzer Prize in 1989. She has edited three anthologies: The Best American Short Stories 1983, Best of the South, and Best of the South: The Best of the Second Decade.
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Arthur Laurents
Arthur Laurents (July 14, 1917 – May 5, 2011) was an American playwright, stage director and screenwriter.
After writing scripts for radio shows after college and then training films for the U.S. Army during World War II, Laurents turned to writing for Broadway, producing a body of work that includes West Side Story (1957), Gypsy (1959), Hallelujah, Baby! (1967) and La Cage Aux Folles (1983), and directing some of his own shows and other Broadway productions.
His early film scripts include Rope (1948) for Alfred Hitchcock, followed by Anastasia (1956), Bonjour Tristesse (1958), The Way We Were (1973) and The Turning Point (1977).
Born Arthur Levine, Laurents was the son of a lawyer and a schoolteacher who gave up her career when she married. He was born and raised in the Flatbush section of Brooklyn, a borough of New York City, New York, the elder of two children, and attended Erasmus Hall High School. His sister Edith suffered from chorea as a child.
His paternal grandparents were Orthodox Jews, and his mother's parents, although born Jewish, were atheists. His mother kept a kosher home for her husband's sake, but was lax about attending synagogue and observing the Jewish holidays. His Bar Mitzvah marked the end of Laurents's religious education and the beginning of his rejection of all fundamentalist religions, although he continued to identify himself as Jewish. However, late in life he admitted to having changed his last name from Levine to the less Jewish-sounding Laurents, "to get a job."
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August Wilson
August Wilson (April 27, 1945 – October 2, 2005) was an American playwright whose work included a series of ten plays, The Pittsburgh Cycle, for which he received two Pulitzer Prizes for Drama. Each is set in a different decade, depicting the comic and tragic aspects of the African-American experience in the twentieth century.
Wilson's maternal grandmother walked from North Carolina to Pennsylvania in search of a better life. Wilson was born Frederick August Kittel, Jr. in the Hill District of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the fourth of six children, to Sudeten-German immigrant baker/pastry cook, Frederick August Kittel, Sr. and Daisy Wilson, an African American cleaning woman, from North Carolina. Wilson's mother raised the children alone until he was five in a two-room apartment above a grocery store at 1727 Bedford Avenue; his father was mostly absent from his childhood. Wilson would go on to write under his mother's surname. The economically depressed neighborhood in which he was raised was inhabited predominantly by black Americans, and Jewish and Italian immigrants. Wilson's mother divorced and married David Bedford in the 1950s and the family moved from the Hill District to the then predominantly white working class neighborhood of Hazelwood, where they encountered racial hostility; bricks were thrown through a window at their new home. They were soon forced out of their house and on to their next home.
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Bartlett Sher
Bartlett Sher (born March 27, 1959), (also "Bart") is an American theatre director. He received both the 2008 Tony Award and the Drama Desk Award for his direction of the Broadway revival of South Pacific. The New York Times has described him as "one of the most original and exciting directors, not only in the American theater but also in the international world of opera". Sher has been nominated for Tony awards in 2005, 2006, 2008 (winning) and 2009.
Sher was born in San Francisco, California, USA, the son of Aird and Joseph Sher. He had six siblings, including a twin brother. He was raised Catholic (Sher did not find out that his Lithuanian-born father was Jewish until his teenage years). Sher attended St. Ignatius College Preparatory and later the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts. He returned to St. Ignatius to teach English and run the theatre program. During the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games he was influenced by the arts programs associated with the Games, particularly by the work of Polish director Tadeusz Kantor.
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Ben Brantley
Benjamin D. "Ben" Brantley (born October 26, 1954) is an American journalist and the chief theater critic of The New York Times.
Born in Durham, North Carolina, Brantley received a Bachelor of Arts in English from Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania and is a member of the Phi Beta Kappa Society.
Brantley began his journalism career as a Summer Intern at the Winston-Salem Sentinel and, in 1975, became an Editorial Assistant at The Village Voice. At Women's Wear Daily, he was a reporter and then editor (1978-January 1983), and later became the European Editor, publisher, and Paris Bureau Chief until June 1985.
For the next eighteen months, Brantley freelanced, writing regularly for ELLE, Vanity Fair, and The New Yorker before joining The Times as a Drama Critic (August 1993). He was elevated to Chief Theater Critic three years later.
Brantley is the editor of The New York Times Book of Broadway: On the Aisle for the Unforgettable Plays of the Last Century, a compilation of 125 reviews published by St. Martin's Press in 2001. He received the George Jean Nathan Award for Dramatic Criticism for 1996-1997.
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Bernadette Peters
Bernadette Peters (born Bernadette Lazzara; February 28, 1948) is an American actress, singer and children's book author from Ozone Park, Queens, New York. Over the course of a career that has spanned five decades, she has starred in musical theatre, films and television, as well as performing in solo concerts and recordings. She is one of the most critically acclaimed Broadway performers, having received nominations for seven Tony Awards, winning two, and nine Drama Desk Awards, winning three. Four of the Broadway cast albums on which she has starred have won Grammy Awards.
Regarded by many as the foremost interpreter of the works of Stephen Sondheim, Peters is particularly noted for her roles on the Broadway stage, including Mack and Mabel, Sunday in the Park with George, Song and Dance, Into the Woods and Annie Get Your Gun.
Peters first performed on the stage as a child and then a teenage actor in the 1960s, and in film and television in the 1970s. She was praised for this early work and for appearances on The Muppet Show, The Carol Burnett Show and in other television work, and for her roles in films like Silent Movie, The Jerk, Pennies from Heaven and Annie. In the 1980s, she returned to the theatre, where she became one of the best-known Broadway stars over the next three decades. She also has recorded six solo albums and several singles, as well as many cast albums, and performs regularly in her own solo concert act. Peters also continues to act in films and on television, where she has been nominated for three Emmy Awards and three Golden Globe Awards, winning once.
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Beth Henley
Elizabeth Becker "Beth" Henley (born May 8, 1952) is an American dramatist and actress. She writes primarily about women's issues and family in the Southern United States. She is also a screenwriter who has written many film adaptations of her plays. She is known for her intertwining comic and serious moments in her pieces.
Her most famous play, Crimes of the Heart (1978), was her first produced professionally. It opened at the Actors Theatre of Louisville and then to the Manhattan Theatre Club in New York City. The play won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama (1981), as well as the award for Best American Play of 1981 from the New York Drama Critics' Circle. The play also earned Henley a nomination for a Tony Award, and her screenplay adaptation for the 1986 film of the same name was nominated for an Oscar as Best Adapted Screenplay.
Henley adapted her 1984 play, The Miss Firecracker Contest, into a 1989 film starring Holly Hunter entitled Miss Firecracker. Henley's play Ridiculous Fraud was produced at the McCarter Theatre in 2006, and her play Family Week was produced at MCC Theater in 2010, directed by Jonathan Demme.
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Casey Nicholaw
Casey Nicholaw (born 1962) is an American theatre director, choreographer and performer. He has been nominated for Tony Awards for directing and choreographing The Drowsy Chaperone (2006), for choreographing Monty Python's Spamalot (2005), and choreographing The Book of Mormon (2011), as well as winning for his co-direction the latter with Trey Parker. He also was nominated for the Drama Desk Awards for Outstanding Direction and Choreography for The Drowsy Chaperone (2006), and for Outstanding Choreography for Spamalot (2005).
The oldest of three children, Nicholaw grew up in San Diego, California and performed in community theatre there as a teenager. He graduated from Clairemont High School in 1980 and attended the University of California, Los Angeles.
On Broadway, Nicholaw has directed and choreographed The Drowsy Chaperone (2006), choreographed Spamalot (2005) and directed To Be or Not to Be, which opened October 2, 2008, for the Manhattan Theatre Club. He has been nominated for both Tony Awards and Drama Desk Awards for his Broadway work. As a performer, he played the role of Junior and other roles in Crazy For You (1992–94); played Wall Street Wolf and other roles in The Best Little Whorehouse Goes Public (1994); played Gregor, Juke and other roles in Victor/Victoria (1995–97), played Corky, Luke and other roles in Steel Pier (1997); understudied and performed as Neville in The Scarlet Pimpernel (1999); played the role of Frank Manero in Saturday Night Fever (1999–2000); understudied the role of Horton and other roles in Seussical (2000–01); and played the role of Dexter, among other roles, in Thoroughly Modern Millie (2002–04). He can be heard on the cast album of most of these musicals.
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Charles Fuller
Charles H. Fuller, Jr. (born 5 March 1939) is an American playwright, best known for his play, A Soldier's Play, for which he received the 1982 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.
Fuller was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1939, the son of Charles H. Fuller, Sr. and Lillian Anderson. He attended Roman Catholic High School and then Villanova University (1956–1958), then joined the U.S. Army in 1959, serving in Japan and South Korea. He left the army in 1962, and later studied at La Salle University (1965–1967), earning a DFA. He co-founded the Afro-American Arts Theatre Philadelphia
Fuller vowed to become a writer after noticing that his high school's library had no books by African American authors. He achieved critical notice in 1969 with The Village: A Party, a drama about racial tensions between a group of mixed-race couples. He later wrote plays for the Henry Street Settlement theatre and the Negro Ensemble Company in New York, who have performed several of his plays. His 1975 play The Brownsville Raid is based on the Brownsville Affair, an altercation between black soldiers and white civilians in Brownsville, Texas, in 1906, which led to an entire black regiment being dishonorably discharged though later pardoned in 1976.
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Christopher Renshaw
Christopher Renshaw (born 18 March 1952) is a British theatre director. He was educated at Reading School in Reading, Berkshire, where his father taught German, and Magdalen College, Oxford.
He has directed many musicals, plays and operas in Australia, London and New York. He won a Tony Award for his work on The King and I.
Christopher Renshaw's career as a director is all encompassing. After leaving Magdalen College, Oxford he spent three years with The Glyndebourne Festival Opera before moving to The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.
Renshaw has directed operas all over the world, including Eugene Onegin at The Aldeburgh Festival, conducted by Rostropovitch, Lucrezia Borgia (with Dame Joan Sutherland) in Rome, Falstaff in Monte Carlo and Luisa Miller (with Luciano Pavarotti) in Philadelphia which was recorded for American television. Other productions of his have been seen at Opera North, Buxton Festival Belfast, Antwerp, Connecticut, Oslo, and Jerusalem. He has directed eight productions of The Australian Opera at the Sydney Opera House including Aida, Norma (again with Dame Joan Sutherland), Trial by Jury and The Mikado which has recently been released on commercial video.
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Claudia Shear
Claudia Shear (born 1962) is an American actress and playwright.
The Brooklyn-born Shear first came to prominence with her 1994 self-penned solo performance piece Blown Sideways Through Life, which enjoyed a run of 221 performances at the off-Broadway Cherry Lane Theatre and won her an Obie Award and a Drama Desk Award nomination. Shear's employment experiences as a member of the American work force - sixty-four jobs in all, including pastry chef, nude model, waitress, whorehouse receptionist, proofreader, and Italian translator - provided her with a wealth of material for her piece. She adapted it for a 1995 presentation on the PBS series American Playhouse.
Shear hit her stride in 2000 with Dirty Blonde, her exploration of the life and career of Mae West, which earned her Tony and Drama Desk Award nominations for both Best Play and Best Actress and won her the Theatre World Award.
Shear's acting credits include the films It Could Happen to You (1994) and Living Out Loud (1998) and a memorable guest appearance as the "fake Monica" on the NBC sitcom Friends. Ms. Shear has also written for such publications as The New York Times, Vogue, Glamour and Travel & Leisure, among others.
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Cyndi Lauper
Cynthia Ann Stephanie Lauper (born June 22, 1953 in Queens, New York) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and LGBT rights activist.
She achieved success in the mid-1980s with the release of the debut solo album She's So Unusual in 1983, which spawned four Billboard Hot 100 top-five songs—"Girls Just Wanna Have Fun", "Time After Time", "She Bop" and "All Through the Night"—She's So Unusual was the first album in history to have four top five singles by a female. The album earned Lauper Best New Artist at the 27th Grammy Awards in 1985.
Her success continued with the follow-up, True Colors in 1986, which spawned two Billboard Hot 100 top-ten songs—"True Colors" and "Change of Heart", and earned two nominations at the 29th Grammy Awards.
Since 1989 released from a nine studio albums acclaimed critical, A Night to Remember (1989), Hat Full of Stars (1993), Sisters of Avalon (1996), Merry Christmas... Have a Nice Life (1998),Shine (2001), At Last (2003), The Body Acoustic (2005), Bring Ya to the Brink (2008).
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David Henry Hwang
David Henry Hwang (Chinese: 黃哲倫; pinyin: Huáng Zhélún; born August 11, 1957) is an American playwright who has risen to prominence as the preeminent Asian American dramatist in the U.S.
He was born in Los Angeles, California, and was educated at the Yale School of Drama and Stanford University. His first play was produced at the Okada House dormitory at Stanford and he briefly studied playwriting with Sam Shepard and María Irene Fornés.
Hwang's early plays concerned the role of the Chinese American and Asian American in the modern day world. His first play, the Obie Award-winning FOB, depicts the contrasts and conflicts between established Asian Americans and "Fresh Off the Boat" newcomer immigrants. The play was developed by the National Playwrights Conference at the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center and premiered in 1980 Off-Broadway at the Joseph Papp Public Theater. Papp went on to produce four more of Hwang's plays, including the Pulitzer Prize-nominated drama The Dance and the Railroad, which tells the story of a former Chinese opera star working as a coolie laborer in the nineteenth century, and Family Devotions, a darkly comic take on the effects of Western religion on a Chinese family. Those three plays added up to a "Trilogy of Chinese America" as the author described.
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David Mamet
David Alan Mamet ( /ˈmæmɨt/; born November 30, 1947) is an American playwright, essayist, screenwriter and film director.
Best known as a playwright, Mamet won a Pulitzer Prize and received a Tony nomination for Glengarry Glen Ross (1984). He also received a Tony nomination for Speed-the-Plow (1988). As a screenwriter, he received Oscar nominations for The Verdict (1982) and Wag the Dog (1997). Mamet's books include: The Old Religion (1997), a novel about the lynching of Leo Frank; Five Cities of Refuge: Weekly Reflections on Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy (2004), a Torah commentary with Rabbi Lawrence Kushner; The Wicked Son (2006), a study of Jewish self-hatred and antisemitism; and Bambi vs. Godzilla, a commentary on the movie business.
Mamet was born in 1947 in Chicago to Jewish parents, Lenore June (Silver), a teacher, and Bernard Morris Mamet, an attorney. One of his first jobs was as a busboy at Chicago's The Second City. He was educated at the progressive Francis W. Parker School and at Goddard College in Plainfield, Vermont.
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Des McAnuff
Desmond McAnuff (born 19 June 1952) is the American-Canadian former artistic director of the Stratford Shakespeare Festival and director of musical theatre of such Broadway productions as Big River, The Who's Tommy and Jersey Boys.
Born in Princeton, Illinois to John Nelson and Ellen Boyd, McAnuff is a citizen of United States and Canada. He lived briefly in Guelph, Ontario attending grade 4 at St. George's Public School. His family then moved to Scarborough, Ontario, at the time a suburb of Toronto, and attended high school at Woburn Collegiate Institute where he made his first theatrical appearance in the school's production of The Sound of Music, playing the role of Kurt. Later, with the help of two friends, he wrote the music and lyrics to a rock musical called Urbania, which was performed by the high school drama club. He attended Ryerson University although never completed his degree. In June 2011, McAnuff was awarded an honourary degree by the Ryerson Theatre School.
McAnuff received training from Toronto's foremost drama coach Basya Hunter, to whom he has announced his indebtedness.[citation needed] He worked with the Toronto Free Theatre as a director, and after several plays that had limited success, he left the Canadian scene for New York City.
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Donald Margulies
Donald Margulies (born September 2, 1954) (MARG-yoo-leez) is an American playwright and a professor of English and Theater Studies at Yale University. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2000 for his play, Dinner With Friends.
Other notable works include Time Stands Still (2009); Shipwrecked! An Entertainment — The Amazing Adventures of Louis de Rougemont (As Told by Himself) (2007), Brooklyn Boy (2004), Sight Unseen (1991) and Collected Stories (1996), the last three of which were commissioned and originally produced by South Coast Repertory. "Sight Unseen" (which won a 1992 OBIE Award for Best American Play and the Dramatists' Guild/Hull-Warriner Award) and "Collected Stories" were finalists for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, in 1992 and 1997, respectively.
"Dinner With Friends" was commissioned by Actors Theatre of Louisville [KY], where it had its world premiere at the 1998 Humana Festival of New American Plays. It was produced later that year at South Coast Repertory [Costa Mesa, CA], and opened November 4, 1999 at the Variety Arts Theatre [New York] where it played 654 performances. In addition to the Pulitzer, "Dinner with Friends" received an American Theatre Critics’ Association New Play Citation, The Dramatists’ Guild/Hull-Warriner Award, the Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Off-Broadway Play, the Outer Critics Circle Award, a Drama Desk Award nomination, and was selected a Burns Mantle Best Play of 1999-2000). It went on to have a long run in Paris at the Comedie des Champs-Elysees, and productions in cities all over the world including London, Berlin, Vienna, Stockholm, Tokyo, Mumbai, Seoul, Tel Aviv and Istanbul. In 2001 it was an Emmy Award-nominated film for HBO.
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Edward Albee
Edward Franklin Albee III ( /ˈɔːlbiː/ AWL-bee; born March 12, 1928) is an American playwright who is best known for The Zoo Story (1958), The Sandbox (1959), Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1962), and a rewrite of the book for the unsuccessful musical version of Truman Capote's Breakfast at Tiffany's (1966). His works are considered well-crafted, often unsympathetic examinations of the modern condition. His early works reflect a mastery and Americanization of the Theatre of the Absurd that found its peak in works by European playwrights such as Samuel Beckett, Eugène Ionesco, and Jean Genet. Younger American playwrights, such as Paula Vogel, credit Albee's daring mix of theatricalism and biting dialogue with helping to reinvent the post-war American theatre in the early 1960s. Albee continues to experiment in new works, such as The Goat: or, Who Is Sylvia? (2002).
According to Magill's Survey of American Literature (2007), Edward Albee was born somewhere in Virginia (the popular belief is that he was born in Washington, D.C.). He was adopted two weeks later and taken to Larchmont, New York in Westchester County, where he grew up. Albee's adoptive father, Reed A. Albee, the wealthy son of vaudeville magnate Edward Franklin Albee II, owned several theaters. Here the young Edward first gained familiarity with the theatre as a child. His adoptive mother, Reed's third wife, Frances tried to raise Albee to fit into their social circles.
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Edward Kleban
Edward “Ed” Kleban (April 30, 1939 - December 28, 1987) was an American musical theatre composer and lyricist.
Kleban was born in the Bronx, New York in 1939 and graduated from New York's High School of Music & Art and Columbia University, where he attended with future playwright Terrance McNally. Kleban is best known as lyricist of the Broadway hit A Chorus Line. He and composer Marvin Hamlisch won the 1976 Tony Award for Best Original Score, and he shared the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1976 with Hamlisch and three other contributors to the musical. The one-woman Phyllis Newman show, The Madwoman of Central Park West (1979), featured a few tunes with his lyrics. For several years he worked at Columbia Records, where he produced albums by performers as diverse as Igor Stravinsky and Percy Faith and the album for the Off-Broadway musical Now Is The Time For All Good Men.
He was a teacher for many years at the BMI (Broadcast Music Incorporated) Musical Theater Workshop.
In his will, Kleban established the Kleban Foundation which grants annual awards, each in the amount of $100,000 over two years, to the most promising librettist and lyricist in American musical theatre. The awards are administered by BMI. His will also granted rights to his collection of unpublished songs to friends Avery Corman and Wendy Wasserstein with the request that they incorporate them into a new musical. Their attempts failed and the rights reverted to Kleban's longtime companion, librettist Linda Kline. Kline sought someone who did not know or work with Kleban, but who would learn about him through the material. She admired previous work of Lonny Price and sought him as a collaborator.
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Frances Goodrich
Frances Goodrich (December 21, 1890 – January 29, 1984) was an American dramatist and screenwriter, best known for her collaborations with her partner and husband Albert Hackett.
Goodrich was born to Madeleine Christy (Lloyd) and Henry Wickes Goodrich in Belleville, New Jersey. The family moved to nearby Nutley when Goodrich was two. She attended Collegiate School in Passaic, New Jersey, and graduated from Vassar College in 1912, and went on to the New York School of Social Work from 1912 to 1913.
Not long after marrying screenwriter Albert Hackett, the couple went to Hollywood in the late 1920s to write the screenplay for their stage success Up Pops the Devil for Paramount Pictures. In 1933 they signed a contract with MGM and remained with them until 1939. Among their earliest assignments was writing the screenplay for The Thin Man (1934). They were encouraged by the director W. S. Van Dyke to use the writing of Dashiell Hammett as a basis only, and to concentrate on providing witty exchanges for the principal characters, Nick and Nora Charles (played by William Powell and Myrna Loy). The resulting film was one of the major hits of the year, and the script, considered to show a modern relationship in a realistic manner for the first time, was considered to be groundbreaking. However this is only because it was written and released before the enactment of the Hollywood Production Code, which strictly censored movies from mid-1934 until the early 1960s (see Pre-Code). The other Nick and Nora films show a steep decline regarding the "groundbreaking maturity" of the Charles' marriage.
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Frank Rich
Frank Rich (born June 2, 1949) is an American essayist and op-ed columnist who wrote for The New York Times from 1980, when he was appointed its chief theatre critic, until 2011. He held various positions with the Times—-in 1994 he became an op-ed columnist, with his weekly essay appearing in the Sunday Week in Review section starting in April 2005.
On March 1, 2011 it was announced that he would be leaving the Times to become an essayist and editor-at-large for New York magazine starting in June 2011.
Rich grew up in Washington, D.C., and attended public schools. He attended Harvard College in Cambridge, Massachusetts. At Harvard, he became the editorial chairman of The Harvard Crimson, the university's daily student newspaper. Rich was an honorary Harvard College scholar and a member of Phi Beta Kappa, and received a Henry Russell Shaw Traveling Fellowship. He graduated in 1971 with an A.B. magna cum laude in American history and literature.
Before joining The New York Times in 1980, Rich was a film critic for Time and the New York Post, and film critic and senior editor of New Times Magazine. In the early 1970s, he was a founding editor of the Richmond (Va.) Mercury.
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George Abbott
George Francis Abbott (June 25, 1887 – January 31, 1995) was an American theater producer and director, playwright, screenwriter, and film director and producer whose career spanned more than nine decades.
Abbott was born in Forestville, New York, and later moved to the town of Salamanca, which twice elected his father mayor. In 1898, his family moved to Cheyenne, Wyoming, where he attended Kearney Military Academy. Within a few years, his family returned to New York, and he graduated from Hamburg High School in 1907. Four years later, he obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Rochester, where he wrote his first play, Perfectly Harmless, for the University Dramatic Club.
Abbott then went to Harvard University, where he studied playwriting under George Pierce Baker. Under his tutelage, he wrote The Head of the Family, which was performed at the Harvard Dramatic Club in 1912. He then worked for a year as assistant stage manager at the Bijou Theatre in Boston, where his play The Man in the Manhole won a contest.
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Harold Prince
Harold Smith "Hal" Prince (born January 30, 1928) is an American theatrical producer and director associated with many of the best-known Broadway musical productions of the past half-century. He has garnered twenty-one Tony Awards, more than any other individual, including eight for directing, eight for producing the year's Best Musical, two as Best Producer of a Musical, and three special awards.
Prince wasCole was her born in New York City to Milton A. Prince, a stockbroker, and Blanche Stern. He entered the University of Pennsylvania at age 16, where he followed a liberal arts curriculum and graduated three years later. He later served two years with the United States Army in post-WWII Germany.
Prince began work in the theatre as an assistant stage manager to theatrical producer and director George Abbott. Along with Abbott, he co-produced The Pajama Game, which won the 1955 Tony Award for Best Musical. He went on to direct his own productions in 1962 beginning with A Family Affair and hit a series of unsuccessful productions.
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Horton Foote
Albert Horton Foote, Jr. (March 14, 1916 – March 4, 2009) was an American playwright and screenwriter, perhaps best known for his screenplays for the 1962 film To Kill a Mockingbird and the 1983 film Tender Mercies, and his notable live television dramas during the Golden Age of Television. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1995 for his play The Young Man From Atlanta. In 1995, Foote was the inaugural recipient of the Austin Film Festival's Distinguished Screenwriter Award. In describing his 3-play work, "The Orphans' Home Cycle", the drama critic for the Wall Street Journal said this: "Foote, who died last March, left behind a masterpiece, one that will rank high among the signal achievements of American theater in the 20th century." In 2000, he was awarded the National Medal of Arts.
Foote was born to Albert Horton Foote (1890-1973) and Harriet Gautier "Hallie" Brooks (1894-1974) in Wharton, Texas.His younger brothers were Thomas Brooks Foote (1921-1944) who died in aerial combat over Germany, and John Speed Foote (1923-1995).
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Hugh Grant
Hugh John Mungo Grant (born 9 September 1960) is an English actor and film producer. He has received a Golden Globe Award, a BAFTA, and an Honorary César. His films have earned more than $2.4 billion from 25 theatrical releases worldwide. Grant achieved international stardom after appearing in Richard Curtis's sleeper hit Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994). He used this breakthrough role as a frequent cinematic persona during the 1990s to deliver comic performances in mainstream films like Mickey Blue Eyes (1999) and Notting Hill (1999). By the turn of the 21st century, he had established himself as a leading man skilled with a satirical comic talent. Since the 2000s, Grant has expanded his oeuvre with critically acclaimed turns as a cad in Bridget Jones's Diary (2001), About A Boy (2002), Love Actually (2003), and American Dreamz (2006).
Within the film industry, Grant is cited as an anti-film star who approaches his roles like a character actor, with the ability to make acting look effortless. Hallmarks of his comic skills include a nonchalant touch of irony/sarcasm and studied physical mannerisms as well as his precisely-timed dialogue delivery and facial expressions. The entertainment media's coverage of Grant's life off the big screen has often overshadowed his work as a thespian. He has been vocal about his disrespect for the profession of acting, and in his disdain towards the culture of celebrity and hostility towards the media. In a career spanning 30 years, Grant has repeatedly claimed that acting is not a true calling but just a job he fell into.
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James Lapine
James Lapine (born January 10, 1949) is an American stage director and librettist. He has won the Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical three times, for Into the Woods, Falsettos, and Passion. He has frequently collaborated with Stephen Sondheim and William Finn.
Lapine was born in Mansfield, Ohio and graduated from Franklin and Marshall College in 1971. He did graduate study in both photography and graphic design at the California Institute of the Arts. He was a photographer, graphic designer, and architectural preservationist and taught design at the Yale School of Drama. At Yale University he wrote an adaptation and directed the Gertrude Stein play Photograph, which was produced Off-Broadway at the Open Space in SoHo in 1977. He proceeded to write and direct Off-Broadway plays and musicals, working with composer William Finn on March of the Falsettos in 1981 as director; the musical won the Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Off-Broadway Play. Frank Rich, the New York Times theatre critic, noted "Mr. Lapine's wildly resourceful staging."
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Jerry Zaks
Jerry Zaks (born September 7, 1946) is a German-born American stage and television director, and actor. He won the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play and Drama Desk Award for directing The House of Blue Leaves, Lend Me A Tenor, and Six Degrees of Separation and the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical and Drama Desk Award for Guys and Dolls.
Zaks was born in Stuttgart, Germany, the son of Holocaust survivors. His family emigrated to the United States in 1948, finally settling in Paterson, New Jersey. He graduated from Dartmouth College and received a Master of Fine Arts from Smith College.
He made his Broadway acting debut in the original production of Grease as "Kenickie" and appeared in Tintypes in 1980. He made his directing debut in 1981 with the off-Broadway production of Christopher Durang's Beyond Therapy. He has directed many Broadway productions, both musicals and dramas.
He has also directed many Off-Broadway productions, several at Playwrights Horizons and the Public Theatre. He directed the City Center Encores! productions of Girl Crazy (November 2009),Stairway to Paradise (May 2007), and Bye Bye Birdie (May 2004).
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Joe Mantello
Joseph Mantello (born 27 December 1962) is an American actor and director best known for his work on Broadway productions of Wicked, Take Me Out and Assassins, as well as earlier in his career being one of the original Broadway cast of Angels in America. Mantello directed The Ritz, his sixth production with playwright Terrence McNally, in 2007.
Mantello was born in Rockford, Illinois and studied at the North Carolina School of the Arts; he started the Edge Theater in New York City with actress Mary-Louise Parker and writer Peter Hedges. He is a member of the Naked Angels theater company and an associate artist at the Roundabout Theatre Company.
Mantello began his theatrical career as an actor in Keith Curran's Walking the Dead and Paula Vogel's The Baltimore Waltz. On the transition from acting to directing, Mantello said, "I think I've become a better actor since I started directing, although some people might disagree. Since I've been removed from the process I see things that actors fall into. Now there's a part of me that's removed from the process and can stand back."
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Jonathan Larson
Jonathan Larson (February 4, 1960 – January 25, 1996) was an American composer and playwright noted for the serious social issues of multiculturalism, addiction, and homophobia explored in his work. Typical examples of his use of these themes are found in his works, Rent and tick, tick... BOOM!. He received three posthumous Tony Awards and a posthumous Pulitzer Prize for Drama for the rock opera Rent.
Larson was born to Jewish parents, Allan and Nanette Larson, in White Plains, New York. He was exposed to the performing arts, especially music and theatre from an early age, as he played the trumpet, tuba, was involved in his school's choir, and took formal piano lessons. His early musical influences were his favorite rock musicians such as Elton John, The Beatles, The Doors, The Who, and Billy Joel, as well as the classic composers of musical theatre, especially Stephen Sondheim. Larson was also involved in acting in high school, performing in lead roles in various productions at White Plains High School.
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Judy Davis
Judy Davis (born 23 April 1955) is an Australian actress best known for her roles in Husbands and Wives, Barton Fink, A Passage to India and in the TV miniseries Life with Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows.
Davis first came to attention for her role as the fiery Sybylla Melvyn in the 1979 film My Brilliant Career. She has won many acting awards, including two Golden Globe Awards, three Emmy Awards, one BAFTA and seven AFI Awards. She has also been nominated twice for an Academy Award.
Davis was born in Perth and had a strict Catholic upbringing. She was educated at Loreto Convent and the Western Australian Institute of Technology, and graduated from the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) in 1977. She has been married to actor and fellow NIDA graduate Colin Friels since 1984. They have two children.
First coming to prominence for her role as Sybylla Melvyn in the coming-of-age saga My Brilliant Career (1979), for which she won BAFTA Awards for Best Actress and Best Newcomer, she also played the lead in such Australian New Wave classics as Winter of Our Dreams (1981) (as the waif-like heroin addict) and Heatwave (1982) (as the radical tenant organizer).
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Julie Taymor
Julie Taymor (born December 15, 1952) is an American director of theater, opera and film. Taymor's work has received many accolades from critics, and she has earned two Tony Awards out of four nominations, the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Costume Design, an Emmy Award and an Academy Award nomination for Original Song. She is widely known for directing the stage musical, The Lion King, for which she became the first woman to win the Tony Award for directing a musical, in addition to a Tony Award for Original Costume Design. She was the director of the Broadway musical Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark but left in March 2011, following artistic differences with the producers.
Taymor was born in Newton, Massachusetts, the daughter of Elizabeth (née Bernstein), a political science teacher, and Melvin Lester Taymor, a gynecologist. Taymor's interest in theatre took root early in her life. At the age of seven, she was already drawing her sister into stagings of children's stories for her parents. By age nine, she was entranced by the Boston Children's Theatre and became involved with them. Being the youngest member of theatre groups became common. By 11, she was taking trips to Boston by herself every weekend, where she discovered Julie Portman's Theatre Workshop. At the age of 13, her parents sent her to both Sri Lanka and India with the Experiment in International Living. After graduating High School at 16, Taymor went to Paris to study with L'École Internationale de Théâtre Jacques Lecoq. Her studies there exposed her to mime, which helped develop her physical sensibilities. While in Paris, Taymor also worked with masks for the first time and immersed herself in film, especially the work of Fellini and Kurosawa.
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Lanford Wilson
Lanford Wilson (April 13, 1937 – March 24, 2011) was an American playwright who helped to advance the Off-Off-Broadway theater movement. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1980, was elected in 2001 to the Theater Hall of Fame, and in 2004 was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters. He was nominated for three Tony Awards.
Wilson was raised in Missouri by his mother, but in 1956 he moved to California, where he worked and attended college. There, Wilson lived with his father, who did not accept Wilson's homosexuality, and so, in 1957, he moved to Chicago, where he worked as a graphic artist and studied playwriting. In 1962, he moved to New York and began to write plays for Off-Off-Broadway theatres. His 1964 short play, The Madness of Lady Bright, was his first significant success and led to further works treating gay identity and other social and romantic issues throughout the 1960s. In 1969, he was a co-founder of Circle Repertory Company, for whom he wrote many plays in the 1970s. His 1973 play, The Hot l Baltimore, was the company's first major hit with both audiences and critics; its Off-Broadway run exceeded 1,000 performances.
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Larry Gelbart
Larry Simon Gelbart (February 25, 1928 – September 11, 2009) was an American television writer, playwright, screenwriter and author.
Gelbart was born in Chicago to Jewish immigrants Harry Gelbart ("a barber since his half of a childhood in Latvia") and Frieda Sturner, who migrated to America from Dombrowa,[disambiguation needed
]Poland. Marcia Gelbart Walkenstein was his sister.
Gelbart began as a writer at the age of sixteen for Danny Thomas' radio show after his father, who was Thomas' barber, showed Thomas some jokes Gelbart had written. During the 1940s Gelbart also wrote for Jack Paar and Bob Hope. In the 1950s, his most important work in television involved writing for Red Buttons, Sid Caesar on Caesar's Hour, in Celeste Holm's Honestly, Celeste!, as well as with writers Mel Tolkin, Michael Stewart, Selma Diamond, Neil Simon, Mel Brooks, Carl Reiner, and (on two Caesar specials) Woody Allen.
In 1972, Gelbart was one of the main forces behind the creation of the television series M*A*S*H, writing the pilot (for which he received a "Developed for Television by..." credit) and then producing, often writing and occasionally directing the series for its first four seasons (1972–1976). M*A*S*H earned Gelbart a Peabody Award and an Emmy for Outstanding Comedy Series and went on to considerable commercial and critical success.
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Mandy Patinkin
Mandel Bruce "Mandy" Patinkin ( /pəˈtɪŋkɨn/; born November 30, 1952) is an award-winning American actor of stage and screen and a tenor vocalist. He is a noted interpreter of the musical works of Stephen Sondheim, and is best known for his work in musical theatre, originating iconic roles such as Georges Seurat in Sunday in the Park with George, Archibald Craven in The Secret Garden, Burrs in The Wild Party and Che in the original Broadway production of Evita.
He has appeared in television series such as Chicago Hope, Dead Like Me and the first two seasons of Criminal Minds. He currently plays Saul Berenson in the Showtime series Homeland. His best-known film role was as Inigo Montoya in The Princess Bride in 1987. Other film roles include Alien Nation (1988), Yentl (1983), Dick Tracy, and The Adventures of Elmo in Grouchland (1999).
Patinkin was born in Chicago, Illinois, of Russian and Polish Jewish descent, the son of Doris "Doralee" Sinton, a homemaker, and Lester Patinkin, who worked for the People's Iron & Metal Company and the Scrap Corporation of America. His mother wrote Grandma Doralee Patinkin's Jewish Family Cookbook. Patinkin's cousins include:
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Margaret Edson
Margaret Edson (born 4 July 1961, Washington, D.C.) is an American playwright. As a child, she wrote and acted in amateur plays with neighborhood friend Julia Louis-Dreyfus. She graduated with a B.A. in Renaissance History from Smith College, and received a master's in English literature from Georgetown University. Her jobs have included being a bicycle shop sales clerk and a volunteer ESL teacher.
Edson's first play was Wit, first produced in 1995 at South Coast Repertory in California, about a John Donne scholar who is hospitalized for and dying of ovarian cancer. Edson did use her work experience in a hospital as part of the background in writing the play. At the time of its first New York production in late 1998, Edson was a kindergarten teacher at Centennial Place Elementary School (Atlanta, Georgia). The play won her the 1999 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The award brought her a large amount of publicity, including an interview on The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer on PBS. Edson has written a second play, Satisfied, whose subject is "country-gospel radio in Kentucky"--still, as of April 2008, unproduced.
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Mark Ruffalo
Mark Alan Ruffalo (born November 22, 1967) is an American actor, director, producer and screenwriter. He starred in films such as Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Zodiac, Shutter Island, Just Like Heaven, Collateral, You Can Count on Me, The Avengers, and The Kids Are All Right, for which he received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor.
Ruffalo was born in Kenosha, Wisconsin. His mother, Marie Rose (née Hebert), is a hairdresser and stylist, and his father, Frank Lawrence Ruffalo, Jr., worked as a construction painter. His father and maternal grandmother were of Italian descent, and his maternal grandfather was of French Canadian ancestry. He has two sisters, Tania and Nicole, and a brother, Scott, who died in December 2008. Ruffalo has described himself as having been a "happy kid" and his upbringing as taking place in a "very big" family with "lots of love". Of his father, Ruffalo has said, "He was an amazing, charismatic guy who was city high school wrestling champion three times. He was away a lot when I was growing up. I was very lonely for him.” Ruffalo was raised Roman Catholic; he attended both a Catholic and a progressive school. Ruffalo spent his teen years in Virginia Beach, Virginia, where his father worked. He graduated from First Colonial High School, and then moved with his family to San Diego, and later to Los Angeles, California. There, he took classes at the Stella Adler Conservatory and co-founded the Orpheus Theatre Company. With the OTC, he wrote, directed, and starred in a number of plays, and spent the next nine years earning his money as a bartender.
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Marsha Norman
Marsha Norman (born September 21, 1947) is an American playwright, screenwriter, and novelist. She received the 1983 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for her play 'night, Mother. She wrote the book and lyrics for such Broadway musicals as The Secret Garden, for which she won a Tony Award and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Book of a Musical, and The Red Shoes, as well as the libretto for the musical The Color Purple.
Norman was born in Louisville, Kentucky. As a child, she read, played the piano and had an imaginary friend named Bettering. She later began attending productions by the newly-founded Actor's Theatre of Louisville. After graduating from Agnes Scott College with a degree in philosophy, she began working as a journalist for The Louisville Times newspaper, and writing for Kentucky Educational Television. She also taught young children and adolescents in mental institutions and hospitals. These were perhaps her biggest influence on her writing, especially a 13-year-old girl who influenced her play Getting Out. She also taught English at the J. Graham Brown School in Louisville.
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Martin Charnin
Martin Charnin (born November 24, 1934) is an American lyricist, writer, and theatre director. Charnin's best-known work is as conceiver, director and lyricist of the hit musical Annie.
Born in New York City, he graduated from The High School of Music & Art and then from The Cooper Union, where he got his BFA. Charnin began his theatrical career as a performer, appearing as "Big Deal", one of the Jets in the original production of West Side Story. He played the role for 1000 performances on Broadway and on the road. After completing his duties in West Side Story, he wrote music and lyrics for numerous off-Broadway and Cabaret revues, many of them for Julius Monk. He then went on to write, direct, and produce nightclub acts for Dionne Warwick, Nancy Wilson, Mary Travers, Larry Kert, Jose Ferrer, and Leslie Uggams. His first Broadway musical was in 1963, as the lyricist for Hot Spot starring Judy Holliday, with music by Mary Rodgers.
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Marvin Hamlisch
Marvin Frederick Hamlisch (born June 2, 1944) is an American composer. He is one of only eleven people to have been awarded Emmys, Grammys, Oscars, and a Tony. He is also one of only two people to have won those four prizes and also a Pulitzer Prize (the other is Richard Rodgers). Hamlisch has also won two Golden Globes.
Hamlisch was born in New York City to Viennese Jewish parents: Lilly Schachter and Max Hamlisch. His father was an accordionist and bandleader. Hamlisch was a child prodigy, and by age five he began mimicking music he heard on the radio on the piano. A few months before he turned seven, in 1951, he was accepted into what is now the Juilliard School Pre-College Division. His first job was as a rehearsal pianist for Funny Girl with Barbra Streisand. Shortly after that, he was hired by producer Sam Spiegel to play piano at Spiegel's parties. This connection led to his first film score, The Swimmer. His favorite musicals growing up were My Fair Lady, Gypsy, West Side Story, and Bye Bye Birdie.
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Matthew Bourne
Matthew Bourne OBE (born 13 January 1960) is a British choreographer. His work includes contemporary dance and musical theatre. He has received multiple awards and award nominations, including the Laurence Olivier Award, Tony Award and Drama Desk Award, and he has also received several Honorary Doctorates of Arts from UK universities.
Matthew Bourne was born in Hackney, London in 1960. He went to William Fitt and Sir George Monoux School in Walthamstow, London. From the ages of 14 to 16 he was an avid autograph hunter, attending most West End opening nights and waiting outside Stage Doors and top London Hotels. In 1978 he left full-time education and worked in various jobs at the BBC (filing clerk), Keith Prowse Theatre Agents (selling theatre tickets) and The National Theatre (bookshop and ushering). Despite having never done a dance class, he ran and directed various amateur Dance Companies in his teenage years. In 1982 he enrolled at the Laban Centre for Movement and Dance (now simply Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance) in Deptford, southeast London, where he was awarded a B.A. in Dance Theatre. For his final year (1986) he danced with the Laban Centre's Transitions Dance Company. After graduation he formed the dance company Adventures In Motion Pictures with fellow directors, and friends, Emma Gladstone and David Massingham. He has worked as a professional choreographer and director since 1987, becoming sole artistic director of AMP in 1991 and New Adventures in 2002. He now lives in Islington, London and Brighton, East Sussex.
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Mia Farrow
Mia Farrow (born February 9, 1945) is an American actress, singer, humanitarian, and fashion model.
Farrow first gained wide acclaim for her role as Allison MacKenzie in the soap opera Peyton Place, and for her subsequent short-lived marriage to Frank Sinatra. An early film role, as the woman pregnant with Satan's baby in 1968's Rosemary's Baby, saw her portrayal nominated for many awards.
Farrow has appeared in more than 45 films and won numerous awards, including a Golden Globe award (and seven additional Golden Globe nominations), three BAFTA Film Award nominations, and a win for best actress at the San Sebastian International Film Festival. Farrow is also known for her extensive humanitarian work as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador. She is involved in humanitarian activities in Darfur, Chad, and the Central African Republic. In 2008, Time magazine named her one of the most influential people in the world.
Farrow was born as Maria de Lourdes Villiers Farrow in Los Angeles, California, the daughter of Australian film director John Farrow and Irish actress Maureen O'Sullivan. She was raised Roman Catholic. Her sisters are Prudence and actors Stephanie and Tisa. She has three brothers: Michael Damien (1939–1958), Patrick Joseph (1942–2009) and John Charles (born 1946).[citation needed]
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Michael Bennett
Michael Bennett (April 8, 1943 – July 2, 1987) was an American musical theater director, writer, choreographer, and dancer. He won seven Tony Awards for his choreography and direction of Broadway shows and was nominated for an additional eleven.
Bennett choreographed Promises, Promises, Follies and Company. In 1976, he won the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical and the Tony Award for Best Choreography for the Pulitzer Prize–winning phenomenon A Chorus Line. Bennett, under the aegis of producer Joseph Papp, created A Chorus Line based on a precedent-setting workshop process which he pioneered. He also directed and co-choreographed Dreamgirls with Michael Peters.
Bennett was born Michael Bennett DiFiglia in Buffalo, New York, the son of Helen (Ternoff), a secretary, and Salvatore Joseph DiFiglia, a factory worker. His father was Roman Catholic and his mother was Jewish. He studied dance and choreography in his teens and staged a number of shows in his local high school before dropping out to accept the role of Baby John in the US and European tours of West Side Story.
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Michael Blakemore
Michael Howell Blakemore OBE (born 18 June 1928) is an Australian actor, writer and theatre director. In 2000 he became the only individual to win Tony Awards for best Director of a Play and Musical in the same year for Copenhagen and Kiss Me, Kate.
Blakemore was born in Sydney, Australia on, son of Conrad Howell Blakemore and his wife, Una Mary Litchfield. He married English actress Shirley Bush. Blakemore was educated at the King's School, Sydney, and went on to study medicine at the University of Sydney. He trained for the stage at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, 1950 to 1952.
Blakemore's first job in the theatre was as press agent for Robert Morley during the Australian tour of Edward, My Son, who advised him to try drama school. In 1950 he came to London, enrolled at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and trained as an actor. He made his first professional stage appearance in 1952 at the Theatre Royal, Huddersfield, as the doctor in The Barretts of Wimpole Street.
He then worked for several years in repertory including Birmingham Repertory Company, Bristol and Coventry, and made his first London appearance at the Princes Theatre in March 1958 as Jack Poyntz in the musical play School. He also played small parts at Stratford in the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre's 1959 season. It was at the latter that he met and worked with Tyrone Guthrie, Laurence Olivier, Vivien Leigh, Peter Brook, Peter Hall et al.
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Michael Cristofer
Michael Ivan Cristofer (born January 22, 1945, Trenton, New Jersey) is an American playwright, filmmaker and actor. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the Tony Award for Best Play for The Shadow Box in 1977.
Cristofer was awarded a Pulitzer Prize for Drama and a Tony Award for the Broadway production of his play, The Shadow Box. Subsequent to New York, the play was produced in every major American city and worldwide from Europe to the Far East. Other plays include Breaking Up at Primary Stages; Ice at Manhattan Theatre Club; Black Angel at Circle Repertory Company; The Lady and the Clarinet starring Stockard Channing, produced by the Mark Taper Forum, Long Wharf Theater, Off-Broadway and on the London Fringe, and Amazing Grace starring Marsha Mason which received the American Theater Critics Award as the best play produced in the United States during the 1996-97 season.
Cristofer's film work includes the screenplays for The Shadow Box directed by Paul Newman (Golden Globe Award, Emmy nomination), Falling in Love, with Meryl Streep and Robert De Niro, The Witches of Eastwick with Jack Nicholson, The Bonfire of the Vanities directed by Brian De Palma, Breaking Up starring Russell Crowe and Salma Hayek, and Casanova starring Heath Ledger. His directing credits include Gia, for HBO Pictures starring Angelina Jolie, Mercedes Ruehl and Faye Dunaway which was nominated for five Emmys and for which he won a Director's Guild Award. He next directed Body Shots starring Sean Patrick Flanery, Jerry O'Connell, Amanda Peet and Tara Reid and Original Sin starring Angelina Jolie and Antonio Banderas which was released in 2001. He is currently preparing to direct Fade Out from his own screenplay.
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Michel Legrand
Michel Jean Legrand (born 24 February 1932, in Bécon-les-Bruyères in the Paris suburbs) is a French musical composer, arranger, conductor, and pianist. His father Raymond Legrand was a conductor and composer renowned for hits such as Irma la douce and his mother, Marcelle Der Mikaëlian (sister of conductor Jacques Hélian), who married Legrand Senior in 1929, was descended from the Armenian bourgeoisie.
Legrand is a prolific composer, having written over 200 film and television scores in addition to many memorable songs. He is best known for his often haunting film music and scores, such as The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964) and The Thomas Crown Affair (1968) featuring the song "The Windmills of Your Mind" for which he won his first Academy Award.
Legrand has composed more than two hundred film and television scores and several musicals and has made well over a hundred albums. He has won three Oscars (out of 13 nominations) and five Grammys and has been nominated for an Emmy. He was twenty-two when his first album, I Love Paris, became one of the best-selling instrumental albums ever released. He is a virtuoso jazz and classical pianist and an accomplished arranger and conductor who performs with orchestras all over the world.
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Mike Ockrent
Mike Ockrent (18 June 1946 - 2 December 1999) was a British stage director, well-known both for his Broadway musicals and smaller niche plays. He was educated at Highgate School. Through directing Educating Rita and Follies, he became an established figure in London theatre. In 1986 he made a successful transition to New York with Me and My Girl that earned several Tony Award nominations. In later life Ockrent worked in film, mainly straight-to-TV movies.
In 1992 Ockrent worked with Susan Stroman on Crazy for You and other productions. They were married in 1996 and remained so until Ockrent's death from leukemia in New York in 1999.
A charitable trust now exists in his name. The trust aims to give access to theatre for children with cancer, involving nights at the theatre with visits backstage afterwards. It also funds leukaemia research, "both mainstream and 'alternative'".
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Neil Patrick Harris
Neil Patrick Harris (born June 15, 1973) is an American actor, singer, director, and magician. He is best known for the title role in Doogie Howser, M.D., the womanizing Barney Stinson in How I Met Your Mother, a fictionalized version of himself in the Harold & Kumar series, and the title role in Joss Whedon's musical web series Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog.
Harris was named as one of Time magazine's 100 most influential people in 2010, and was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in September 2011.
Harris was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico and grew up in Ruidoso, New Mexico. His parents, Sheila and Ron Harris, ran a restaurant. He attended La Cueva High School in Albuquerque, where he acted in school plays and musicals. Harris graduated as an honors student in 1991.
Harris began his career as a child actor and was discovered by playwright Mark Medoff at a drama camp in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Medoff later cast him in his 1988 film Clara's Heart, a drama starring Whoopi Goldberg based on the novel of the same name by Joseph Olshan. Clara's Heart won Harris a Golden Globe nomination. The same year, he starred in Purple People Eater, a children's fantasy.
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Neil Simon
Neil Simon (born July 4, 1927) is an American playwright and screenwriter. He has written numerous Broadway plays, including Brighton Beach Memoirs, Biloxi Blues, and The Odd Couple. He won the 1991 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his play Lost In Yonkers. He has written the screenplays for several of his plays that were made into movies. He also has written the books for several musicals, including Sweet Charity.
Neil Simon was born on July 4, 1927 in The Bronx, New York City to Irving Simon, a garment salesman, and his wife Mamie. He was their second son and grew up in Washington Heights, Manhattan during the Great Depression. His father often abandoned the family, causing financial and emotional difficulties. He attended DeWitt Clinton High School and graduated at the age of sixteen.
He attended New York Universitybriefly from 1944 to 1945, where he was enlisted in the Army Air Force Reserve training program. He was assigned to Lowry Air Force Base during 1945 and attended the University of Denver from 1945 to 1946. He was a sports editor for the military magazine Rev-Meter.
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Nicholas Dante
Nicholas Dante (November 22, 1941 – May 21, 1991) was an American dancer and writer, best-known for having co-written the book of the musical A Chorus Line.
Born Conrado Morales in New York City to Puerto Rican parents, his early career was spent dancing in the chorus of Broadway musicals such as Applause and Ambassador.
In 1974, he was approached by friend Michael Bennett who invited him to the sessions which led to the basis of material for the book of a musical about Broadway "gypsies", the dancers who serve as a backdrop for the leading performers. Eventually, collaborating with James Kirkwood, Jr., the result was A Chorus Line, which earned him the 1976 Tony Award and Drama Desk Award for Best Book of a Musical and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. In particular, the story of Paul, the homosexual Puerto Rican dancer whose early career consisted of working in a drag show, was based primarily on Dante. The actor who originated the role on the famous monologue, Sammy Williams, won a Best Featured Actor in a Musical award in 1976 for the role. Dante played the role himself later on.[citation needed]
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Nicholas Hytner
Sir Nicholas Robert Hytner (born 7 May 1956) is an English film and theatre producer and director. He has been the artistic director of London's National Theatre since 2003.
Hytner was born in Manchester to a Jewish family, the son of barrister, Benet Hytner, QC, and his wife, Joyce. He attended Manchester Grammar School and read English at Trinity Hall, Cambridge. In the early 1980s he worked at Exeter University's Northcott Theatre, and in the theatre department. He later became an Associate Director at Manchester's Royal Exchange Theatre, where he worked between 1985 and 1989. Hytner first found himself working regularly at the National Theatre in London between 1989 and 1997.
Hytner's directorial work for theatre includes The Country Wife, Edward II, Don Carlos, Ghetto, Miss Saigon, Orpheus Descending, a 2-part adaptation of Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy, Alan Bennett's The History Boys, Rodgers and Hammerstein's Carousel (1992), Southwark Fair and The Alchemist, Measure for Measure (1987), The Tempest (1988) and King Lear (1990), The Recruiting Officer by George Farquhar (1992), The Cripple of Inishmaan by Martin McDonagh (1997), The Winter's Tale (2001), Mother Clap's Molly House by Mark Ravenhill (2001), Henry V (play) (2003) and England People Very Nice (2009).
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Paula Vogel
Paula Vogel (born 16 November 1951) is an American playwright and university professor. She received the 1998 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for her play, How I Learned to Drive.
Vogel was born in Washington, D.C. to Donald Stephen Vogel, an advertising executive, and Phyllis Rita Bremerman, a secretary for United States Postal Service Training and Development Center. She is a graduate of The Catholic University of America (1974, B.A.) and Cornell University (1976, M.A.). Vogel also attended Bryn Mawr College from 1969 to 1970 and 1971 to 1972.
A productive playwright since the late 1970s, Vogel first came to national prominence with her AIDS-related seriocomedy The Baltimore Waltz, which won the Obie award for Best Play in 1992. She is best known for her Pulitzer Prize-winning play How I Learned to Drive (1997), which examines the impact and echoes of child sexual abuse and incest. Other notable plays include Desdemona, A Play About A Handkerchief (1979); The Oldest Profession (1981); And Baby Makes Seven (1984); Hot 'N Throbbing (1994); and The Mineola Twins (1996).
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Peter Masterson
Peter Masterson (born June 1, 1934) is an American actor, director, producer and writer.
Masterson often worked with his cousin, writer Horton Foote. Acting from the mid-1960s to the mid-1980s,including 1975's The Stepford Wives as Walter Eberhart, since then he has concentrated mostly on directing and producing. His daughter is actress Mary Stuart Masterson, who appeared with her father in The Stepford Wives as one of the Eberhart's daughters.
Masterson's most well known and critically recognized work is The Trip to Bountiful. He wrote the books for the hit musical The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas and its short-lived sequel The Best Little Whorehouse Goes Public. His most recent work in film includes Night Game (1989) Lost Junction (2003) and Whiskey School (2005). Masterson has also been responsible for some theatrical disasters including Convicts. Convicts, starring James Earl Jones and Robert Duvall, went straight to video.
Masterson is also an accomplished sailor. In 1989, he won the Silver Medal in World Championships 5.5 metre class in Houston. He won the Silver Medal again for the 5.5 Metre Class in 1990 in Torquay. He won the Silver Medal a third time in the 5.5 Metre Class in 1992 in Nassau.
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Phyllis Newman
Phyllis Newman (born March 19, 1933) is an American actress and singer. She was nominated twice for the Drama Desk Award and won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical.
Born in Jersey City, New Jersey, she attended PS 17 and Lincoln High School where she was voted "Future Hollywood Star" (for her role in "I Remember Mama") and "Most Pull with the Faculty."
Newman made her Broadway debut in Wish You Were Here in 1952. Additional theater credits include Bells Are Ringing, Pleasures and Palaces, The Apple Tree, On the Town, The Prisoner of Second Avenue, Awake and Sing!, Broadway Bound, and Subways Are For Sleeping, for which she won the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical, beating out Barbra Streisand in I Can Get It for You Wholesale. She has been nominated twice for the Drama Desk Award and received a second Tony nomination for Broadway Bound.
In June 1979, Newman and Arthur Laurents collaborated on the one-woman show The Madwoman of Central Park West. Produced by Fritz Holt, it featured songs by Leonard Bernstein, Jerry Bock, John Kander, Martin Charnin, Betty Comden, Fred Ebb, Sheldon Harnick, Peter Allen, Barry Manilow, Carole Bayer Sager, and Stephen Sondheim, among others. The show ran for 86 performances at the 22 Steps Theatre in New York City.
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Robert Schenkkan
Robert Frederic Schenkkan, Jr. (born 19 March 1953) is an American playwright, screenwriter, and actor, perhaps most recognizable as the character of Lieutenant Commander Dexter Remmick in Star Trek: The Next Generation. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1992 for his work The Kentucky Cycle.
Schenkkan was born in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, to Jean McKenzie and Robert Frederic Schenkkan, a public television executive. He grew up in Austin, Texas. As a Plan II Honors student he received a B.A.in Drama, magna cum laude from the University of Texas, Austin (Phi Beta Kappa and Friars' Society), and an M.F.A. in Theatre Arts from Cornell University. For many years, he lived in New York City and then Los Angeles, California, working both as a writer and an actor in film, television, and theatre. Since 1990 he has focused exclusively on his writing.
Schenkkan is the author of ten full-length plays. By the Waters of Babylon premiered at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in February, 2005. The play is unrelated to the Stephen Vincent Benét short story By the Waters of Babylon or its subsequent adaptation. Lewis and Clark Reach the Euphrates premiered at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles in December 2005. The Marriage of Miss Hollywood and King Neptune premiered at the University of Texas at Austin in November 2005. And The Devil and Daniel Webster premiered at the Seattle Children’s Theatre in February 2006.
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Rupert Holmes
Rupert Holmes (born February 24, 1947) is an English-born American composer, singer-songwriter, musician and author of plays, novels and stories. He is best known for his number one pop hit "Escape (The Piña Colada Song)" (1979/1980) and the song "Him", which reached the number 6 position on the Hot 100 U.S. pop chart in 1980. He is also known for his 1985 Tony Award-winning musical Drood (originally The Mystery of Edwin Drood) and his 2007 Drama Desk Award-winning book for the Broadway musical Curtains, and for his television series Remember WENN.
Holmes was born David Goldstein in Northwich, Cheshire, England. His father, Leonard Goldstein, was a United States Army Warrant Officer and bandleader, his mother, Gwen, was English, and both were musical. Holmes has dual American and British citizenship. The family moved when Holmes was six years old to the northern New York City suburb of Nanuet, New York, where Holmes grew up and attended nearby Nyack High School and then the Manhattan School of Music (majoring in clarinet). Holmes' brother, Richard, is an opera singer based in New York City and is the principal lyric baritone of the New York Gilbert and Sullivan Players, sings roles with regional opera companies, such as Glimmerglass Opera, Lake George, and Virginia Opera, among others, and has appeared at the Metropolitan Opera.
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Sam Shepard
Sam Shepard (born Samuel Shepard Rogers IV; November 5, 1943) is an American playwright, actor, and television and film director. He is the author of several books of short stories, essays, and memoirs, and received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1979 for his play Buried Child. Shepard was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of pilot Chuck Yeager in The Right Stuff (1983).
Born Samuel Shepard Rogers IV in Fort Sheridan, Illinois, he worked on a ranch as a teenager. His father, Samuel Shepard Rogers, Jr., was a teacher and farmer who served in the United States Army Air Forces as a bomber pilot during World War II. His mother, Jane Elaine (née Schook), was a teacher and a native of Chicago, Illinois. After high school, Shepard briefly attended college, but dropped out to join a travelling theater group. He was also a drummer for the eccentric late-1960s rock band The Holy Modal Rounders, featured in the movie Easy Rider (1969).
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Sarah Kernochan
Sarah Kernochan (IPA: Kərnəxæn) (born December 30, 1947) is a documentarian, film director, screenwriter and producer from the United States.
After graduating in 1965 from Rosemary Hall (now Choate Rosemary Hall), where she was a classmate of Glenn Close, and in 1968 from Sarah Lawrence College, she worked as a ghostwriter for The Village Voice for about a year. After quitting that job, she became interested in documentary filmmaking and soon gained national prominence in the United States as co-director and co-producer with Howard Smith of the 1972 film Marjoe (about evangelist Marjoe Gortner), which won an Academy Award for Documentary Feature.
During the next two years, she released two albums on RCA Records as a singer-songwriter, House of Pain and Beat Around the Bush[1].
In 1977 Kernochan's novel Dry Hustle (ISBN 0-688-03149-8 in hard cover, ISBN 0-425-03661-8 in paperback) was published. It was reprinted as a print-on-demand and ebook in 2011.
Kernochan's first screen credit as a screenwriter came with the 1986 film 9½ Weeks. She commented on her contribution to that film in an interview with Salon.com:
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Scott Ellis
Scott Ellis (19 April 1957, Washington, DC) is an American stage director and television director.
Ellis has directed numerous Off-Broadway and Broadway productions, including the New York City Opera Company revivals at the New York State Theatre: A Little Night Music (1990) and 110 in the Shade (1992) up to his current show, the musical Curtains. He has been nominated for the Tony Award as Best Director five times: in 1994 for a revival of She Loves Me, in 1997 for Steel Pier, in 1998 for a revival of 1776, "curtains" and in 2004 for a revival of Twelve Angry Men.
He received the 1991 Drama Desk Award- Outstanding Director of a Musical- for And The World Goes 'Round.
Ellis is the Associate Artistic Director for the Roundabout Theatre.
In 2007, he received an Emmy nomination for directing the episode "The Break Up" of the comedy series 30 Rock.
Ellis is set to direct upcoming musical adaptations of the 1930s films The Blue Angel and Little Miss Marker, and both will have a book by David Thompson.
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Stephen Daldry
Stephen David Daldry, CBE (born 2 May 1960) is an English theatre and film director and producer, as well as a three-time Academy Award nominated and Tony Award winning director. He is also notable for having all of his feature films that he has directed go on to be nominated for Best Director or Best Picture at the Academy Awards, the films of which are Billy Elliot (2000), The Hours (2002),The Reader (2008) and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (2011).
Daldry was born in Dorset, England in 1961 (according to imdb), the son of bank manager Patrick Daldry and singer Cherry (née Thompson). The family moved to Taunton, Somerset, where when Daldry was aged 14, his father died of cancer.
After this, Daldry joined a youth theatre group in Taunton, and then aged 18 won a Royal Air Force scholarship to University of Sheffield to study English, where he became chairman of SuTCo (Sheffield University Theatre Company).
After graduation, he spent a year travelling through Italy, where he became a clown's apprentice. Returning to Sheffield, he became an apprentice at the Crucible Theatre from 1985-1988. He then trained as an actor at East 15 Acting School, London.
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Stephen Dorff
Stephen Dorff (born July 29, 1973) is an American actor, best known for portraying Stuart Sutcliffe in Backbeat, Johnny Marco in Sofia Coppola's Somewhere, and for his roles in Blade, Cecil B. DeMented and Space Truckers.
Dorff was born in Atlanta, Georgia, the son of Nancy and Steve Dorff, who is a composer and music producer. He has described himself as "half Jewish" (on his father's side). He was raised in Los Angeles, where his father worked, and began acting as a child, appearing in commercials for Kraft and Mattel. Dorff attended several private schools, and was expelled from five of them.
Dorff started acting in the late 1980s, landing only minor roles at first. He guest appeared in television programs such as Diff'rent Strokes, Blossom, Roseanne, Married With Children. He appeared in the television movies In Love and War, I Know My First Name is Steven and What a Dummy. Dorff's first major film role was in The Gate (1987), a horror film about a boy who, along with a friend, discovers a hole in his back garden that is a gateway to Hell. In 1992 he starred in The Power of One opposite Sir John Gielgud and Daniel Craig.
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Stephen Sondheim
Stephen Joshua Sondheim ( /ˈsɒnd.haɪm/) (born March 22, 1930) is an American composer and lyricist known for his contributions to musical theatre. He is the winner of an Academy Award, eight Tony Awards (more than any other composer) including the Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre, multiple Grammy Awards, a Pulitzer Prize and the Laurence Olivier Award. Described by Frank Rich of the New York Times as "the greatest, and perhaps best-known artist working in musical theatre", his most famous works include (as composer/lyricist) A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Company, Follies, A Little Night Music, Sweeney Todd, Sunday in the Park with George and Into the Woods. He also wrote the lyrics for West Side Story and Gypsy.
Sondheim has also written material for movies, including the 1981 Warren Beatty film Reds, contributing the song "Goodbye For Now". He also wrote five songs for the 1990 movie Dick Tracy, including "Sooner or Later (I Always Get My Man)", which won the Academy Award for Best Song.
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Susan Sarandon
Susan Sarandon (born Susan Abigail Tomalin; October 4, 1946) is an American actress. She has worked in movies and television since 1969, and won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in the 1995 film Dead Man Walking. She had also been nominated for the award for four films before that and has received other recognition for her work. She is also noted for her social and political activism for a variety of liberal causes.
Sarandon was born Susan Abigail Tomalin in New York City to a Roman Catholic family. She is the eldest of nine children of Lenora Marie (née Criscione) and Phillip Leslie Tomalin, who worked as an advertising executive, television producer, and nightclub singer during the big band era. Her father was of English, Irish, and Welsh ancestry, his English ancestors being from Hackney in London. On her mother's side, she is of Italian descent, with ancestors from the regions of Tuscany and Sicily. Sarandon attended Roman Catholic schools.[citation needed] She grew up in Edison, New Jersey, where she graduated from Edison High School in 1964. She then attended The Catholic University of America, from 1964 to 1968, where she began dating actor Chris Sarandon whom she married in 1967.
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Susan Stroman
Susan Stroman (born October 17, 1954) is an American theatre director, choreographer, film director, and performer. She has won the Tony Award for both her choreography and direction, notably for the stage musical The Producers.
Stroman was born in Wilmington, Delaware, to Frances and Charles Stroman. She was exposed to show tunes by her piano-playing salesman father. She began studying dance, concentrating on jazz, tap, and ballet at the age of five. She studied under James Jamieson at the Academy of the Dance in Wilmington. She majored in English at the University of Delaware. She performed, choreographed and directed at community theaters in the Delaware and Philadelphia area. After graduating in 1976, she moved to New York City. Her first professional appearance was in Hit the Deck at the Goodspeed Opera House in 1977. Her first Broadway credit was as an ensemble member in the 1979 musical Whoopee!. In 1980 she was assistant director, assistant choreographer, and dance captain for Musical Chairs. Wanting to direct and choreograph instead of perform, Stroman concentrated on creating for the theater. She worked in small venues as a director and choreographer in various industrial shows, club acts and commercials.
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Tommy Tune
Thomas James "Tommy" Tune (born February 28, 1939) is an American actor, dancer, singer, theatre director, producer, and choreographer. Over the course of his career, he has won nine Tony Awards and the National Medal of Arts.
Tune was born in Texas to oil rig worker, horse trainer, and restaurateur, Jim Tune, and Eva Mae Clark (the family name was shortened from "Tunesmith"). He attended Lamar High School in Houston and the Methodist-affiliated Lon Morris College in Jacksonville, Texas. He studied dance with Patsy Swayze in Houston. He went on to earn his Bachelor's degree from the University of Texas at Austin in 1962, and take graduate courses at the University of Houston. Tune later moved to New York to start his career.
In 1965, Tune made his Broadway debut as a performer in the musical Baker Street. His first Broadway directing and choreography credits were for the original production of The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas in 1978. He has gone on to direct or choreograph, or both, some eight Broadway musicals. He directed a new musical titled Turn of the Century, which premiered at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago on September 19, 2008 and closed on November 2, 2008.
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Tony Kushner
Anthony Robert "Tony" Kushner (born July 16, 1956) is an American playwright and screenwriter. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1993 for his play Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes and co-authored with Eric Roth the screenplay for the 2005 film Munich.
Kushner was born in Manhattan, New York to Jewish clarinetist and conductor William Kushner and bassoonist Sylvia Deutscher. Shortly after his birth, the family moved to Lake Charles, Louisiana, the seat of Calcasieu Parish where he spent his childhood. During high school Kushner had a reputation in policy debate, at one point going to a camp, and making it to the final rounds. Kushner moved to New York in 1974 to begin his undergraduate college education at Columbia University, where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Medieval Studies in 1978. He attended New York University's Graduate Acting Program at the Tisch School of the Arts, graduating in 1984. During graduate school, he spent the summers of 1978-1981 directing both early original works (Masque of Owls and Incidents and Occurrences During the Travels of the Tailor Max) and plays by Shakespeare (A Midsummer Night's Dream and The Tempest) for the children attending the Governor's Program for Gifted Children (GPGC) in Lake Charles.
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Trey Parker
Trey Parker (born Randolph Severn Parker III; October 19, 1969) is an American actor, voice artist, animator, screenwriter, director, producer and musician, best known for being the co-creator of South Park along with his creative partner and best friend Matt Stone.
Parker started his film career in 1992, making a holiday short titled Jesus vs. Frosty. His first success came from Cannibal! The Musical. From there he made another short titled Jesus vs. Santa, which led him and college friend Stone to create South Park, which began airing on television in 1997. He has won four Emmy Awards for his role in South Park, winning for both "Outstanding Programming More Than One Hour" and "Outstanding Programming Less Than One Hour".
He co-wrote and co-directed the 2011 multi-Tony Award winning musical The Book of Mormon.
wn.com/Trey_Parker -
Walter Bobbie
Walter Bobbie (born November 18, 1945) is an American theatre director, choreographer, and occasional actor and dancer. Bobbie has directed both musicals and plays on Broadway and Off-Broadway, and was the Artistic Director of the New York City Center Encores! concert series. He directed the long-running revival of the musical Chicago.
Bobbie was born in Scranton, Pennsylvania. He attended the University of Scranton and did graduate work at The Catholic University of America.
Bobbie explains what inspired him to work in theater: "My first Broadway show was How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, maybe in 1964. I came in to New York from college in Pennsylvania for the World's Fair...I remember sitting there -- I practically had to be held down in my seat -- and I had never seen anything like it. That day it was clear to me that I wanted to come back to New York, and theater was what I wanted to do. It was transforming the time of life and will one day grow up to become a famous director of Chicago ."
wn.com/Walter_Bobbie -
Wendy Wasserstein
Wendy Wasserstein (October 18, 1950 – January 30, 2006) was an American playwright and an Andrew Dickson White Professor-at-Large at Cornell University. She received the Tony Award for Best Play and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1989 for her play The Heidi Chronicles.
Wasserstein was born in the Brooklyn section of New York City to Morris Wasserstein, a wealthy textile executive, and his wife, Lola (née Liska) Schleifer, an amateur dancer who moved to the United States from Poland when her father was accused of being a spy. Lola Wasserstein reportedly inspired some of her daughter's characters. Wendy was one of five siblings, including brother Bruce Wasserstein, a well-known investment banker. Her maternal grandfather was Simon Schleifer, a yeshiva teacher in Wloclawek, Poland, who moved to Paterson, New Jersey and became a Hebrew school principal. Claims that Schleifer was a playwright are probably apocryphal, as contemporaries didn't recall this and the assertion only appeared once Wasserstein had won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama.
wn.com/Wendy_Wasserstein -
Wikipedia Persondata
wn.com/Wikipedia_Persondata -
Wilford Leach
Carson Wilford Leach (August 26, 1929–June 18, 1988) was an American theatre director, set designer, film director, screenwriter, and college professor.
Born in Petersburg, Virginia, Leach was the artistic director of New York City's La MaMa experimental theatre company in the 1970s. He also often directed works and designed sets for Joseph Papp's Public Theater and New York Shakespeare Festival, where he first directed The Pirates of Penzance with Kevin Kline, Linda Ronstadt, Rex Smith, and Patricia Routledge in 1980. That same year he helmed a television production with the same cast, and in 1981 he staged the Broadway production, replacing the unavailable Routledge with Estelle Parsons, and winning his first Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical. His association with Pirates continued with a 1983 feature film (with Angela Lansbury replacing Parsons), which he wrote and directed.
Leach's additional theatre directing credits include two projects that originated at the Public and then transferred to Broadway, The Human Comedy (1984) and The Mystery of Edwin Drood, for which he won his second Tony.
wn.com/Wilford_Leach -
William Finn
William Alan Finn (b. February 28, 1952, Boston, Massachusetts) is an American composer and lyricist of musicals. His musical Falsettos received the 1992 Tony Awards for Best Music and Lyrics and for Best Book.
Finn, who is Jewish, grew up in Natick, Massachusetts with his parents and siblings, Michael and Nancy. He majored in music at Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts. When he graduated, he received the Hutchinson Fellowship (a musical composition award). He is also Adjunct Faculty Composer/Lyricist at New York University.
In 1992, Finn suffered deteriorating vision, dizziness and partial paralysis and was rushed to the hospital. He had arteriovenous malformation, or AVM, in his brain stem. In September, 1992, he had Gamma Knife surgery, which obliterated the AVM. After the surgery, Finn experienced a year of humbled serenity and constantly felt like he had a "new brain." Finn's 2002 musical A New Brain is based on his experience with AVM and his subsequent successful surgery. He lives with his life partner in New York City and Pittsfield, Massachusetts, where he is a composer and writer. Besides composing for the stage and screen, Finn is member of the NYU Tisch Graduate Program in Musical Theater Writing faculty and he has been the Artistic Head of the Musical Theater Lab at the Barrington Stage Company in Pittsfield, Massachusetts for the past four years.
wn.com/William_Finn
Lapine, James Filmography
- The Devil's Pool (2014)
- The Moment When (2013)
- The Moment When (2013)
- Into the Woods (2011)
- Weegee (2010)
- The 59th Annual Tony Awards (2005)
- Earthly Possessions (1999)
- Passion (1996)
- Passion (1996)
- Passion (1996)
- Life with Mikey (1993)
- Impromptu (1991)
- A Midsummer Night's Dream (1982)
- Table Settings (1982)
Famous quotes by James Lapine:
"It's important to keep the humanity in it. These actors also in a way bring a local sensibility to the production. The audience won't feel this is a bunch of New Yorkers putting on a show."
"It's independent of that. Denzel didn't come here to get reviews. He's had reviews. Julia didn't come here to get reviewed. She's had the Oscar. She came here because she felt like doing this just as you might feel like getting up in the morning and doing something, going to the park, biking. It's not much more complicated than that. There is something in her that said, 'Julia do this.' With her, the consequences of doing this are this, so it becomes immense. That's not her doing. She is simply obeying a small voice in her head that says it is time for you to do this."
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Into the Woods - MTI Conversation Piece with Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 52:31
- Updated: 30 Dec 2012
If any owners of this video wish to have it taken down, ask me to, and I will. Because you--yes, you--are the bon-diggety. Source: www.mtishowspace.com I edited all the parts together from here-- apparently, this video is only given out with request to producers of this show, to assist them. I have to say, I'm certain there's plenty of people out there who'd absolutely ADORE to just buy features like this on their own, to be so thoroughly immersed into these creative minds.
http://wn.com/Into_the_Woods_MTI_Conversation_Piece_with_Stephen_Sondheim_and_James_Lapine
If any owners of this video wish to have it taken down, ask me to, and I will. Because you--yes, you--are the bon-diggety. Source: www.mtishowspace.com I edited all the parts together from here-- apparently, this video is only given out with request to producers of this show, to assist them. I have to say, I'm certain there's plenty of people out there who'd absolutely ADORE to just buy features like this on their own, to be so thoroughly immersed into these creative minds.
james lapine master class
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 14:45
- Updated: 16 Aug 2012
http://wn.com/james_lapine_master_class
Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine on GMA
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 5:08
- Updated: 28 Jul 2012
Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine on "Good Morning America," March 17, 2008, discussing "Sunday in the Park with George" with Diane Sawyer.
http://wn.com/Stephen_Sondheim_and_James_Lapine_on_GMA
Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine on "Good Morning America," March 17, 2008, discussing "Sunday in the Park with George" with Diane Sawyer.
- published: 17 Mar 2008
- views: 3778
- author: bobprompter
Falsettos - Medley (William Finn and James Lapine)
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:13
- Updated: 01 Jun 2012
http://wn.com/Falsettos_Medley_William_Finn_and_James_Lapine
Drama Project-James Lapine
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:41
- Updated: 27 Feb 2011
Drama Project-James Lapine
http://wn.com/Drama_Project-James_Lapine
No One is Alone
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:38
- Updated: 27 Dec 2012
Laura Benanti and the revival cast of Into the Woods sing No One is Alone on the Rosie O'Donnell show.
http://wn.com/No_One_is_Alone
Laura Benanti and the revival cast of Into the Woods sing No One is Alone on the Rosie O'Donnell show.
- published: 18 Apr 2009
- views: 74076
- author: byrnegirl141
ANNIE: A Broadway Classic Returns This Fall
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 2:26
- Updated: 26 Dec 2012
Director James Lapine and Choreographer Andy Blankenbuehler sit down to talk about their work on ANNIE and introducing a Broadway classic to the audiences of tomorrow.
http://wn.com/ANNIE_A_Broadway_Classic_Returns_This_Fall
Director James Lapine and Choreographer Andy Blankenbuehler sit down to talk about their work on ANNIE and introducing a Broadway classic to the audiences of tomorrow.
- published: 13 Feb 2012
- views: 44960
- author: AnnieOnBroadway
Impromptu Official Trailer #1 - Julian Sands Movie (1991) HD
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 2:16
- Updated: 14 Dec 2012
Impromptu Trailer - Directed by James Lapine and starring Hugh Grant, Mandy Patinkin, Julian Sands, Ralph Brown, Georges Corraface. Directed by James Lapine. With Judy Davis, Hugh Grant, Mandy Patinkin, Bernadette Peters. In 1830s France, pianist/composer is pursued romantically by the determined, individualistic woman who uses the name . MGM - 1991
http://wn.com/Impromptu_Official_Trailer_1_Julian_Sands_Movie_1991_HD
Impromptu Trailer - Directed by James Lapine and starring Hugh Grant, Mandy Patinkin, Julian Sands, Ralph Brown, Georges Corraface. Directed by James Lapine. With Judy Davis, Hugh Grant, Mandy Patinkin, Bernadette Peters. In 1830s France, pianist/composer is pursued romantically by the determined, individualistic woman who uses the name . MGM - 1991
- published: 05 Oct 2012
- views: 1303
- author: oldhollywoodtrailers
On the Scene: "Into the Woods" Opening Night
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 4:42
- Updated: 23 Dec 2012
Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's "Into the Woods" is being revived in the closest Manhattan has to woods: Central Park. Hear from the all-star cast on their opening night about this magical revival playing through September 1.
http://wn.com/On_the_Scene_Into_the_Woods_Opening_Night
Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's "Into the Woods" is being revived in the closest Manhattan has to woods: Central Park. Hear from the all-star cast on their opening night about this magical revival playing through September 1.
- published: 13 Aug 2012
- views: 14387
- author: Broadwaycom
Stephen Sondheim's Into the Woods - Available now from Digital Theatre
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 1:38
- Updated: 01 Jan 2013
Watch online or download the full show to your desktop now at www.digitaltheatre.com. Watch this Olivier Award-winning revival of Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's musical, directed by Timothy Sheader at the Regent's Park Open Air Theatre. Captured in high definition from multiple angles by Digital Theatre in front of a live audience at the Open Air Theatre, Regent's Park, London in October 2010.
http://wn.com/Stephen_Sondheim's_Into_the_Woods_Available_now_from_Digital_Theatre
Watch online or download the full show to your desktop now at www.digitaltheatre.com. Watch this Olivier Award-winning revival of Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's musical, directed by Timothy Sheader at the Regent's Park Open Air Theatre. Captured in high definition from multiple angles by Digital Theatre in front of a live audience at the Open Air Theatre, Regent's Park, London in October 2010.
- published: 24 Mar 2011
- views: 57384
- author: digitaltheatre
James Lapine and Jonathan Tunick Closing night after party for the Encores productio
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 0:21
- Updated: 08 Dec 2012
James Lapine and Jonathan Tunick Closing night after party for the Encores productio
http://wn.com/James_Lapine_and_Jonathan_Tunick_Closing_night_after_party_for_the_Encores_productio
James Lapine and Jonathan Tunick Closing night after party for the Encores productio
- published: 06 Dec 2012
- views: 5
- author: PicturesRedCarpet
Theater Talk: "The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee"
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 26:37
- Updated: 06 Dec 2012
Composer/lyricist William Finn and director James Lapine discuss their collaboration on the new musical, THE 25th ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE, which opened Off-Broadway at Second Stage and went on to become one of last season's biggest Broadway hits. Also, on the program SPELLING BEE actors JESSE TYLER FERGUSON, CELIA KEENAN-BOLGER and Tony Award winner DAN FOGLER who explain how they successfully play kids half their age in the beloved show. Theater Talk is a series devoted to the world of the stage. It began on New York television in 1993 and is co-hosted by Michael Riedel (Broadway columnist for the New York Post) and series producer Susan Haskins. The program is one of the few independent productions on PBS and now airs weekly on Thirteen/WNET in New York and WGBH in Boston. Now, CUNY TV offers New York City viewers additional opportunities to catch each week's show. (Of course, Theater Talk is no stranger to CUNY TV, since the show is taped here each week before its first airing on Thirteen/WNET.) The series is produced by Theater Talk Productions, a not-for-profit corporation and is funded by contributions from private foundations and individuals, as well as The New York State Council on the Arts. Watch more at www.cuny.tv/series/theatertalk
http://wn.com/Theater_Talk_The_25th_Annual_Putnam_County_Spelling_Bee
Composer/lyricist William Finn and director James Lapine discuss their collaboration on the new musical, THE 25th ANNUAL PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE, which opened Off-Broadway at Second Stage and went on to become one of last season's biggest Broadway hits. Also, on the program SPELLING BEE actors JESSE TYLER FERGUSON, CELIA KEENAN-BOLGER and Tony Award winner DAN FOGLER who explain how they successfully play kids half their age in the beloved show. Theater Talk is a series devoted to the world of the stage. It began on New York television in 1993 and is co-hosted by Michael Riedel (Broadway columnist for the New York Post) and series producer Susan Haskins. The program is one of the few independent productions on PBS and now airs weekly on Thirteen/WNET in New York and WGBH in Boston. Now, CUNY TV offers New York City viewers additional opportunities to catch each week's show. (Of course, Theater Talk is no stranger to CUNY TV, since the show is taped here each week before its first airing on Thirteen/WNET.) The series is produced by Theater Talk Productions, a not-for-profit corporation and is funded by contributions from private foundations and individuals, as well as The New York State Council on the Arts. Watch more at www.cuny.tv/series/theatertalk
- published: 18 May 2011
- views: 1073
- author: cunytv75
Passion - Original Broadway Cast
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 115:05
- Updated: 01 Jan 2013
Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. Book and Direction by James Lapine. Cast: Clara - Marin Mazzie Giorgio - Jere Shea Colonel Ricci - Gregg Edelman Doctor Tambourri - Tom Aldredge Lieutenant Torasso - Francis Ruivivar Sergeant Lombardi - Marcus Olson Lieutenant Barri - William Parry Major Rizzolli - TJ Meyers Private Augenti - John Antony Fosca - Donna Murphy Fosca's Father - Andy Umberger Fosca's Mother - Linda Balgord Ludovic - Christopher Peccaro Mistress - Colleen Fitzpatrick
http://wn.com/Passion_Original_Broadway_Cast
Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. Book and Direction by James Lapine. Cast: Clara - Marin Mazzie Giorgio - Jere Shea Colonel Ricci - Gregg Edelman Doctor Tambourri - Tom Aldredge Lieutenant Torasso - Francis Ruivivar Sergeant Lombardi - Marcus Olson Lieutenant Barri - William Parry Major Rizzolli - TJ Meyers Private Augenti - John Antony Fosca - Donna Murphy Fosca's Father - Andy Umberger Fosca's Mother - Linda Balgord Ludovic - Christopher Peccaro Mistress - Colleen Fitzpatrick
- published: 15 Jul 2012
- views: 5706
- author: scollark
What More Can I Say
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:33
- Updated: 11 Dec 2012
"What More Can I Say" from Falsettos performed by Greg Kenna, Spring 2008. Book by James Lapine and William Finn and music and lyrics by Finn. More: www.gregkenna.com
http://wn.com/What_More_Can_I_Say
"What More Can I Say" from Falsettos performed by Greg Kenna, Spring 2008. Book by James Lapine and William Finn and music and lyrics by Finn. More: www.gregkenna.com
- published: 07 Dec 2008
- views: 6860
- author: bythecshore
Passion Act One Scene Two
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 5:00
- Updated: 03 Apr 2012
Tony Award Winning Musical PASSION by Stephen Sondheim & James Lapine filmed @ Broadway's Plymouth Theatre.
http://wn.com/Passion_Act_One_Scene_Two
Tony Award Winning Musical PASSION by Stephen Sondheim & James Lapine filmed @ Broadway's Plymouth Theatre.
- published: 18 Jan 2008
- views: 12143
- author: BroadwayTJ
Highlights From The Public Theater's "Into the Woods," Part 2
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 3:17
- Updated: 29 Dec 2012
video.playbill.com Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's Tony Award-winning musical "Into the Woods" intertwines classic fairytales including Cinderella, Little Red Ridinghood, Rapunzel and Jack and the Beanstalk, to tell stories of wishes granted and the costs that go along with them. The Shakespeare in the Park production, playing at the Delacorte Theater through Sept. 1, stars Donna Murphy, Chip Zien, Denis O'Hare and Amy Adams and is directed by Timothy Sheader and Liam Steel in a new incarnation of their 2010 Regent's Park Open Air Theatre London staging.
http://wn.com/Highlights_From_The_Public_Theater's_Into_the_Woods,_Part_2
video.playbill.com Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's Tony Award-winning musical "Into the Woods" intertwines classic fairytales including Cinderella, Little Red Ridinghood, Rapunzel and Jack and the Beanstalk, to tell stories of wishes granted and the costs that go along with them. The Shakespeare in the Park production, playing at the Delacorte Theater through Sept. 1, stars Donna Murphy, Chip Zien, Denis O'Hare and Amy Adams and is directed by Timothy Sheader and Liam Steel in a new incarnation of their 2010 Regent's Park Open Air Theatre London staging.
- published: 10 Sep 2012
- views: 3139
- author: PLAYBILLVIDEO
ANNIE's Search for Sandy - ACT 2
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 9:58
- Updated: 30 Dec 2012
After weeks of training, Bill Berloni finishes preparing the dogs for their final audition in New York with director James Lapine, where Sandy will be chosen.
http://wn.com/ANNIE's_Search_for_Sandy_ACT_2
After weeks of training, Bill Berloni finishes preparing the dogs for their final audition in New York with director James Lapine, where Sandy will be chosen.
- published: 06 Nov 2012
- views: 392
- author: pedigreebrand
An Interview with "Into the Woods" Star Amy Adams
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 1:39
- Updated: 26 Sep 2012
Three-time Oscar nominee chats with Broadway.com about her New York stage debut playing the Baker's Wife in the Stephen Sondheim/James Lapine musical "Into the Woods."
http://wn.com/An_Interview_with_Into_the_Woods_Star_Amy_Adams
Three-time Oscar nominee chats with Broadway.com about her New York stage debut playing the Baker's Wife in the Stephen Sondheim/James Lapine musical "Into the Woods."
- published: 13 Aug 2012
- views: 1699
- author: Broadwaycom
Into the Woods on Global TV
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 5:02
- Updated: 06 May 2012
Into the Woods by Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine Patrick Street Productions, Vancouver East Cultural Centre, 2008 Director: Peter Jorgensen Musical Director Scott Knight Assistant Director: Chris Allan Stage Manager: Anne Taylor In this footage: Jonathan Winsby, Ryan Reid, Peter Jorgensen, Jennifer Toulmin & Megan Morrison Also in the cast: Robert Clarke, Katey Wright, Linda Quibell, Simon Webb, Ingrid Nilson, David Hurwitz, Patti Allan, Megan Morrison, Lisa Waines, Zena Driver, Melissa Young, David Dimapilis Set & Props Design: Marti Wright Costume Design: Barbara Clayden Lighting Design: Alan Brodie Production Manager: Terence Vander Woude Technical Director: Jayson McLean
http://wn.com/Into_the_Woods_on_Global_TV
Into the Woods by Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine Patrick Street Productions, Vancouver East Cultural Centre, 2008 Director: Peter Jorgensen Musical Director Scott Knight Assistant Director: Chris Allan Stage Manager: Anne Taylor In this footage: Jonathan Winsby, Ryan Reid, Peter Jorgensen, Jennifer Toulmin & Megan Morrison Also in the cast: Robert Clarke, Katey Wright, Linda Quibell, Simon Webb, Ingrid Nilson, David Hurwitz, Patti Allan, Megan Morrison, Lisa Waines, Zena Driver, Melissa Young, David Dimapilis Set & Props Design: Marti Wright Costume Design: Barbara Clayden Lighting Design: Alan Brodie Production Manager: Terence Vander Woude Technical Director: Jayson McLean
- published: 11 Jul 2011
- views: 1370
- author: TurnOnPatrickStreet
"Into the Woods"'s Lauren Kennedy: What a Witch!
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 2:48
- Updated: 27 Nov 2012
video.playbill.com Lauren Kennedy ("Side Show," "Sunset Boulevard") and cast mate Britney Coleman give an early rehearsal sample of "Stay With Me" from Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's fairytale-inspired "Into the Woods." After seeing the original Broadway production as a teen, Kennedy had no interest in playing the more age-appropriate Little Red Riding Hood. Rather, it was Bernadette Peters' portrayal of the Witch that captured her imagination. After some bargaining, Kennedy's childhood dream finally came true and she was cast in her first-ever Sondheim production. Directed by Westport Country Playhouse's Mark Lamos ("Cymbeline, Seascape"), this co-production first played Baltimore's Centerstage before landing in Westport.
http://wn.com/Into_the_Woods's_Lauren_Kennedy_What_a_Witch!
video.playbill.com Lauren Kennedy ("Side Show," "Sunset Boulevard") and cast mate Britney Coleman give an early rehearsal sample of "Stay With Me" from Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's fairytale-inspired "Into the Woods." After seeing the original Broadway production as a teen, Kennedy had no interest in playing the more age-appropriate Little Red Riding Hood. Rather, it was Bernadette Peters' portrayal of the Witch that captured her imagination. After some bargaining, Kennedy's childhood dream finally came true and she was cast in her first-ever Sondheim production. Directed by Westport Country Playhouse's Mark Lamos ("Cymbeline, Seascape"), this co-production first played Baltimore's Centerstage before landing in Westport.
- published: 06 Aug 2012
- views: 2279
- author: PLAYBILLVIDEO
![Into the Woods (Cleveland HS Musical) [FULL]](http://web.archive.org./web/20130101231256im_/http://i.ytimg.com/vi/ykDAd0nnuqU/default.jpg "Into the Woods (Cleveland HS Musical) [FULL]")
Into the Woods (Cleveland HS Musical) [FULL]
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 149:12
- Updated: 29 Dec 2012
Use the Interactive Transcript to jump to any specific song in the show! ---------- Cleveland High School Portland, Oregon '09-'10 Musical "Into the Woods" Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim Book by James Lapine
http://wn.com/Into_the_Woods_Cleveland_HS_Musical_FULL_
Use the Interactive Transcript to jump to any specific song in the show! ---------- Cleveland High School Portland, Oregon '09-'10 Musical "Into the Woods" Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim Book by James Lapine
- published: 13 May 2011
- views: 38311
- author: ClevelandStudios
A Look at "Annie": Cast, Creatives and Sandy, Too!
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 6:04
- Updated: 14 Dec 2012
www.playbill.com Lilla Crawford (Annie), Katie Finneran (Miss Hannigan), Anthony Warlow (Daddy Warbucks) and the cast of "Annie" were joined by lyricist Martin Charnin and the newest "Sandy" to talk about the upcoming Broadway revival of the classic musical. The cast chatted about their memories of the original Broadway production and the popular 1982 film version, how it felt to get cast in this James Lapine-directed revival, and the realistic portrayal of characters and situations that draw from real life rather than newspaper cartoons.
http://wn.com/A_Look_at_Annie_Cast,_Creatives_and_Sandy,_Too!
www.playbill.com Lilla Crawford (Annie), Katie Finneran (Miss Hannigan), Anthony Warlow (Daddy Warbucks) and the cast of "Annie" were joined by lyricist Martin Charnin and the newest "Sandy" to talk about the upcoming Broadway revival of the classic musical. The cast chatted about their memories of the original Broadway production and the popular 1982 film version, how it felt to get cast in this James Lapine-directed revival, and the realistic portrayal of characters and situations that draw from real life rather than newspaper cartoons.
- published: 06 Nov 2012
- views: 1289
- author: PLAYBILLVIDEO
Sunday in the Park with George - Stephen Sondheim
- Order: Reorder
- Duration: 6:08
- Updated: 29 Dec 2012
Short documentary on the Broadway musical Sunday in the Park with George. Narrated by Julie Andrews. Features footage from the 1985 recording at the Booth Theatre of Mandy Patinkin singing and interviews with James Lapine and Stephen Sondheim.
http://wn.com/Sunday_in_the_Park_with_George_Stephen_Sondheim
Short documentary on the Broadway musical Sunday in the Park with George. Narrated by Julie Andrews. Features footage from the 1985 recording at the Booth Theatre of Mandy Patinkin singing and interviews with James Lapine and Stephen Sondheim.
- published: 26 Dec 2010
- views: 7058
- author: respectanimals
photo: AP / New York City Police Department
30 Dec 2012
A woman who told police she shoved a man to his death off a subway platform because she has hated Muslims since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the US and thought he was one was charged on Saturday with murder as a hate crime, prosecutors said ... Menendez, 31, was awaiting arraignment on the charge on Saturday evening, Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said. She faces 25 years to life in prison if convicted ... On Dec ... ....(size: 3.0Kb)
photo: WN / Bhaskar Mallick
30 Dec 2012
Comet Ison is likely to light up the skies in 2013. David Shukman, science editor, BBC News Continue reading the main story Related Stories. A science news preview of 2012. As the Philippines, New Jersey and Britain count the cost of ferocious flooding, expect another year in which extreme weather exacts a human toll. Partly this is because more and more of us live in harm's way on coasts and flood plains ... ....(size: 9.2Kb)
photo: AP / Felicia Fonseca
01 Jan 2013
Article by WN.com Correspondent Dallas Darling. For good reason Mark Charles, a member of the Navajo Nation, is deeply offended that buried on page 45 of the 2010 Defense Appropriation Act (after pages on the maintenance and operation of the United States Military) is an "official" apology to Native American People ... political leaders and officials find it extremely difficult in expressing remorse for past mistakes ... Escorted by the U.S....(size: 5.6Kb)
photo: AP / Shaam News Network
30 Dec 2012
London. UN-Arab League envoy to Damascus, Lakhdar Brahimi, has said that a diplomatic solution to the conflict in Syria seemed far away, adding that the country risked being slithering into ‘hell’ ... (ANI). For Zee News’s Updates, follow us on Twitter , Facebook, Google+, Pinterest. First Published ... ....(size: 1.7Kb)
photo: AP / John MacDougall
31 Dec 2012
Chancellor Angela Merkel has warned that the German economic climate in 2013 will be "even more difficult". In her new year message, she also cautioned that the eurozone debt crisis was far from over. However, she did say that reforms designed to address the roots of the problem were beginning to bear fruit ... In a taped interview to be broadcast later on Monday, Mrs Merkel urged Germans to be more patient ... Voters 'wary' ... ....(size: 2.3Kb)
Wall Street Journal
28 Dec 2012
This has been an extraordinarily good year for revivals of major American plays ... Tracy Letts, the author of "August ... Murray Abraham made the most of Charles Laughton's superbly speakable translation ... What about musical revivals? Scott Ellis's Roundabout Theatre Company version of "The Mystery of Edwin Drood" and James Lapine's "Annie," with Anthony Warlow as Daddy Warbucks, both opened on Broadway to happy effect ... She's here to stay ... ....(size: 5.8Kb)
The New York Times
28 Dec 2012
Theater ... Ms ... ‘Annie’ James Lapine’s revival of the singing comic strip from 1977 is merely serviceable ... St ... Ms ... James Theater, 246 West 44th Street, (212) 239-6200, telecharge.com ... ★ ‘What Rhymes With America’ (closes on Sunday) Melissa James Gibson’s touching, mournful play examines the disappointed lives of a quartet of interlocked characters ... Schwartz, Mary Rodgers, Micki Grant and James Taylor ... ....(size: 39.9Kb)
The New York Times
21 Dec 2012
Theater. Enlarge This Image ... (Rooney) ... ‘Annie’ James Lapine’s revival of the singing comic strip from 1977 is merely serviceable ... James Theater, 246 West 44th Street, (212) 239-6200, telecharge.com ... ★ ‘What Rhymes With America’ Melissa James Gibson’s touching, mournful play examines the disappointed lives of a quartet of interlocked characters ... Schwartz, Mary Rodgers, Micki Grant and James Taylor ... ....(size: 40.7Kb)
Bloomberg
14 Dec 2012
Commanding new voices and rising young actors competed with revivals for attention in 2012. These were the best of them, on and off Broadway. 1 ... 2 ... It’s still running, and you must see it. 3 ... 4 ... 5 ... Auden, Benjamin Britten, Carson McCullers, Peter Pears and Gypsy Rose Lee ... 6 ... 7 ... 8 ... 9. Recalling James Corden’s nonstop clowning in “One Man, Two Guv’nors” still cracks me up ... 10 ... James Lapine’s Broadway revival of “Annie” is hugely entertaining ... ....(size: 5.2Kb)
The New York Times
14 Dec 2012
‘Annie’ James Lapine’s revival of the singing comic strip from 1977 is merely serviceable ... James Theater, 246 West 44th Street, (212) 239-6200, telecharge.com ... ★ ‘What Rhymes With America’ Melissa James Gibson’s touching, mournful play examines the disappointed lives of a quartet of interlocked characters....(size: 46.9Kb)
The New York Times
05 Dec 2012
Below are answers to selected reader questions about the theater world from Ben Brantley, the chief theater critic of The New York Times ... Q ... It’s worth noting that when “Sunday in the Park With George” — the Stephen Sondehim-James Lapine musical about the artist George Seurat — was revived four years ago, projections had largely taken the place of more traditional cut-out scenery in making Seurat’s art come to life ... 5 ... A ... 16 ... ....(size: 12.9Kb)
The Examiner
04 Dec 2012
The prestigious award is given each year to an American playwright. Its aim is to support a writer with a recent professional debut ... The selection committee is made up of Pulitzer Prize-winning playwrights Edward Albee, James Lapine and Lynn Nottage, Pulitzer finalist Richard Greenberg, New York Times theater and books editor Scott Heller and former New York Times Arts reporter Andrea Stevens ... Herzog ... Ms ... It opens on December 18 ... ....(size: 2.1Kb)
The Examiner
23 Nov 2012
Lilla Crawford (Annie), Emily Rosenfeld (Molly), Georgi James ... Annie book by Thomas Meehan, Music Charles Strouse, Lyrics Martin Charnin, Directed by James Lapine, Choreographed by Andy Blankenbuehler, Scenic Design David Korins, Costume Design Susan Hiferty, Lighting Design Donal Holder, Sound Design Brian Ronan, Projection Design Wendall K....(size: 15.7Kb)
The New York Times
22 Nov 2012
12) Through a series of beguilingly off-kilter plays with short titles (“This,” “Suitcase,” “[sic]”), Melissa James Gibson has emerged over the last decade as one of Off Broadway’s freshest voices ... ‘Annie’ James Lapine’s revival of the singing comic strip from 1977 is merely serviceable ... James Theater, 246 West 44th Street, (212) 239-6200, telecharge.com....(size: 46.7Kb)
Zap2it
20 Nov 2012
A mark of a true hit is even if you have not seen it, you know it. The signature songs, the story, the look. "Annie," at Broadway's Palace Theatre, is in that rarified genre. And there is good reason. The musical is tremendous fun ... And shouldn't. What is on stage is what is important ... The one part of this show that is a curious choice, though, is director James Lapine having Annie and the other girls speak aggressive Brooklyn-ese ... ....(size: 3.7Kb)
The Examiner
20 Nov 2012
Related topics. broadway musicalAnnieA Christmas StorybroadwayChild actors. Rating for Annie and A Christmas Story. 4. Advertisement. Children and dogs on stage make for great fun at both Annie and A Christmas Story. And now, both musicals are in town in time for Thanksgiving and Christmas family jaunts to The Great White Way ... Annie and A Christmas Story ... directed by James Lapine and choreographed by Andy Blankenbuehler ... Photo credit. ... ....(size: 9.5Kb)
Asbury Park Press
19 Nov 2012
The Examiner
17 Nov 2012
Related topics. AnniebroadwayKatie Finneran. Rating for Annie. 5. Advertisement. It’s eerie how “Annie” can be so relevant in the wake of Hurricane Sandy (not only the adorable mutt of the same name) and on the tails of our political debacles and economic woes. Maybe what we need is a Pres ... ... James Lapine has freshened up the rags to riches story and it’s a yummy, feel-good production.View slideshow. Annie ... Regis (J ... Tweet. 0 Email. PrintReport....(size: 9.3Kb)
| James Lapine | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1949-01-10) 10 January 1949 (age 63) Mansfield, Ohio, USA |
| Nationality | United States |
| Alma mater | Franklin and Marshall College (1971) |
| Spouse | Sarah Kernochan |
| Information | |
| Awards | Pulitzer Prize for Drama (1985) |
James Lapine (born January 10, 1949) is an American stage director and librettist. He has won the Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical three times, for Into the Woods, Falsettos, and Passion. He has frequently collaborated with Stephen Sondheim and William Finn.
Contents |
Biography[link]
Lapine was born in Mansfield, Ohio and graduated from Franklin and Marshall College in 1971.[1] He did graduate study in both photography and graphic design at the California Institute of the Arts.[2] He was a photographer, graphic designer, and architectural preservationist and taught design at the Yale School of Drama.[2] At Yale University he wrote an adaptation and directed the Gertrude Stein play Photograph, which was produced Off-Broadway at the Open Space in SoHo in 1977.[2][3] He proceeded to write and direct Off-Broadway plays and musicals, working with composer William Finn on March of the Falsettos in 1981 as director; the musical won the Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Off-Broadway Play. Frank Rich, the New York Times theatre critic, noted "Mr. Lapine's wildly resourceful staging." [4][5]
In 1982 he was introduced to Stephen Sondheim,[6]and they decided to work on a musical together, which became Sunday in the Park With George, with Lapine writing the book and directing with Sondheim's music. It was first produced Off-Broadway in 1983[7][8] and then transferred to Broadway in 1984. [9] The pair's next musical was Into the Woods, which premiered on Broadway in 1987.[10] Lapine won both the Tony Award and the Drama Desk Award, Best Book of a Musical. They then collaborated on the musical Passion, for which Lapine wrote the book and directed. The musical ran on Broadway in 1994 and in the West End in 1996, receiving a nomination for the Olivier Award for Best New Musical, and winning the Tony Award for Best Musical and Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical, among other awards and nominations.[11][12][13] Their latest collaboration is the revue Sondheim on Sondheim, presented on Broadway in 2010 and winning the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Musical Revue.[14][15]
In 1992 Lapine returned to working with William Finn, and wrote the book and directed the Broadway musical Falsettos. Lapine wrote the book, with Finn composing the music, for A New Brain, which premiered Off-Broadway in 1998.[16] They later worked together with Lapine directing Finn's musical The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, which premiered Off-Broadway in 2005 and then transferred to Broadway. The New York Times reviewer wrote of the Spelling Bee Broadway transfer that "Mr. Lapine has sharpened all the musical's elements without betraying its appealing modesty."[17] The latest Finn-Lapine work is Little Miss Sunshine, which premiered in 2011 at the La Jolla Playhouse (California).[18]
Lapine has also directed dramas, including Dirty Blonde, which ran Off-Broadway and on Broadway in 2000. Conceived by Claudia Shear and Lapine and written by Shear with direction by Lapine, Ben Brantley called Lapine's direction "stylish and compassionate."[19] Lapine was nominated for the Tony Award and Drama Desk Award, for Best Direction of a Play.[20]
Lapine is expected to direct the upcoming Fall 2012 Broadway revival of Annie.[21]
- Film
In 1991 he directed his first film, Impromptu, which has a screenplay by his wife, Sarah Kernochan. The story revolves around the romance of George Sand and Chopin, and starred Judy Davis and Hugh Grant.[2][22] He directed the film version of Anne Tyler's novel Earthly Possessions, starring Susan Sarandon and Stephen Dorff, for HBO in 1999.[23][24]
Personal life[link]
He is married to screenwriter/director Sarah Kernochan.[25][26] The couple's daughter is Phoebe Lapine,[26] a food writer.
Theatre[link]
- As a director, Lapine has worked on
- Photography of Gertrude Stein (1977)
- March of the Falsettos (1981) - composed by William Finn
- Sunday in the Park with George (1984) - composed by Stephen Sondheim
- Merrily We Roll Along (1985, La Jolla Playhouse)- composed by Stephen Sondheim
- Into the Woods (1987) - composed by Stephen Sondheim
- Falsettos (1992) - composed by William Finn
- Passion (1994) - composed by Stephen Sondheim
- Into the Woods (revival) - 1997
- The Diary of Anne Frank (1997) - written by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett
- Golden Child (1998) - written by David Henry Hwang
- Der Glockner von Notre Dame (1999, in Berlin) - composed by Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz
- Dirty Blonde (2000) - written by Claudia Shear
- Into the Woods (revival) - 2002
- Amour (2002) - composed by Michel Legrand
- The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (2005) - composed by William Finn
- Sondheim on Sondheim (2010) - musical revue of Stephen Sondheim work
- Little Miss Sunshine (2011, La Jolla Playhouse) - also wrote the book; composed by William Finn[27]
- Writer, musicals
He has written the libretti for the following musicals:
- Sunday in the Park with George - 1984
- Into the Woods - 1987
- Falsettos - 1992
- Passion - 1994
- Luck, Pluck, and Virtue (also director) - 1995, La Jolla Playhouse and Atlantic Theatre Company, both starring Neil Patrick Harris[28]
- Der Glockner von Notre Dame - 1999 (in Berlin)
- A New Brain (Off-Broadway) - 1999
- Writer, plays
- Table Settings (also director) - 1979 and 1980 at Playwrights Horizons[29][30][31]
- Twelve Dreams (also director) - 1978; 1981 Public Theater[32]
- The Moment When - 2000 Playwrights Horizons, featuring Mark Ruffalo and Phyllis Newman[33]
- Fran's Bed (also director) - 2003, Long Wharf Theatre, starring Mia Farrow[34]; 2005 Playwrights Horizons[35]
Film[link]
For film, he has directed:
- Earthly Possessions (1999, TV) - starring Susan Sarandon, Stephen Dorff
- Life with Mikey (1993) - starring Michael J. Fox, Cyndi Lauper
- Impromptu (1991) - starring Judy Davis, Hugh Grant, Mandy Patinkin, Bernadette Peters
Awards and nominations[link]
- Awards
- 1984 Drama Desk Award Outstanding Book - Sunday in the Park with George
- 1984 Drama Desk Award Outstanding Director of a Musical - Sunday in the Park with George
- 1985 Pulitzer Prize for Drama - Sunday in the Park with George
- 1988 Drama Desk Award Outstanding Book of a Musical - Into the Woods
- 1988 Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical - Into the Woods
- 1992 Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical - Falsettos
- 1994 Drama Desk Award Outstanding Book - Passion
- 1994 Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical - Passion
- 2005 Drama Desk Award Outstanding Director of a Musical - The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
- Nominations
- 1984 Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical - Sunday in the Park with George
- 1984 Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical - Sunday in the Park with George
- 1988 Drama Desk Award Outstanding Director of a Musical - Into the Woods
- 1988 Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical - Into the Woods
- 1992 Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical - Falsettos
- 1994 Drama Desk Award Outstanding Director of a Musical - Passion
- 1994 Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical - Passion
- 1999 Drama Desk Award Outstanding Book of a Musical - A New Brain
- 2000 Drama Desk Award Outstanding Director of a Play - Dirty Blonde
- 2000 Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play - Dirty Blonde
- 2002 Drama Desk Award Outstanding Director of a Musical - Into the Woods
- 2002 Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical - Into the Woods
- 2003 Drama Desk Award Outstanding Director of a Musical - Amour
- 2005 Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical - The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
Notes[link]
- ^ "Archives and Special Collections, Franklin and Marshall College, James Lapine Collection" FranklinandMarshall.library.com, accessed March 10, 2011
- ^ a b c d "Stars Over Broadway, James Lapine" pbs.com, accessed March 10, 2011
- ^ Secrest, p. 326
- ^ Rich, Frank."Stage:March of the Falsettos'A Musical Find" The New York Times, April 10, 1981
- ^ "'March of the Falsettos' Listing" Internet Off-Broadway DataBase, accessed March 10, 2011
- ^ Secrest, pp.326-341
- ^ Lawson, Carol.Summer's hottest ticket? How about Sondheim musical? The New York Times (abstract), June 17, 1983
- ^ "'Sunday in the Park with George'Listing" Internet Off-Broadway DataBase, accessed March 10, 2011
- ^ Secrest, pp.326-341
- ^ Rich, Frank."Stage:'Into the Woods,' From Sondheim" The New York Times, November 6, 1987
- ^ Richards, David."Review/Theater; Sondheim Explores the Heart's Terrain" The New York Times (Books, The New York Times on the Web), May 10, 1994
- ^ "'Pasion' Listing, 1994" InternetBroadwayDatabase.com, accessed March 10, 2011
- ^ "Olivier Awards, 1997 albemarle-london.com, accessed March 10, 2011
- ^ Brantley, Ben."Theater Review:'Sondheim On Sondheim'" The New York Times, April 23, 2010
- ^ Gans, Andrew."'Red', 'Memphis', 'Bridge', 'Fences' and 'La Cage' Win Drama Desk Awards" Playbill.com, May 23, 2010
- ^ "'A New Brain', 1998" InternetOff-BroadwayDatabase.com, accessed March 10, 2011
- ^ Isherwood, Charles."Theater Review:Six Misfits Test Wits On Bigger Platform" The New York Times, May 3, 2005
- ^ Jones, Kenneth."Road Trip! Finn & Lapine's 'Little Miss Sunshine' Musical Begins World-Premiere Run in CA" Playbill.com, February 15, 2011
- ^ Brantley, Ben."Theater Review:Smitten by a Goddess, but She's No Angel" The New York Times, January 11, 2000
- ^ "Complete List of 1999-2000 Tony Award Winners" Playbill.com, June 4, 2000
- ^ Gans, Andrew."Broadway Revival of 'Annie' Finds Its Orphans" Playbill.com, May 15, 2012
- ^ Maslin, Janet. "Review/Film: Chopin, George Sand, Liszt and Some Others" The New York Times, April 12, 1991
- ^ Tynan, William.Earthly Possessions' TimeMagazine.com, March 22, 1999
- ^ "Earthly Possessions Listing" InternetMovieDatabase.com, accessed March 10, 2011
- ^ "James Lapine biography" SondheimGuide.com, accessed March 10, 2011
- ^ a b "Sarah Kernochan biography" TCM.com, accessed March 10, 2011
- ^ Jones, Kenneth."Road Trip! Finn & Lapine's 'Little Miss Sunshine' Musical Begins World-Premiere Run in CA" Playbill.com, February 15, 2011
- ^ Canby, Vincent."Theater Reveiw:A Morality Tale About Everybody's Fall Guy" The New York Times, April 5, 1995
- ^ Eder, Richard."'Table Settings,'a Comedy Of a Modern Jewish Family; The Cast" The New York Times, March 24, 1979
- ^ "'Table Settings' Listing, 1979" InternetOff-BroadwayDatabase.com, accessed March 10, 2011
- ^ "'Table Settings' Listing, 1980" InternetOff-BroadwayDatabase.com, accessed March 10, 2011
- ^ "'Twelve Dreams' Listing, 1981" InternetOff-BroadwayDatabase.com, accessed March 10, 2011
- ^ Weber, Bruce.As Life Fatefully Unspools at a Yada-Yada Cocktail Party" The New York Times, March 22, 2000
- ^ Klein, Alvin."Theater Review:She's Taken to Her Bed, But No One's Sure Why" The New York Times", November 9, 2003
- ^ "'Fran's Bed' Listing, 2005" InternetOff-BroadwayDatabase.com, accessed March 10, 2011
References[link]
- Haagensen, Erik J. "The Passion of James Lapine." SHOWmusic The Musical Theatre Magazine 1994: pp.11-16
- Secrest, Meryle. Stephen Sondheim:A Life, Random House (1999), ISBN 0-385-33412-5
External links[link]
- James Lapine at the Internet Broadway Database
- James Lapine at the Internet Movie Database
- James Lapine at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
- TonyAwards.com Interview with James Lapine
- Official Site of James Lapine
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| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| Name | Lapine, |
| Alternative names | |
| Short description | |
| Date of birth | January 10, 1949 |
| Place of birth | Mansfield, Ohio, USA |
| Date of death | |
| Place of death | |
http://wn.com/James_Lapine
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This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
| Stephen Sondheim | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Stephen Joshua Sondheim |
| Born | (1930-03-22) March 22, 1930 (age 82) New York City, U.S. |
| Genres | Musical theatre |
| Occupations | Composer, lyricist |
| Years active | 1954–present |
Stephen Joshua Sondheim ( /ˈsɒnd.haɪm/) (born March 22, 1930) is an American composer and lyricist known for his contributions to musical theatre. He is the winner of an Academy Award, eight Tony Awards (more than any other composer) including the Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre,[1] multiple Grammy Awards, a Pulitzer Prize and the Laurence Olivier Award. Described by Frank Rich of the New York Times as "the greatest, and perhaps best-known artist working in musical theatre",[2] his most famous works include (as composer/lyricist) A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Company, Follies, A Little Night Music, Sweeney Todd, Sunday in the Park with George and Into the Woods. He also wrote the lyrics for West Side Story and Gypsy.
Sondheim has also written material for movies, including the 1981 Warren Beatty film Reds, contributing the song "Goodbye For Now". He also wrote five songs for the 1990 movie Dick Tracy, including "Sooner or Later (I Always Get My Man)", which won the Academy Award for Best Song.
He was president of the Dramatists Guild from 1973 to 1981. In celebration of his 80th birthday, the Henry Miller's Theatre was renamed the Stephen Sondheim Theatre on September 15, 2010, and the The BBC Proms staged a concert in his honor. Cameron Mackintosh has described Sondheim as "possibly the greatest lyricist ever."[3]
Early years[link]
Sondheim was born to a Jewish family in New York City, to Etta Janet "Foxy" (née Fox) and Herbert Sondheim.[4] He grew up on the Upper West Side of Manhattan and later, after his parents divorced, on a farm near Doylestown, Pennsylvania. Herbert was a dress manufacturer and Foxy, his mother, designed the dresses. As an only child of well-to-do parents living in the San Remo on Central Park West, he is described in Meryle Secrest's biography, Stephen Sondheim: A Life, as having had an isolated and emotionally neglected childhood. While living in New York, Sondheim attended the Ethical Culture affiliated Fieldston School. Later, Sondheim attended the New York Military Academy and George School, a private Quaker preparatory school in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, where he wrote his first musical ("By George!"). He also spent several summers at Camp Androscoggin.[4] He graduated from George School in 1946.
Sondheim traces his interest in theatre to Very Warm for May, a Broadway musical he saw at age nine. "The curtain went up and revealed a piano," Sondheim recalled. "A butler took a duster and brushed it up, tinkling the keys. I thought that was thrilling."[5]
When Sondheim was ten, his father, a distant figure, abandoned him and his mother. His father sought custody of Stephen, but because he had left Foxy for another woman (Alicia), his efforts failed. Herbert and Alicia had two sons together. In his interview with Meryle Secrest, Sondheim explained that he was “what they call an institutionalized child, meaning one who has no contact with any kind of family. You’re in, though it’s luxurious, you’re in an environment that supplies you with everything but human contact. No brothers and sisters, no parents, and yet plenty to eat, and friends to play with and a warm bed, you know?”
Sondheim famously hated his mother;[6] he once wrote a thank-you note to close friend Mary Rodgers that read, "Dear Mary and Hank, Thanks for the plate, but where was my mother's head? Love, Steve."[5] His mother was allegedly psychologically abusive,[7] projecting anger from her failed marriage onto him.[8] Sondheim said, "When my father left her, she substituted me for him. And she used me the way she used him, to come on to and to berate, beat up on, you see. What she did for five years was treat me like dirt, but come on to me at the same time."[9] At one point, she wrote him a letter saying that the "only regret [she] ever had was giving him birth." [10] When she died in the spring of 1992, he did not attend her funeral.[6][11]
Career[link]
Mentored by Oscar Hammerstein II[link]
At about the age of ten, around the time of his parents' divorce, Sondheim became friends with James Hammerstein, son of the lyricist and playwright Oscar Hammerstein II. The elder Hammerstein became Sondheim's surrogate father, and had a profound influence on him, especially in developing a love for musical theatre. It was at the opening of South Pacific, the musical Hammerstein wrote with Richard Rodgers, that Sondheim met Harold Prince, who would later direct many of Sondheim's shows. While at George School, Sondheim wrote a comic musical based on the goings-on of his school, entitled By George. It was a major success among his peers, and it considerably buoyed the young songwriter's ego; he took it to Hammerstein, and asked him to evaluate it as though he had no knowledge of its author. Hammerstein said it was the worst thing he had ever seen. "But if you want to know why it's terrible," Hammerstein offered, "I'll tell you." The rest of the day was spent going over the musical, and Sondheim would later say that "in that afternoon I learned more about songwriting and the musical theater than most people learn in a lifetime."[12]
Thus began one of the most famous apprenticeships in the musical theatre, as Hammerstein designed a kind of course for Sondheim on the construction of a musical. This training primarily involved having Sondheim write four musicals, each with one of the following preconditions:
- Based on a play he admired (which became All That Glitters);
- Based on a play he liked but thought was flawed, choosing the Maxwell Anderson play High Tor;
- Based on an existing novel or short story not previously dramatized (which became his unfinished Mary Poppins entitled Bad Tuesday,[13] not connected to the musical film and stage play scored by the Sherman Brothers);
- An original (which became Climb High).
None of these "assignment" musicals was ever produced professionally. High Tor and Mary Poppins have never been produced at all; the rights holder for the original High Tor refused permission and his musical Mary Poppins was not finished.[14]
In 1950, Sondheim graduated magna cum laude from Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts, where he was a member of Beta Theta Pi fraternity. His first teacher at Williams was Robert Barrow, and according to Sondheim
...everybody hated him because he was very dry, and I thought he was wonderful because he was very dry. And Barrow made me realize that all my romantic views of art were nonsense. I had always thought an angel came down and sat on your shoulder and whispered in your ear 'dah-dah-dah-DUM.' Never occurred to me that art was something worked out. And suddenly it was skies opening up. As soon as you find out what a leading tone is, you think, Oh my God. What a diatonic scale is—Oh my God! The logic of it. And, of course, what that meant to me was: Well, I can do that. Because you just don't know. You think it's a talent, you think you're born with this thing. What I've found out and what I believed is that everybody is talented. It's just that some people get it developed and some don't.[15]
He went on to study composition with the composer Milton Babbitt. Sondheim told biographer Meryle Secrest, "I just wanted to study composition, theory, and harmony without the attendant musicology that comes in graduate school. But I knew I wanted to write for the theatre, so I wanted someone who did not disdain theatre music. Milton, who was a frustrated show composer, was a perfect combination."[16] Babbitt and Sondheim were both fascinated with mathematics and together they studied songs by various composers, especially Jerome Kern. Sondheim told Secrest that Kern had the ability "to develop a single motif through tiny variations into a long and never boring line and his maximum development of the minimum of material." Sondheim then said of Babbitt, "I am his maverick, his one student who went into the popular arts with all his serious artillery."[16]
Sondheim says that when he asked Babbitt if he could study atonality, Babbitt replied "You haven’t exhausted tonal resources for yourself yet, so I’m not going to teach you atonal."[17] Sondheim agreed, and despite frequent dissonance and a highly chromatic style, his music remains resolutely tonal.
Broadway lyricist[link]
"A few painful years of struggle" followed for Sondheim, during which he continually auditioned songs, living in his father's dining room to save money; he also spent time in Hollywood writing for the television series Topper.[5] He devoured 1940s and '50s films and has called cinema his "basic language."[6] (His film knowledge got him through The $64,000 Question contestant tryouts.) Sondheim has expressed his dislike of movie musicals, favoring classic dramas like Citizen Kane, The Grapes of Wrath, and A Matter of Life and Death. He adds that "studio directors like Michael Curtiz and Raoul Walsh ... were heroes of mine. They went from movie to movie to movie, and every third movie was good and every fifth movie was great. There wasn't any cultural pressure to make art."[18]
In 1954, Sondheim wrote both music and lyrics for Saturday Night, which was never produced on Broadway and was shelved until a 1997 production at London's Bridewell Theatre. In 1998 Saturday Night received a professional recording, followed by a revised version with two new songs and an Off-Broadway run at Second Stage Theatre in 2000 and a full British premiere with the new songs in 2009 at London's Jermyn Street Theatre.[19] "I don't have any emotional reaction to 'Saturday Night' at all -- except fondness," Sondheim says. "It's not bad stuff for a 23-year-old. There are some things that embarrass me so much in the lyrics -- the missed accents, the obvious jokes. But I decided, Leave it. It's my baby pictures. You don't touch up a baby picture -- you're a baby!"[6]
Sondheim's big break came when he wrote the lyrics to West Side Story, lyricizing Leonard Bernstein's music and Arthur Laurents's book. When he was 25, Sondheim was introduced to Bernstein, who had heard Saturday Night and quickly hired him to write the lyrics to West Side Story.[20] The 1957 show, directed by Jerome Robbins, ran for 732 performances. While this may be one of the best-known shows Sondheim ever worked on, he has expressed dissatisfaction with his lyrics, stating they do not always fit the characters and are sometimes too consciously poetic. It has been rumored that while Bernstein was off trying to fix the musical Candide, Sondheim wrote some of the music for West Side Story, and that Bernstein’s co-lyricist billing credit mysteriously disappeared from the credits of West Side Story during the tryout, presumably as a trade-off.[21] Sondheim himself insisted that Bernstein told the producers to list Sondheim as the sole lyricist.
In 1959, he wrote the lyrics for the musical, Gypsy. Sondheim would have liked to write the music as well, but Ethel Merman, the star, insisted on a composer with a track record. Thus, Jule Styne was hired.[22] Sondheim questioned if he should write only the lyrics for another show, but Hammerstein told him writing for a star would be valuable experience. Sondheim worked closely with book writer Arthur Laurents to create the show. It ran 702 performances.
Eventually Sondheim wrote both the music and lyrics, for A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. It opened in 1962 and ran 964 performances. The book, based on the farces of Plautus, was written by Burt Shevelove and Larry Gelbart. Sondheim's score was not especially well received at the time. Even though the show won several Tony Awards, including best musical, Sondheim did not even receive a nomination. In addition, some critics felt the songs were not properly integrated into the farcical action.
At this point, Sondheim had participated in three straight hits. His next show ended the streak. Anyone Can Whistle (1964) was a 9-performance flop, although it introduced Angela Lansbury to musical theatre and has developed a cult following.
In 1965 he wrote the lyrics only for Do I Hear a Waltz?, with music by Richard Rodgers. He has said that this is the one project he has regretted.[6] In 1966, he semi-anonymously provided the lyric for "The Boy From...", a parody of "The Girl from Ipanema", a highlight of the off-Broadway revue The Mad Show. (The official songwriting credit went to the linguistically minded pseudonym "Esteban Rio Nido", which translates from the Spanish to "Stephen River Nest". In the show's playbill, the lyrics are credited to "Nom De Plume".)
After completing Evening Primrose, Jerome Robbins had tried to convince Sondheim to adapt Bertolt Brecht's The Measures Taken, but Sondheim admitted that he did not like the play and did not like a lot of his work. Robbins wanted to adapt another Brecht play The Exception and the Rule and called John Guare to adapt the book. Bernstein had not written for the stage in a while, and his contract conducting the New York Philharmonic was ending. Sondheim was invited to Robbins' house, who unbeknownst to him, was trying to be convinced to write the lyrics to a musical adaption of The Exception and the Rule. Guare was asked to convince Sondheim to do the lyrics. According to Robbins, if Sondheim didn't do it, Bernstein wouldn't do it. After Guare told him about the show, Sondheim agreed to do it. Guare asked, "Why haven't you all worked together since 'West Side Story'?" to which Sondheim replied, "You'll see". Guare recalled a moment when Robbins had put him in a house Robbins had rented for Gold and Fizdale, and he put Guare in a locked room, saying he could not come out until he was finished. Any finished papers were slid under the door. Guare said working with Sondheim was like being with an old college roommate, they just talked and talked. Guare heavily depended on Sondheim to help him "decode and decipher their crazy way of working." Guare said that Bernstein only worked after midnight and Robbins only worked in the bright and early morning. Guare also commented that Bernstein's score, which was supposed to be light, was heavily influenced by Bernstein's feeling he needed to make a major musical statement.[23]
Stuart Ostrow, who had ties with Sondheim with The Girls Upstairs (later titled Follies), agreed to produce the musical, now entitled A Play By Brecht (later titled The Race to Urga). An opening date was set and they were in the middle of auditions when Robbins asked to be excused for a moment. He did not come back and Guare asked where he went and the doorman said he got in a limousine and was headed to Kennedy Airport. This caused Bernstein to burst into tears and said "It's over". Sondheim said of the project, "I was ashamed of the whole project. It was arch and didactic in the worst way."[24] He wrote one and half songs, and threw them both away (the only time he has ever done that). Eighteen years later, Bernstein and Robbins asked Sondheim to retry adapting the show, but Sondheim refused.[23]
Collaborations with Hal Prince (1970–1981)[link]
After the completion of Do I Hear a Waltz, Sondheim has devoted himself to both composing and writing lyrics for a series of varied and adventurous musicals, beginning with the innovative "concept musical" Company in 1970.
Sondheim's work is notable for his use of complex polyphony in the vocal parts, such as the chorus of five minor characters who function as a sort of Greek chorus in 1973's A Little Night Music. He also displays a penchant for angular harmonies and intricate melodies. His musical influences are varied; Sondheim has claimed that he "loves Bach" but his favorite period is Brahms to Stravinsky.[25] To fans, Sondheim's musical sophistication is considered to be greater than that of many of his musical theatre peers, and his lyrics are likewise renowned for their ambiguity, wit, and urbanity.
Sondheim collaborated with producer/director Harold Prince on six musicals between 1970 and 1981. Company (1970) centered on a set of characters and themes rather than a straightforward plot. Follies (1971) was similarly structured, filled with pastiche songs echoing styles of earlier composers. A Little Night Music (1973), a more traditionally plotted show based on the film Smiles of a Summer Night by Ingmar Bergman, was one of his greatest successes. Time magazine called it "Sondheim's most brilliant accomplishment to date."[26] Notably, the score was mostly composed in waltz time (either ¾ time, or multiples thereof.) Further success was accorded to A Little Night Music when "Send in the Clowns" became a hit single for Judy Collins. Although it was Sondheim's only Top 40 hit, his songs are frequently performed and recorded by cabaret artists and theatre singers in their solo careers.
By Bernstein premiered at the off-Broadway Westside Theatre on November 23, 1975 and closed on December 7, 1975. It ran for 40 previews and 17 performances. The lyrics and music were by Leonard Bernstein, with additional lyrics from other lyricists, including Sondheim. It was conceived and written by Betty Comden and Adolph Green and Norman L. Berman. The production was directed by Michael Bawtree with a cast of Jack Bittner, Margery Cohen, Jim Corti, Ed Dixon, Patricia Elliott, Kurt Peterson, and Janie Sell. The two known songs that had Sondheim contributions are "In There" from the adaption of The Exception and the Rule (which would later be named The Race to Urga) and a cut song from West Side Story "Kids Ain't (Like Everybody Else)".[27]
Pacific Overtures (1976) was the most non-traditional of the Sondheim—Prince collaborations, an intellectual exploration of the westernization of Japan. Sweeney Todd (1979), Sondheim's most operatic score and libretto (which, along with A Little Night Music, has been seen in opera houses), once again explores an unlikely topic, this time murderous revenge and cannibalism. The book, by Hugh Wheeler, is based on Christopher Bond's 1973 stage version of the Victorian original.[28][29][30][31][32]
Merrily We Roll Along (1981), with a book by George Furth, is one of Sondheim's more "traditional" scores and was thought to hold potential to generate some hit songs (Frank Sinatra and Carly Simon each recorded a different song from the show). Sondheim's music director, Paul Gemignani, said, “Part of Steve’s ability is this extraordinary versatility.” Merrily, however, was a 16-performance flop. "Merrily did not succeed, but its score endures thanks to subsequent productions and recordings. According to Martin Gottfried, "Sondheim had set out to write traditional songs... But [despite] that there is nothing ordinary about the music."[33] Sondheim and Furth have extensively revised the show since its initial opening.
In the late nineties, Sondheim reunited with Hal Prince for the musical comedy Wise Guys, a project that took a long time to complete that follows brothers Addison and Wilson Mizner. Though a Broadway production starring Nathan Lane and Victor Garber and directed by Sam Mendes was announced for Spring 2000,[34] the New York debut of the musical was delayed. Rechristened Bounce in 2003, the show was mounted at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago, and at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.. Bounce received disappointing reviews and never reached Broadway. A revised version of Bounce premiered off-Broadway at The Public Theater under the new name Road Show from October 28, 2008 through December 28, 2008, under the direction of John Doyle.
Collaborations with John Weidman (1976–)[link]
Pacific Overtures (1976) had music and lyrics by Sondheim and a book by John Weidman. It opened on Broadway at the Winter Garden Theatre on January 11, 1976, and closed after 193 performances on June 27, 1976
Assassins (1990) with music and lyrics by Sondheim and a book by Weidman. The show opened off-Broadway at the Playwrights Horizons on December 18, 1990, and closed on February 16, 1991 after 73 performances. The idea came from when Sondheim was a panelist at producer Stuart Ostrow's Musical Theater Lab, and he read a script by playwright Charles Gilbert. Sondheim asked Gilbert for permission to use his idea. Gilbert consented and offered to write the book; but Sondheim declined, having already had collaborator John Weidman in mind.[35]
Weidman would also write the book for Road Show, with music and lyrics by Sondheim.
Collaborations with James Lapine (1984–1994)[link]
The failure of Merrily greatly affected Sondheim; he was ready to quit theatre and do movies or create video games or write mysteries. He was later quoted as saying, "I wanted to find something to satisfy myself that does not involve Broadway and dealing with all those people who hate me and hate Hal."[36] The collaboration between Sondheim and Prince would largely end after Merrily – until the 2003 production of Bounce, another failure.
However, instead of quitting the theatre following the failure of Merrily, Sondheim decided "that there are better places to start a show", and found a new collaborator in the "artsy" James Lapine. Lapine has a taste "for the avant-garde and for visually oriented theatre in particular." Their first collaboration was Sunday in the Park with George (1984), in which Sondheim's music evoked the pointillist painting technique of its subject, Georges Seurat. In 1985, he and Lapine won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for Sunday in the Park with George. The show had its first revival on Broadway in 2008.
The Sondheim–Lapine collaboration also produced a musical reimagining classic fairy-tales, Into the Woods (1987). Their last work together was the rhapsodic Passion (1994), which was adapted from the Italian film Passione D'Amore by Ettore Scola. After a run of 280 performances, Passion became the shortest-running show to win the Tony Award for Best Musical.[citation needed]
Later work[link]
Regarding his interest in writing new work, Sondheim was quoted in a 2006 Time Out: London interview as saying, "No... It's age. It's a diminution of energy and the worry that there are no new ideas. It’s also an increasing lack of confidence. I’m not the only one. I’ve checked with other people. People expect more of you and you’re aware of it and you shouldn’t be."[37] In December 2007, however, Sondheim said that, along with continued work on Bounce, he was "nibbling at a couple of things with John Weidman and James Lapine."[38]
Lapine created a "multimedia revue", formerly titled Sondheim: a Musical Revue, which had been scheduled to premiere in April 2009 at the Alliance Theatre, Atlanta, Georgia. However, that production was canceled, due to "difficulties encountered by the commercial producers attached to the project...in raising the necessary funds".[39][40] A revised version, Sondheim on Sondheim, was produced by the Roundabout Theatre Company and premiered on Broadway at Studio 54 in a limited engagement from March 19, 2010 in previews, opening April 22 through June 13. The cast featured Barbara Cook, Vanessa L. Williams, Tom Wopat, Norm Lewis and Leslie Kritzer.[41]
Upcoming projects[link]
It was announced in February 2012 that Sondheim will be collaborating on a new musical with David Ives. Sondheim has said that he has "about 20-30 minutes of the musical completed."[42][43][44][45][46] The show is tentatively called All Together Now and is assumed to follow the format of Merrily We Roll Along. Sondheim said of the project, "two people and what goes into their relationship...We’ll write for a couple of months, then have a workshop. It seemed experimental and fresh 20 years ago. I have a feeling it may not be experimental and fresh any more."[47]
Conversation with Frank Rich[link]
On April 28, 2002, during the Sondheim Celebration at the Kennedy Center, Sondheim and Frank Rich of the New York Times held a "conversation".[48][49] In March 2008, Sondheim and Rich appeared in four interviews/conversations in California[50][51][52] and Portland, Oregon[53] titled "A Little Night Conversation with Stephen Sondheim".[54][55] In September 2008, they appeared at Oberlin College in Oberlin, Ohio. The Cleveland Jewish News reported on the Oberlin event, writing: "Sondheim said: 'Movies are photographs; the stage is larger than life.' What musicals does Sondheim admire the most? Porgy and Bess tops a list which includes Carousel, She Loves Me, and The Wiz, which he saw six times. Sondheim took a dim view of today’s musicals. What works now, he said, are musicals that are easy to take; audiences don’t want to be challenged."[56][57] Sondheim and Rich had more conversations on January 18, 2009 at Avery Fisher Hall,[58] on February 2, 2009 at the Landmark Theatre, Richmond, Virginia,[59] on February 21, 2009 at the Kimmel Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,[60] and on April 20, 2009 at the University of Akron College of Fine and Applied Arts, EJ Thomas Hall, Akron, Ohio.[61] The conversations were reprised at Tufts and Brown Universities in February 2010 and the University of Tulsa in April 2010.[62] They spoke again at Lafayette College on March 8, 2011.[63]
Sondheim had an additional "conversation with" Sean Patrick Flahaven (associate editor of The Sondheim Review) at the Kravis Center in West Palm Beach, Florida, on February 4, 2009, during which he spoke of many of his songs and shows. "On the perennial struggles of Broadway: 'I don’t see any solution for Broadway's problems except subsidized theatre, as in most civilized countries of the world.'"[64]
On February 1, 2011, Sondheim sat down with The Salt Lake Tribune's former theatre critic Nancy Melich in front of an audience of 1200 at the Kingsbury Hall. Melich said of the night
He was visibly taken by the university choir, who sang two songs during the evening, 'Children Will Listen' and 'Sunday', and then returned to reprise 'Sunday'. During that final moment, Sondheim and I were standing, facing the choir of students from the University of Utah's opera program, our backs to the audience, and I could see tears welling in his eyes as the voices rang out. Then, all of a sudden, he raised his arms and began conducting, urging the student singers to go full out, which they did, the crescendo building, their eyes locked with his, until the final 'on an ordinary Sunday' was sung. It was thrilling, and a perfect conclusion to a remarkable evening—nothing ordinary about it.[65]
Work away from Broadway[link]
Sondheim's career has been varied, encompassing much beyond the composition of musicals.
An avid fan of games, in 1968 and 1969 Sondheim published a series of cryptic crossword puzzles in New York magazine. In 1987, Time referred to his love of puzzlemaking as "legendary in theater circles," adding that the central character in Anthony Shaffer's hit play Sleuth was inspired by Sondheim. (There was a rumor that Sleuth was given the working title Who's Afraid of Stephen Sondheim?, but in a New York Times interview on March 10, 1996, Shaffer denied ever using the title.)[5] Sondheim's love of puzzles and mysteries can also be seen in the intricate "whodunit" he co-wrote with longtime friend Anthony Perkins, The Last of Sheila. This 1973 film, directed by Herbert Ross, starred Dyan Cannon, Raquel Welch, James Mason, James Coburn and Richard Benjamin.
He tried his hand at playwriting one more time – in 1996 he collaborated with Company librettist George Furth on a play called Getting Away with Murder. It was not a success, and the Broadway production closed after 29 previews and 17 performances.
His compositional efforts have included a number of film scores, notably a set of songs written for Warren Beatty's 1990 film version of Dick Tracy; one song, "Sooner or Later (I Always Get My Man)" (as performed by Madonna), won Sondheim an Academy Award.
Unfinished or canceled works[link]
Sondheim was asked to translate Mahagonny-Songspiel, although he did not state the time. He said, "But, I'm not a Brecht/Weill fan and that's really all there is to it. I'm an apostate: I like Weill's music when he came to America better than I do his stuff before.... I love The Threepenny Opera but, outside of The Threepenny Opera, the music of his I like is the stuff he wrote in America – when he was not writing with Brecht, when he was writing for Broadway."[66] He was also asked to musicalize Nathanael West's A Cool Million with James Lapine around 1982, but he refused.[67][68]
Sondheim worked with William Goldman on Singing Out Loud, a movie musical, in 1992.[69] Sondheim stated that Goldman wrote one or two drafts of the script and Sondheim wrote six and a half songs, only to have director Rob Reiner lose interest in the project. The songs "Dawn" and "Sand" from the project were recorded for the albums Sondheim at the Movies and Unsung Sondheim.[66] Sondheim and Leonard Bernstein wrote The Race to Urga, scheduled to play at the Lincoln Center in 1969, but when Jerome Robbins left the project, it went unproduced.[70] Sondheim also wrote some new songs for a proposed Into the Woods film, including one entitled Rainbows, which Sondheim said will be in his second book (to be published in October 2011).[dated info] The project never got further than a readthrough.[66]
Sondheim, in 1991, was working with Terrence McNally on a musical entitled All Together Now. McNally said, "Steve was interested in telling the story of a relationship from the present back to the moment when the couple first met. We worked together a while, but we were both involved with so many other projects that this one fell through". The script, with concept notes by McNally and Sondheim, is archived in the Harry Ransom Humanities Research Center at the University of Texas at Austin. The story follows Arden Scott, a 30-something female sculptor, and Daniel Nevin, a slightly younger, sexually charismatic restaurateur.[71]
Books[link]
Sondheim wrote a book of annotations of his lyrics titled Finishing the Hat (2010), a collection of his lyrics "from productions dating 1954–1981. In addition to published and unpublished lyrics from West Side Story, Follies and Company, the tome finds Sondheim discussing his relationship with Oscar Hammerstein II and his collaborations with composers, actors and directors throughout his lengthy career."[72][73] This book, part one of a two part series, is named after a song he wrote for Sunday in the Park With George. Sondheim said "It's going to be long. I'm not, by nature, a prose writer, but I'm literate, and I have a couple of people who are vetting it for me, whom I trust, who are excellent prose writers."[74][75] Finishing the Hat was published in October 2010. The review of the book in The New York Times stated that "The lyrics under consideration here, written during a 27-year period, aren’t presented as fixed and sacred paradigms, carefully removed from tissue paper for our reverent inspection. They’re living, evolving, flawed organisms, still being shaped and poked and talked to by the man who created them."[76] The book was number 11 on The New York Times Hardcover Nonfiction list for November 5, 2010.[77]
The follow-up book, Look, I Made a Hat: Collected Lyrics (1981–2011) with Attendant Comments, Amplifications, Dogmas, Harangues, Digressions, Anecdotes and Miscellany was released on November 22, 2011. The book begins with Sunday in the Park With George, where Finishing the Hat stopped, and includes sections on his work in movies and television.[78]
Major works[link]
Unless otherwise noted, music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim.
- Saturday Night (1954, though unproduced until 1997) (book by Julius J. Epstein and Philip G. Epstein)
- West Side Story (1957) (music by Leonard Bernstein; book by Arthur Laurents; directed by Jerome Robbins)
- Gypsy (1959) (music by Jule Styne; book by Arthur Laurents; directed by Jerome Robbins)
- A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1962) (book by Burt Shevelove and Larry Gelbart; directed by George Abbott)
- Anyone Can Whistle (1964) (book by Arthur Laurents; directed by Arthur Laurents)
- Do I Hear a Waltz? (1965) (music by Richard Rodgers; book by Arthur Laurents; directed by John Dexter)
- Company (1970) (book by George Furth; directed by Hal Prince)
- Follies (1971) (book by James Goldman; directed by Hal Prince)
- A Little Night Music (1973) (book by Hugh Wheeler; directed by Hal Prince)
- Pacific Overtures (1976) (book by John Weidman; directed by Hal Prince)
- Sweeney Todd (1979) (book by Hugh Wheeler; directed by Hal Prince)
- Merrily We Roll Along (1981) (book by George Furth; directed by Hal Prince)
- Sunday in the Park with George (1984) (book by James Lapine; directed by James Lapine)
- Into the Woods (1987) (book by James Lapine; directed by James Lapine)
- Assassins (1990) (book by John Weidman; directed by Jerry Zaks)
- Passion (1994) (book by James Lapine; directed by James Lapine)
- Bounce (2003) (book by John Weidman; directed by Hal Prince); retitled Road Show
- The Frogs – a musical version of Aristophanes' comedy with book by Burt Shevelove (1974). Second version (2004) with revised book by Nathan Lane, contains seven new songs. First performed in the Yale University swimming pool in May 1974.[79]
- Road Show (2008) (book by John Weidman; directed by John Doyle); (formerly titled Bounce, Wise Guys and Gold!)
Revues and anthologies[link]
Side By Side By Sondheim (1976), Marry Me A Little (1980), You're Gonna Love Tomorrow (1983) Putting It Together (1993), and Sondheim on Sondheim (2010) are anthologies or revues of Sondheim's work as composer and lyricist, featuring both songs performed and cut from productions. Jerome Robbins' Broadway features "You Gotta Have a Gimmick" from Gypsy, "Suite of Dances" from West Side Story, and "Comedy Tonight" from A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. A new revue, Secret Sondheim ... a celebration of his lesser known work, conceived and directed by Tim McArthur, plays the Jermyn Street Theatre, London, in July 2010.[80]
Sondheim's work is also featured in The Madwoman of Central Park West, including the songs "Pretty Women" and "Everybody Ought to Have a Maid".[81]
Minor works[link]
Stage[link]
- I Know My Love (1951), play, Sondheim wrote a Christmas carol for it
- A Mighty Man is He (1955), play, wrote song Rag Me That Mendelssohn March
- Girls of Summer (1956) (incidental music by Sondheim; play by N. Richard Nash)
- Take Five (1957) revue
- Invitation to a March (1960) (incidental music by Sondheim; play by Arthur Laurents)
- The World of Jules Feiffer (1962) (incidental music by Sondheim; sketches by Jules Feiffer)
- Hot Spot (1963) (music mostly by Mary Rodgers; lyrics mostly by Martin Charnin)
- The Mad Show (1966) (music mostly by Mary Rodgers; lyrics mostly by Marshall Barer) wrote the lyric for "The Boy From...", a parody of "The Girl from Ipanema". (Credited as Esteban Rio Nido [a translation of Stephen Sondheim])
- Illya Darling (1967), unused number I Think She Needs Me (music by Manos Hadjidakis and lyrics by Sondheim)
- Twigs (1971), play by George Furth, wrote song Hollywood and Vine (Music by Stephen Sondheim and lyrics by George Furth)
- The Enclave (1973) (incidental music to the play by Arthur Laurents)
- Candide – Second Version (1974) (new lyrics by Sondheim; original lyrics by Richard Wilbur; music by Leonard Bernstein; book by Hugh Wheeler)
- By Bernstein (1975)- music and lyrics by Leonard Bernstein, additional lyrics by Betty Comden, Adolph Green, John Latouche, Jerry Leiber, and Stephen Sondheim; written and conceived by Comden and Green, with Michael Bawtree, Norman L. Berman and the Chelsea Theatre Center.[82]
- Hey, Love (1993 Off-Broadway),(Music mostly by Mary Rodgers)
- Getting Away with Murder (1996 on Broadway), a "comedy thriller" (non-musical play), co-written with George Furth.[83]
- King Lear (2007), incidental music for a Public Theatre production of the Shakespeare tragedy, composed with orchestrator Michael Starobin. The production was directed by James Lapine and starred Kevin Kline.
Film and TV[link]
- Topper (circa 1953), a non-musical television comedy series for which Sondheim co-wrote eleven episodes.
- Evening Primrose (1966), a made-for-TV musical about a secret society of people living in department stores and the romance between Ella, a department store denizen, and Charles, a poet who decides to live in the department store after renouncing the world. Four songs, including the cabaret standard "Take Me To The World" and the well-loved, if lesser-known, ballad "I Remember".
- A Funny Thing Happened On the Way to the Forum (1966), a movie adaptation of the musical. Zero Mostel reprised his role as Pseudolus.
- The Last of Sheila (1973), a nonmusical film mystery written with Anthony Perkins. Perkins and Sondheim received a 1974 Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America for Best Motion Picture Screenplay.
- Sondheim appears in the 1974 PBS television version of the play June Moon by George S. Kaufman and Ring Lardner. In the film, Sondheim plays a wise-cracking pianist named Maxie Schwartz.
- "The Madam's Song", also called "I Never Do Anything Twice", for the film The Seven-Per-Cent Solution (1976).
- The score for Alain Resnais's film Stavisky (1974).
In 1976 Sondheim appeared, together with theatre critic Frank Rich, John Weidman (book for Pacific Overtures) and members of the original cast of Pacific Overtures in a television program titled "Anatomy of a Song." Sondheim plays piano as cast sings the song "Someone in a Tree". Sondheim discusses his working methods, the genesis of the show, and names "Someone in a Tree" his favorite song to date.
- A Little Night Music, (1977) a movie adaptation of the stage work. Several of Sondheim's songs were dropped for the film version. However, he wrote a completely new song entitled "The Glamorous Life" to take the place of the song by the same name from the stage version. Sondheim also wrote new lyrics to "Night Waltz."
- Music for the film Reds starring Warren Beatty (1981), including the song "Goodbye For Now."
- Five songs for Warren Beatty's film Dick Tracy (1990), including "Sooner or Later (I Always Get My Man)", which won the Academy Award for Best Song.
- Two songs for the film The Birdcage (1996) "It Takes All Kinds" (not used) and "Little Dream".
- Cameo as himself in the 2003 film Camp.
- Sondheim had a guest part on The Simpsons episode "Yokel Chords" as himself (2007).
- Sweeney Todd, (2007) a movie adaptation of the stage work, made with Sondheim's participation and approval, was directed by Tim Burton, featuring a largely nonmusical cast led by Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter. All choral numbers were cut to focus more on the primary characters. The movie, in the USA and abroad, grossed over $150 million.
- Follies, allegedly in pre-production is the film of Sondheim's Follies, with a script by Aaron Sorkin.[citation needed] In an interview in 2008, Sondheim said "There is a move afoot to do Follies movie with a well-known director and a well-known star, and I'm not going to tell you who they are."[84]
Honors and awards[link]
- Sondheim at 80
Several benefits and concerts were performed to celebrate Sondheim's 80th birthday in 2010. Among them were the New York Philharmonic's Sondheim: The Birthday Concert, which was held March 15 and 16, 2010 at Lincoln Center's Avery Fisher Hall and hosted by David Hyde Pierce. The concert included Sondheim music and songs performed, in some cases, by the original performers. Lonny Price directed, with Paul Gemignani conducting. The performers included: Laura Benanti, Matt Cavenaugh, Michael Cerveris, Victoria Clark, Jenn Colella, Jason Danieley, Alexander Gemignani, Joanna Gleason, Nathan Gunn, George Hearn, Patti LuPone, Marin Mazzie, Audra McDonald, John McMartin, Donna Murphy, Karen Olivo, Laura Osnes, Mandy Patinkin, Bernadette Peters, Bobby Steggert, Elaine Stritch, Jim Walton, Chip Zien, the 2009 Broadway revival cast of West Side Story and a ballet performed by Blaine Hoven and Maria Riccetto set to Stephen Sondheim's score of Warren Beatty's Reds. Jonathan Tunick also made a special appearance to pay tribute to his longtime collaborator.[85][86] The concert was telecast on the PBS "Great Performances" show during November 2010,[87] and the DVD of the performance was released on November 16, 2010.
The Roundabout Theatre Company benefit Sondheim 80 was held on March 22, 2010. The evening included a performance of Sondheim on Sondheim, plus dinner and a show at the New York Sheraton. There was "a very personal star-studded musical tribute" with new songs by contemporary musical theatre writers. The composers, who sang their own songs, included Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey, Michael John LaChiusa, Andrew Lippa, Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez, Lin-Manuel Miranda (accompanied by Rita Moreno), Duncan Sheik, and Jeanine Tesori and David Lindsay-Abaire. Bernadette Peters performed a song (unnamed) that was dropped from a Sondheim show.[88][89]
The New York City Center birthday celebration and benefit concert on April 26, 2010 featured (in order of appearance): Michael Cerveris, Alexander Gemignani, Donna Murphy, Debra Monk, Joanna Gleason, Maria Friedman, Mark Jacoby, Len Cariou, B.D. Wong, Claybourne Elder, Alexander Hanson, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Raul Esparza, Sutton Foster, Nathan Lane, Michele Pawk, the original cast of Into the Woods; Kim Crosby, Chip Zien, Danielle Ferland, & Ben Wright, Angela Lansbury, and Jim Walton. This concert was directed by John Doyle and co-hosted by Mia Farrow. During the concert, greetings were read. These greetings were written by: Sheila Hancock, Julia McKenzie, Milton Babbitt, Judi Dench, and Glynis Johns. After Catherine Zeta-Jones performed "Send in the Clowns," a recorded greeting from Julie Andrews was played. During her greeting, she sang a little of "Not a Day Goes By." Patti LuPone, Barbara Cook, Bernadette Peters, Tom Aldredge and Victor Garber were originally scheduled to perform, but withdrew from the concert. One of the beneficiaries of the concert was Young Playwrights Inc.[90][91]
On July 31, 2010, a BBC Proms concert was held to celebrate Sondheim's 80th Birthday at the Royal Albert Hall in London. It featured songs from many of his musicals, including a performance of "Send in the Clowns" from A Little Night Music by Judi Dench (reprising her role as Desirée from the 1995 production of that musical), and performances from many other stars of opera, Broadway, stage and screen, including Bryn Terfel and Maria Friedman.[92][93]
On November 19, 2010, The New York Pops performed at Carnegie Hall to celebrate Sondheim's 80th birthday, led by Steven Reineke. Kate Baldwin, Aaron Lazar, Christiane Noll, Paul Betz, Renee Rakelle, Marilyn Maye (singing "I’m Still Here"), and Alexander Gemignani were all on hand to sing songs including "I Remember", "Another Hundred People", "Children Will Listen", and "Getting Married Today". Sondheim made an on-stage appearance during the concert's encore of his song "Old Friends".[94][95]
- Honors
Sondheim has received the following honors:
- Hutchinson Prize for Music Composition (at college graduation, 1950)
- Elected to The American Academy of Arts and Letters (1983)
- Kennedy Center Honors, Lifetime Achievement, (1993)
- The Algur H. Meadows Award, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas (November 12, 1994, taped and televised on the A&E television network January 12, 1995)[96]
- Special Award, Olivier Award, 2011, "in recognition of his contribution to London theatre"; the award was presented at the ceremony by Cameron Mackintosh and Angela Lansbury.[97][98]
- UK's Critics' Circle 2011 Award for Distinguished Services to the Arts, March 2012, for "what is effectively a lifetime achievement award", as Mark Shenton (Drama section chairman) commented.[99]
- Awards
He has won these awards:
- Pulitzer Prize in Drama, Sunday in the Park with George (1985)
- Academy Award for Best Song, "Sooner or Later (I Always Get My Man)" from Dick Tracy (1990)
- Company (1970, Best Score from an Original Cast Album)
- A Little Night Music (1973, Best Score from an Original Cast Album)
- "Send in the Clowns" (1975, Song of the Year)
- Sweeney Todd (1979, Best Cast Show Album)
- Sunday in the Park With George (1984, Best Cast Show Album)
- Into the Woods (1988, Best Musical Cast Show Album)
- Passion (1994, Best Musical Cast Show Album)
- West Side Story (2010, Best Musical Cast Show Album)
- A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1963, Best Musical)
- Company (1971, Best Score, Best Lyrics)
- Follies (1972, Best Score)
- A Little Night Music (1973 Best Score)
- Sweeney Todd (1979, Best Score)
- Into The Woods (1988, Best Score)
- Passion (1994 Best Score)
- Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre (2008)
- Company (1969–70, Best Musical, Outstanding Music, Outstanding Lyrics)
- Follies (1970–71, Outstanding Music, Outstanding Lyrics)
- A Little Night Music (1972–73, Outstanding Music and Lyrics)
- Sweeney Todd (1978–79, Outstanding Musical, Outstanding Music, Outstanding Lyrics)
- Sunday in the Park with George (1983–84, Outstanding Musical, Outstanding Lyrics)
- Into the Woods (1987–88, Outstanding Musical, Outstanding Lyrics)
- Passion (1993–94, Outstanding Musical, Outstanding Music, Outstanding Lyrics)
- Road Show (2009, Music and Lyrics)
- Sweeney Todd (1980, Best New Musical)
- Follies (1987, Best New Musical)
- Candide (1988, Best New Musical)
- Sunday in the Park with George (1991, Best New Musical)
- Merrily We Roll Along (2001, Best New Musical)
- Society of London Theatre Special Award, Stephen Sondheim (Honorary Award)
Legacy[link]
- Young Playwrights
This organization, founded by Sondheim in 1981, is intended to introduce young people to writing for the theatre. He is the Executive Vice President.[100]
- The Stephen Sondheim Center for the Performing Arts
The Stephen Sondheim Center for the Performing Arts opened December 7–9, 2007, and is located at the Fairfield Arts & Convention Center in Fairfield, Iowa. The Center opened with performances from seven Broadway performers, including Len Cariou, Liz Callaway, and Richard Kind, all of whom had taken part in the musicals of Sondheim.[101][102] The center is the first one in the world named after him, with a Broadway theatre the second.
- The Stephen Sondheim Society
In 1993 the Stephen Sondheim Society was set up to promote and provide information about the works of Stephen Sondheim. Sondheim - the Magazine is the Society magazine devoted to Sondheim's work, and is sent to every member of the Society. The Society aims to create a greater interest and appreciation of them by means of circulating information and providing a focal point where those interested can share such interests. It issues news, provides education, maintains a database of information, organizes productions, meetings, outings, and other events, assists with publicity and promotion, publishes articles, and performs other tasks. It runs a website at www.sondheim.org.
- The Stephen Sondheim Society's Student Performer of the Year Competition
An annual event, the competition gives 12 young musical theatre students from top UK drama schools and universities the opportunity to compete for a prize of £1,000. Per Sondheim's request, a prize is also offered for a new song by a young composer, judged by George Stiles and Anthony Drewe. Each contestant performs one Sondheim song and one new song.
- Media
Most of the episode titles from the television series Desperate Housewives reference his work in some way, through the use of either song titles or lyrics.[103][104][105][106] The final episode in the series is titled "Finishing the Hat" (airing May 13, 2012).[107]
- Musical Theatre Development
In 1990, Sondheim took the Cameron Mackintosh chair in musical theatre at Oxford, and in this capacity ran workshops with promising writers of musicals, such as George Stiles, Anthony Drewe, Andrew Peggie, Paul James, Stephen Keeling and others. These writers jointly set up the Mercury Workshop in 1992, which eventually merged with the New Musicals Alliance to become MMD, a UK-based organisation developing new musical theatre, of which Sondheim continues to be patron.
- The Sondheim Award
The Signature Theatre, Arlington, Virginia, established a new award, "The Sondheim Award", "as a tribute to America's most influential contemporary musical theatre composer." The first award was presented at a gala fund-raiser on April 27, 2009, with help from performers Bernadette Peters, Michael Cerveris, Will Gartshore and Eleasha Gamble. Sondheim himself was the first recipient of the award, which also includes a $5000 honorarium for the recipients' choice of a nonprofit organization.[108][109][110] The 2010 honoree was Angela Lansbury, with Peters and Catherine Zeta-Jones as honorary hosts for the Gala Benefit held on April 12, 2010.[111] The 2011 honoree was Bernadette Peters.[112] The 2012 honoree was Patti LuPone.[113]
- The Stephen Sondheim Theatre
A Broadway theatre at West 43rd Street in New York City, The Henry Miller's Theatre, was renamed The Stephen Sondheim Theatre on September 15, 2010, in honor of his 80th birthday. In attendance were Nathan Lane, Patti LuPone, and John Weidman. Sondheim said of the naming, "I'm deeply embarrassed. Thrilled, but deeply embarrassed. I've always hated my last name. It just doesn't sing. I mean, it's not Belasco. And it's not Rodgers and it's not Simon. And it's not Wilson. It just doesn't sing. It sings better than Schoenfeld and Jacobs. But it just doesn't sing." Lane said of the day, "We love our corporate sponsors and we love their money, but there's something sacred about naming a theatre, and there's something about this that is right and just."[114]
- The Sondheim Review
Sondheim is the only living composer to have a quarterly journal published in his name.[citation needed] The Sondheim Review, founded in 1994, exists to chronicle and promote the works of Stephen Sondheim.[115]
Personal life[link]
Sondheim has been described as being extremely introverted and a mostly solitary person. He has stated that he doesn't believe in marriage. He came out as a homosexual in the 1980s and did not live with a partner until he was 61. This was Peter Jones, a dramatist; they lived together for several years, until 1999.[116] In an interview with Frank Rich, Sondheim said that "the outsider feeling – somebody who people want to both kiss and kill – occurred quite early in my life.'"[6]
See also[link]
Notes[link]
- ^ "Tony Awards Legacy Facts and Trivia" tonyawards.com, retrieved March 14, 2010
- ^ Rich, Frank."Conversations With Sondheim" The New York Times , March 12, 2000, Magazine Section 6, p. 38
- ^ Fanshawe, Simon."An iconoclast on Broadway"The Guardian , December 12, 2000
- ^ a b Secrest bookThe New York Times
- ^ a b c d Henry, William A, III (1987-12-07). "Master of the Musical; Stephen Sondheim Applies a Relentless". Time. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,966141,00.html. Retrieved 2007-03-19.
- ^ a b c d e f Rich, Frank (2000-03-12). "Conversations With Sondheim". The New York Times. http://partners.nytimes.com/library/magazine/home/20000312mag-sondheim.html. Retrieved 2007-01-17.
- ^ King, Robert A., The Psychoanalytic Study of the Child (1972), Yale University Press, ISBN 0-300-11996-8, p. 310
- ^ Secrest, p. 30
- ^ Schiff, Stephen (2010). "Deconstructing Sondheim". The Sondheim Review (Sondheim Review, Inc.) XVII (2): 17. ISSN 1076-450X.
- ^ Kakutani, Michiko (1994-03-20). "Sondheim's Passionate "Passion"". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/books/98/07/19/specials/sondheim-compassion.html. Retrieved 2012-04-07.
- ^ Secrest, p 272, "Sondheim was in London when his mother died and did not return for her funeral."
- ^ Zadan, Craig, Sondheim & Co., New York: Harper & Row, 1974 & 1986 p. 4 ISBN 0-06-015649-X
- ^ "Sondheim's Saturday Night at the Jermyn Street Theatre – MusicalCriticism.com (Musical Theatre review)". MusicalCriticism.com. http://www.musicalcriticism.com/opera/saturday-night-0209.shtml. Retrieved October 18, 2011.
- ^ Secrest, pp. 78–79
- ^ Schiff, Stephen (2010). "Deconstructing Sondheim". The Sondheim Review (Sondheim Review, Inc.) XVII (2): 16. ISSN 1076-450X.
- ^ a b "An early influence". The Sondheim Review (Sondheim Review, Inc.) XVII (4): 6. 2011. ISSN 1076-450X.
- ^ Horowitz, Mark Eden, Sondheim on Music, New York: Scarecrow Press, 2003, p. 117, ISBN 978-0-8108-4437-7, ISBN 0-8108-4437-0
- ^ Mitchell, Elvis (2003-08-28). "Sondheim, Film Aficionado; Choices for Telluride Festival Show Nonmusical Side". The New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D04EEDC1139F93BA1575BC0A9659C8B63. Retrieved 2008-03-28.
- ^ "Sondheim's Saturday Night to Play London's Jermyn Street Theatre in 2009". Playbill. http://www.playbill.com/news/article/119611-Sondheims-Saturday-Night-to-Play-Londons-Jermyn-Street-Theatre-in-2009. Retrieved October 18, 2011.
- ^ Schiff, Stephen (2010). "Deconstructing Sondheim". The Sondheim Review (Sondheim Review, Inc.) XVII (2): 18. ISSN 1076-450X.
- ^ Suskin, Steven (1990). Opening Night on Broadway: A Critical Quotebook of the Golden Era of the Musical Theatre. New York: Schirmer Books. p. 697. ISBN 0-02-872625-1.
- ^ Zadan, p.38
- ^ a b Secrest, Meryle."Chapter 10:Being Alive" Stephen Sondheim: A Life (1998, 2011), (books.google.com), Vintage Books, ISBN 978-0-307-94684-3, pp.188-189
- ^ Abernathy, June."Sondheim's Lost Musical" sondheim.com, accessed February 5, 2012
- ^ interview on Sunday Arts, ABC (Australia) TV August 5, 2007 An Audience With Stephen Sondheim2007 ABC Australia TV interview downloadable ("Episode 26")
- ^ "A Precious Fancy". Time. 1973-03-19. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,906953,00.html. Retrieved 2007-03-19.
- ^ "Sondheim Guide / Other Stage Work". Sondheimguide.com. http://www.sondheimguide.com/other.html. Retrieved October 18, 2011.
- ^ Berkvist, Robert. "Stephen Sondheim Takes a Stab at Grand Guignol". New York Times, February 25, 1979
- ^ "'Sweeney Todd'". Sondheim.com, retrieved March 22, 2010
- ^ Wheeler, Hugh; Sondheim, Stephen. "Sweeney Todd script, Introduction by Christopher Bond". Hal Leonard Corporation, 1991, ISBN 1-55783-066-5, p. 1
- ^ "'Sweeney Todd' listing" "Based on a Version of "Sweeney Todd" by Christopher Bond". Sondheimguide.com, retrieved March 22, 2010
- ^ Brown, Larry. "'Sweeney Todd' Notes". Larryavisbrown.homestead.com, retrieved March 22, 2010
- ^ Gottfried, Martin (photos By Martha Swope), Sondheim, New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 1993, pgs. 146–147 ISBN 978-0-8109-3844-1 ISBN 0-8109-3844-8
- ^ Bahr, David (1999-10-12). "Everything's coming up Sondheim". The Advocate. http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1589/is_1999_Oct_12/ai_55983616. Retrieved 2007-03-19.
- ^ Michael Cerveris (2008). "Story of Assassins". Amazing Journey. http://www.amazing-journey.com/assassins_story.htm. Retrieved 2008-08-09.
- ^ in Gottfried, Sondheim, p.153
- ^ 2006 Sondheim feature. Timeout.com London
- ^ 2007 Interview: Stephen Sondheim for "Sweeney Todd". DarkHorizons.com
- ^ Hetrick, Adam. "Liz Callaway Cast in World Premiere of iSondheim: a Musical Revue". Playbill.com, February 4, 2009
- ^ Gans, Andrew and Hetrick, Adam. "Atlanta's Alliance Theatre Cancels Sondheim Revue; Brel Will Play Instead". Playbill.com, February 26, 2009
- ^ Jones, Kenneth. "Sondheim on Sondheim, a New Musical Reflection of a Life in Art, Begins on Broadway". Playbill.com, March 19, 2010
- ^ "Powerhouse Scribes Stephen Sondheim & David Ives at Work on New Musical" BroadwayWorld.com, February 29, 2012
- ^ Kepler, Adam W. and Healy, Patrick. "Rolling Along: Sondheim Discloses He’s Working on a New Show" The New York Times (artsbeat.blogs), February 29, 2012
- ^ Wappler, Margaret. "Stephen Sondheim has '20 or 30 minutes' written of a new musical" Los Angeles Times (blogs), February 2012
- ^ "BWW Exclusive: Stephen Sondheim Drops Hint About New Musical with David Ives!" BroadwayWorld.com, February 29, 2012
- ^ Jones, Kenneth. "Stephen Sondheim Collaborating With David Ives on New Musical" Playbill.com, February 29, 2012
- ^ "Stephen Sondheim Reveals New Details on David Ives Collaboration" BroadwayWorld.com, March 5, 2012
- ^ "Kennedy Center Sondheim Celebration". Kennedy-center.org. http://www.kennedy-center.org/programs/newseason/sondheim/. Retrieved October 18, 2011.
- ^ "Sondheim Guide listing for Kennedy Center Celebration, 2002". Sondheimguide.com. http://www.sondheimguide.com/concerts3.html#Kennedy. Retrieved October 18, 2011.
- ^ Student Affairs Information Systems, webmaster@sa.ucsb.edu. "UCSB listing". Artsandlectures.sa.ucsb.edu. https://artsandlectures.sa.ucsb.edu/Details.aspx?PerfNum=889. Retrieved October 18, 2011.
- ^ "UCLA listing". Magazine.ucla.edu. http://www.magazine.ucla.edu/depts/happenings/stephen-sondheim/. Retrieved October 18, 2011.
- ^ "Rich schedule". Frankrich.com. http://www.frankrich.com/schedule.htm. Retrieved October 18, 2011.
- ^ Portland listing[dead link]
- ^ by A. M. Homes. "''Vanity Fair'' article about the talks, March 2008". Vanity Fair. http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2008/03/ontheroad200803. Retrieved October 18, 2011.
- ^ "''Santa Barbara Independent'', Interview with Sondheim about the talks, March 6, 2008". Independent.com. March 6, 2008. http://www.independent.com/news/2008/mar/06/stephen-sondheim-and-frank-rich-stage-em-little-ni/. Retrieved October 18, 2011.
- ^ Oberlin listing[dead link]
- ^ Heller, Fran. "Sondheim scores a hit at Oberlin College". Cleveland Jewish News, October 10, 2008
- ^ Gans, Andrew. "Sondheim and Rich Will Discuss A Life in the Theater in January 2009". Playbill.com, November 11, 2008
- ^ "An Evening with Stephen Sondheim listing". Modlin Center for the Arts, accessed November 16, 2008
- ^ "An Evening with Stephen Sondheim and Frank Rich listing. Phillyfunguide.com, accessed November 16, 2008
- ^ "Stephen Sondheim with Frank Rich listing", ejthomashall.com, accessed November 16, 2008
- ^ "Sondheim conversation set for TU". Tulsa World. April 18, 2010. http://www.tulsaworld.com/scene/article.aspx?subjectid=272&articleid=20100418_272_D4_Thefre754390. Retrieved October 18, 2011.
- ^ "A Life in the Theater: Broadway Legend Stephen Sondheim Visits Campus · About · Lafayette College". Lafayette.edu. March 9, 2011. http://www.lafayette.edu/about/news/2011/03/09/a-life-in-the-theater-broadway-legend-stephen-sondheim-visits-campus/. Retrieved October 18, 2011.
- ^ Maupin, Elizabeth. "Sondheim talks. And talks. And talks." Orlandosentinel.com, February 5, 2009
- ^ "More from Sondheim". The Sondheim Review (Sondheim Review, Inc.) XVII (4): 6. 2011. ISSN 1076-450X.
- ^ a b c Cerasaro, Pat."Stephen Sondheim Talks Past Present Future" broadwayworld.com, November 3, 2010
- ^ Bixby, Suzanne (2008). "Jumping In". The Sondheim Review (Sondheim Review, Inc.) XVI (4): 28. ISSN 1076-450X.
- ^ Isenberg, Barbara."Meet Mr. Plucky : To James Lapine, directing his new play 'Luck, Pluck & Virtue' means booting Horatio Alger smack dab into the '90s" LA Times, August 1, 1993
- ^ "'Singing Out Loud' listing" sondheimguide.com, accessed August 4, 2011
- ^ Long, Robert. "Broadway, The Golden Years: Jerome Robbins And The Great Choreographer-Directors: 1940 To The Present" (2003). Continuum International Publishing Group. ISBN 0-8264-1462-1, pp 133–134
- ^ Frontain, Raymond-Jean (2011). "Mutual admiration". The Sondheim Review (Sondheim Review, Inc.) XVII (3): 30–33. ISSN 1076-450X.
- ^ Hetrick, Adam."Stephen Sondheim and James Earl Jones Set for TimesTalks This Fall" playbill.com, August 16, 2010
- ^ Table of Contents randomhouse.com
- ^ Haun, Harry."Exclusive! Sondheim Explains Evolution from Bounce to Road Show". Playbill.com, August 12, 2008
- ^ Gardner, Elysa. "Sondheim sounds off about writing songs". USA oday, October 9, 2008
- ^ Brantley, Ben."Sondheim’s Rhymes and Reasons". The New York Times, October 21, 2010
- ^ Hardcover Nonfiction listThe New York Times, November 5, 2010
- ^ Jones, Kenneth."Stephen Sondheim's "Look, I Made a Hat," Part Two of His Career in Lyrics, in Stores Nov. 22" playbill.com, November 22, 2011
- ^ "'The Frogs', 1974 Yale University Production" sondheimguide.com, retrieved April 28, 2010
- ^ Gans, Andrew."London's Jermyn Street Theatre to Offer Secret Sondheim with Cutko, Armstrong and McArthur" playbill.com, May 27, 2010
- ^ "'The Madwoman Of Central Park West' cast album list" castalbumcollector.com, retrieved May 14, 2010
- ^ "'By Bernstein'" sondheimguide.com, accessed August 8, 2011
- ^ "'Getting Away With Murder' Listing" sondheimguide.com, accessed March 27, 2011
- ^ "Sondheim Reveals 'Follies' Is Headed To Film", BroadwayWorld, May 6, 2008, accessed December 28, 2011
- ^ Gans, Andrew. "Benanti, Gleason, Pierce, Stritch, Walton, Zien Join Philharmonic Sondheim Celebration". Playbill.com, January 8, 2010
- ^ Ross, Blake. "About Last Night: The Stars on Sondheim". Playbill, March 16, 2010
- ^ Hetrick, Adam."Starry Sondheim: The Birthday Concert Airs on "Great Performances" Nov. 24". Playbill, November 24, 2010
- ^ Jones, Kenneth. "Everybody Rise! Roundabout's Sondheim 80 Celebrates a Master's Milestone". Playbill.com, March 22, 2010
- ^ Ross, Blake."About Last Night: Inside Sondheim’s Birthday". Playbill.com, retrieved March 23, 2010
- ^ Hetrick, Adam. "Lansbury, Zeta-Jones, Lane, Cariou, Gleason, Zien Sing Sondheim at City Center April 26". Playbill.com, April 26, 2010
- ^ Gardner, Elysa."Broadway stars salute Stephen Sondheim"USA Today, April 27, 2010
- ^ BBC Proms Programme bbc.co.uk, accessed August 1, 2010
- ^ Staff."Judi Dench Sings 'Send in the Clowns' for Sondheim's 80th" broadwayworld.com, July 31, 2010
- ^ Rafter Keddy, Genevieve."Photo Coverage: The New York Pops Celebrate Stephen Sondheim's 80th Birthday" broadwayworld.com, November 21, 2010
- ^ Jones, Kenneth. "Sondheim at Carnegie Hall" playbill.com, November 21, 2010
- ^ "Television and Radio listings sondheimguide.com, retrieved June 10, 2010
- ^ Stephen Sondheim to receive special Olivier Award" bbc.co.uk, March 4, 2011
- ^ Bennett, Ray.Olivier Awards 2011: 'Legally Blonde,' Stephen Sondheim Dominate" HollywoodReporter.com, March 13, 2011
- ^ Gans,Andrew. Stephen Sondheim Receives UK Critics' Circle 2011 Award for Distinguished Services to the Arts" Playbill.com, March 9, 2012
- ^ "Young Playwrights site". Youngplaywrights.org. http://www.youngplaywrights.org/. Retrieved October 18, 2011.
- ^ Jones, Kenneth. "Near Cornfields Worthy of Hammerstein, a Theatre Named for Sondheim Rises in Midwest". Playbill.com, May 31, 2007
- ^ Hetrick, Adam. "Original Cast Members Fete Sondheim at New Midwest Arts Center Dec. 7–9". Playbill.com, December 4, 2007
- ^ Hetrick, Adam. "Tomlin to Join Fifth Season of 'Desperate Housewives'". Playbill.com, September 12, 2008
- ^ Episode list, "Desperate Housewives" IMDB
- ^ Widdicombe, Ben. Gossip, Daily News (New York), March 23, 2005, p. 22; "Desperate Housewives" writer Marc Cherry, who congratulated Sondheim in a filmed statement, admitted the composer was such an inspiration that each episode of his blockbuster show is named after a Sondheim song."
- ^ Chang, Justin. Variety, "Sondheim, Streisand infuse Wisteria Lane", December 20–26, 2004, p. 8; "Broadway-literate fans may have noticed the skein's first three post-pilot episodes... are all named after classic Stephen Sondheim showtunes...."
- ^ Sperling, Daniel. "'Desperate Housewives' final episode title revealed" digitalspy.com, April 19, 2012
- ^ Jones, Kenneth. "Signature Creates Sondheim Award, to Be Presented at April 2009 Gala". Playbill.com, October 6, 2008
- ^ Horwitz, Jane. "Backstage" column Washington Post, October 8, 2008
- ^ Jones, Kenneth. Peters and Cerveris Celebrate Sondheim at DC Sondheim Award Gala April 27". Playbill.com, April 27, 2009
- ^ Jones, Kenneth. "Garber, Mazzie, Danieley and More Celebrate Lansbury in DC Gala April 12" Playbill.com, April 12, 2010
- ^ Jones, Kenneth. "Bernadette Peters Gets Sondheim Award April 11; Stephen Buntrock, Rebecca Luker, Euan Morton Sing". Playbill.com, April 11, 2011
- ^ Jones, Kenneth. "Laura Benanti, Howard McGillin and More Sing the Praises of Patti LuPone in DC Sondheim Award Gala April 16" Playbill.com, April 16, 2012
- ^ "It might not sing, but it's right and just". The Sondheim Review (Sondheim Review, Inc.) XVII (3): 4. 2011. ISSN 1076-450X.
- ^ The Sondheim Review] www.sondheimreview.com, 2012. Accessed May 31, 2012.
- ^ Franks, Alan. "Stephen Sondheim: 'My ideal collaborator is me'". Times Online, April 25, 2009
References[link]
- Gottfried, Martin. Sondheim (1993), New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., ISBN 0-8109-3844-8
- Secrest, Meryle. Stephen Sondheim: A Life (1998), New York: Alfred A. Knopf, ISBN 0-679-44817-9
- Zadan, Craig. Sondheim & Co (1986, 2nd ed.), New York: Harper & Row, ISBN 0-06-015649-X
Further reading[link]
- Guernsey, Otis L. (Editor). Broadway Song and Story: Playwrights/Lyricists/Composers Discuss Their Hits (1986), Dodd Mead, ISBN 0-396-08753-1
External links[link]
- The Stephen Sondheim Society Web site of The Stephen Sondheim Society
- The Quotable Stephen Sondheim Page
- Stephen Sondheim | PlaybillVault.com
- Stephen Sondheim at the Internet Broadway Database
- Stephen Sondheim at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
- Stephen Sondheim at the Internet Movie Database
- MusicalTalk Podcast featuring interview with Sondheim, Depp, Burton, Rickman, Carter and others.
- MusicalTalk Podcast discussing the concert production of Sweeney Todd held at the Royal Festival Hall in the summer of 2007 in London. This episode features Emma Williams who along with being a MusicalTalk presenter, also starred as Johanna for this concert.
- MusicalTalk Podcast with an in depth introduction to the work of Stephen Sondheim
- Stephen Sondheim online-with Finishing The Chat
- The Stephen Sondheim Reference Guide Comprehensive listings of productions and recordings information
- James Lipton (Spring 1997). "Stephen Sondheim, The Art of the Musical". The Paris Review. http://www.theparisreview.org/interviews/1283/the-art-of-the-musical-stephen-sondheim.
- Fresh Air NPR radio interview with Sondheim from 2000 (20 minutes, streaming audio)
- Kennedy Center interview with Sondheim, conducted by Frank Rich in 2002 (90 minutes, streaming video)
- Stephen Sondheim Center for Performing Arts
- MMD – developing new musical theatre with Sondheim as patron
- Stephen Sondheim "The Story So Far" podcast series produced by Sony BMG Masterworks
- News article "Sondheim 'Story So Far' available 9/30, including previously unreleased tracks", BroadwayWorld.com
- Review "Sondheim has more story to tell" USA Today, 10/8/08
- Stephen Sondeim: Alumni of Distinction – New York Military Academy archives page
- Stephen Sondheim symposium held at Goldsmiths, University of London, in 2005
- BroadwayWorld.com interview with Stephen Sondheim, December 20, 2007
- Review of "Finishing the Hat: Collected Lyrics (1954–1981)" November 2010
| Awards and achievements | ||
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| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| Name | Sondheim, Stephen |
| Alternative names | |
| Short description | |
| Date of birth | March 22, 1930 |
| Place of birth | New York City, U.S. |
| Date of death | |
| Place of death | |
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For the Irish Member of Parliament, see William Francis Finn.
William Alan Finn (b. February 28, 1952, Boston, Massachusetts) is an American composer and lyricist of musicals. His musical Falsettos received the 1992 Tony Awards for Best Music and Lyrics and for Best Book.
Contents |
Biography[link]
Finn, who is Jewish,[1] grew up in Natick, Massachusetts with his parents and siblings, Michael and Nancy. He majored in music at Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts. When he graduated, he received the Hutchinson Fellowship (a musical composition award).[2] He is also Adjunct Faculty Composer/Lyricist at New York University.[3]
Personal life[link]
In 1992, Finn suffered deteriorating vision, dizziness and partial paralysis and was rushed to the hospital. He had arteriovenous malformation, or AVM, in his brain stem. In September, 1992, he had Gamma Knife surgery, which obliterated the AVM. After the surgery, Finn experienced a year of humbled serenity and constantly felt like he had a "new brain." Finn's 2002 musical A New Brain is based on his experience with AVM and his subsequent successful surgery.[4] He lives with his life partner in New York City[4] and Pittsfield, Massachusetts, where he is a composer and writer.[3] Besides composing for the stage and screen, Finn is member of the NYU Tisch Graduate Program in Musical Theater Writing faculty and he has been the Artistic Head of the Musical Theater Lab at the Barrington Stage Company in Pittsfield, Massachusetts for the past four years.[5]
Work[link]
Finn is a heavily autobiographical writer; he always writes his own lyrics. His topics have included the gay and Jewish experiences in contemporary America, and also family, belonging, sickness, healing, and loss. According to a 2006 article, "The Washington Post called him 'the composer laureate of loss.'"[4]
Finn is especially noted for his work on what was to become a trilogy of short musicals Off-Broadway. In Trousers, March of the Falsettos, and Falsettoland all chronicle the lives of the character Marvin, his ex-wife Trina, his boyfriend, Whizzer, his psychiatrist, Mendel, and his son, Jason.[6] Falsettos, the combination of the latter two parts of his Marvin Trilogy (March of the Falsettos and Falsettoland), opened on Broadway at the John Golden Theater on April 29, 1992,[6] and ran for 486 performances. It won the 1992 Tony Awards for Best Music and Lyrics and for Best Book, the latter shared with James Lapine.
With Lapine, Finn penned a musical loosely based on his near-death experience following brain surgery, exploring the role of music in his life and recovery. The musical's main character is a man who has what may be terminal brain cancer. Finn's longtime partner, Arthur Salvadore, is represented by the character Roger Delli-Bovi. Finn's mother is also present in the piece.[4] That musical, A New Brain, starred Malcolm Gets, Kristin Chenoweth and Chip Zien, and premiered Off-Broadway at the Lincoln Center Theater in 1998.[7] The musical won the 1999 Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Off-Broadway Musical. The UK premiere was at the 2005 Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
At the 2006 Elliot Norton Awards Ceremony, Finn brought his High School drama teacher, Gerry Dyer, onstage with him to present an award. Finn said of Dyer that he "imbued us with a ridiculous sense of our own self-worth."[8] Another student of Gerald Dyer, Alison Fraser, found fame on Broadway, collaborating with Finn in the original casts of In Trousers and March of the Falsettos.
Finn had another Broadway success with The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, for which he wrote both music and lyrics. The show won two Tony Awards in 2005-one for Best Book of a Musical, and another for the Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical. It ran Off-Broadway, then on Broadway in 2005[9] and toured the United States in 2006. The show was first workshopped and produced at Barrington Stage Company (BSC) in Pittsfield, MA, where Finn later created The Musical Theatre Lab (MTL) with BSC Artistic Director Julianne Boyd. The MTL is an annual summer lab where emerging musical theatre artists are supported and new musical works are created, fine-tuned and produced under the curatorship of Finn and Boyd.[10]
Three musical revues or song suites of Finn's music have been produced:
- Infinite Joy, in which the composer played the piano and sang along with an all-star cast, contained several songs from shows that were unfinished, and some that were cut from previous shows.
- Elegies: A Song Cycle (2003) is a series of songs the composer wrote in memoriam of loved ones now gone, and in response to the September 11, 2001 attacks.[11]
- Make Me a Song, conceived and directed by Rob Ruggiero, premiered at Hartford's Theaterworks in the summer of 2006, opened Off-Broadway in November 2007, and closed in December 2007 after 54 performances.[12] A live recording of Make Me a Song was released by Sh-K-Boom Records on April 29, 2008.
His long-in-development show, The Royal Family of Broadway, with a book by Richard Greenberg, was based on the play by George S. Kaufman and Edna Ferber, which tells the story of a girl from a family of great Broadway actors who contemplates leaving show business and getting married. It has apparently been shelved, according to William Finn's personal notes for Make Me A Song, Playbill magazine and an article from 2006.[4][13]
His next project, the musical comedy Little Miss Sunshine, premiered at the La Jolla Playhouse, California, from February 15, 2011 through March 27, 2011. James Lapine wrote the book and is the director, set design by David Korins, staging by Lapine and Christopher Gattelli. The opening night cast featured Hunter Foster (Richard), Malcolm Gets (Frank), Dick Latessa (Grandpa), Taylor Trensch (Dwayne), Georgi James (Olive), and Jennifer Laura Thompson (Sheryl).[14][15] The ensemble, who Jay Irwin wrote "...took the small parts they were given and ran with them, almost right out of the theater as each of them brilliantly played the comedic relief to the family's "straight man"", starred Bradley Dean, Carmen Ruby Floyd, Eliseo Roman, Andrew Samonsky, Sally Wilfert, and Zakiya Young.
Finn's songs were featured exclusively on Lisa Howard's album Songs of Innocence and Experience, released on April 12, 2011.[16]
Finn's frequent collaborators include librettist James Lapine, director Graciela Daniele and singers/actors Stephen Bogardus, Carolee Carmello, Stephen DeRosa, Alison Fraser, Keith Byron Kirk, Norm Lewis, Michael Rupert, Mary Testa, and Chip Zien.
Writing credits[link]
- In Trousers (1979, revised 1987) – Off Broadway musical – composer, lyricist
- March of the Falsettos (1981) – Off Broadway musical – composer, lyricist
- America Kicks Up Its Heels (1983) – Off Broadway musical – composer, lyricist
- Dangerous Games (1989) – Broadway musical – lyricist; music by Ástor Piazzolla
- Romance in Hard Times (1989) – Off Broadway musical – composer, lyricist
- Falsettoland (1990) – Off Broadway musical – composer, lyricist, co-writer with James Lapine
- Falsettos (1992) – Broadway musical – composer, lyricist, co-writer with James Lapine; includes March of the Falsettos and Falsettoland
- The Sisters Rosensweig (1993) – Broadway play – composer and lyricist for the song "Scarlet Pimpernel"
- A New Brain (1998) – Off Broadway musical – composer, lyricist, co-writer with James Lapine
- Love's Fire (1998) – playwright, composer and lyricist for the song "Painting"
- Elegies: A Song Cycle (2003) – Off Broadway revue – composer, lyricist
- The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (2004) – 2005 Off Broadway musical transferred to Broadway – composer, lyricist
- Make Me a Song (2007) – Off Broadway revue – composer, lyricist
- Little Miss Sunshine (2011) – La Jolla Playhouse musical – composer, lyricist
Notable Songs:
- "Anytime (I Am There)"
- "The Baseball Game"
- "Change"
- "Four Jews in a Room Bitching"
- "Goodbye"
- "Gordo's Law of Genetics"
- "Heart and Music"
- "I'd Rather Be Sailing"
- "I Have Found"
- "Infinite Joy"
- "Just Go"
- "Song of Innocence and Experience"
- "When the Earth Stopped Turning"
Awards[link]
- 1991 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lyrics Winner (Falsettoland)
- 1991 Drama Desk Award Nominee – Outstanding Music (Falsettoland)
- 1999 Drama Desk Award Nominee – Outstanding Lyrics (A New Brain)
- 1999 Drama Desk Award Nominee – Outstanding Music (A New Brain)
- 1999 Drama Desk Award Nominee – Outstanding Book of a Musical (A New Brain)
- 2005 Drama Desk Award Nominee – Outstanding Lyrics (The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee)
- 2005 Drama Desk Award Nominee – Outstanding Music (The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee)
- 1992 Tony Award Winner – Best Book of a Musical (Falsettos)
- 1992 Tony Award Winner – Best Original Score (Falsettos)
- 2005 Tony Award Nominee – Best Original Score (The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee)
See also[link]
References[link]
- ^ Friedman, Jonathan C."Chapter Three" Rainbow Jews:Jewish and Gay Identity in the Performing Arts, Lexington Books, 2007, ISBN 0-7391-1448-4, p.74
- ^ Ruhlmann, William."William Finn Biography new.music.yahoo.com, accessed August 22, 2011
- ^ a b "Programs and Faculty, New York University, Tisch School of the Arts, New York, NY" New York University, accessed February 15, 2011
- ^ a b c d e Pall, Ellen."The Long-Running Musical of William Finn's Life" nytimes.com, February 20, 2012
- ^ http://gmtw.tisch.nyu.edu/object/FinnW.html
- ^ a b Henry, William A."The Quirky William Finn"Time Magazine, May 11, 1992
- ^ Brantley, Ben."Theater Review:A Romp Through the Valley of Death"The New York Times (requires registration), June 19, 1998
- ^ MacDonald, Sandy.Camp, Mays, Spamalot, et al. Win 2006 Elliot Norton Awards" theatermania.com, May 23, 2006
- ^ Isherwood, Charles."Six Misfits Test Wits on Bigger Platform"The New York Times, May 3, 2005
- ^ "Barrington Stage History, Commitment to New Work and the Musical Theatre Lab" Barrington Stage Company, accessed August 22, 2011
- ^ Holden, Stephen.Departed Friends Vibrantly Recalled in Song"The New York Times (requires registration), March 28, 2003
- ^ Midgette, Anne."A Songwriter’s Gamut, Personal and Poignant With Notes in Between" The New York Times, November 21, 2007
- ^ Jones, Kenneth."'Make Me a Song, Finn's Revue of "Heart and Music," Opens in NYC" playbill.com, November 12, 2007
- ^ Jones, Kenneth."Road Trip! Finn & Lapine's 'Little Miss Sunshine' Musical Begins World-Premiere Run in CA" playbill.com, February 15, 2011
- ^ Irwin, Jay."BWW Reviews: 'Little Miss Sunshine' at the La Jolla Playhouse" broadwayworld.com, March 26, 2010
- ^ Cerasaro, Pat."SOUND OFF Special Interview: Lisa Howard on William Finn Album, TWILIGHT: BREAKING DAWN, and More" broadwayworld.com, April 13, 2011
External links[link]
- William Finn at the Internet Off Broadway Database
- William Finn at the Internet Broadway Database
- William Finn at the Internet Movie Database
- MusicalTalk Interview with, and discussion on William Finn.
- falsettos.net
- The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
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| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| Name | Finn, William |
| Alternative names | |
| Short description | |
| Date of birth | February 28, 1952 |
| Place of birth | |
| Date of death | |
| Place of death | |
http://wn.com/William_Finn
This page contains text from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Finn
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
| Julian Sands | |
|---|---|
 Sands in June 2011. |
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| Born | Julian Richard Morley Sands[citation needed] (1958-01-04) 4 January 1958 (age 54) Otley, Yorkshire, England |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1982–present |
Julian M. Sands[1] (born 4 January 1958) is an English actor, known for his roles in the Best Picture nominee The Killing Fields, the cult film Warlock, A Room with a View, Arachnophobia, Vatel, the television series 24 and as Jor-El in the television series Smallville.
Contents |
Career[link]
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This biographical section of an article needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately, especially if potentially libelous or harmful. (September 2011) |
Sands began his film career appearing in supporting roles, including parts in the 1984 films Oxford Blues and The Killing Fields. He was cast as the romantic lead in the 1985 film A Room with a View, the success of which prompted Sands to move to Hollywood in 1987 and pursue a career in American films. He has since appeared in a variety of both low-tier and higher-budget films, including the title role in the 1989 horror film Warlock and the 1993 sequel Warlock: The Armageddon, and parts in films such as Arachnophobia, Boxing Helena and Leaving Las Vegas. He has done voice-overs as Valmont in the Jackie Chan Adventures cartoon for Seasons 1 and 2 before being replaced by British actors Andrew Ableson and Greg Ellis for the other seasons. He played Erik aka The Phantom in the horror version of The Phantom of the Opera in 1998.
He also appears in the ninth and tenth season of Stargate SG-1 (2 episodes); and Stargate: the Ark of Truth, playing the Doci of the Ori.
Sands plays a college professor in an episode of The L word (season one).
In 2003, he starred opposite Jackie Chan in the action-comedy film The Medallion
In 2005, Sands played Sir Laurence Olivier in BBC Four's In Praise of Hardcore, a drama about the critic and impresario Kenneth Tynan.[2]
In the 2006 season of the television series 24, Sands plays terrorist Vladimir Bierko. Sands recently played the role of Jor-El, Superman's biological father, on the science fiction TV series, Smallville. He reprised the role in the tenth and final season of the show.
In August 2011 he appeared at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, in A Celebration of Harold Pinter, directed by John Malkovich at the Pleasance Courtyard.[3][4]
Personal life[link]
Sands was born in Otley, West Riding of Yorkshire. He has been married twice: to journalist Sarah Harvey (who divorced him in 1987), and in 1990 to writer Eugenia Citkowitz (the daughter of Lady Caroline Blackwood), with whom he lives in Los Angeles. He has a son from his first marriage, Henry (born in 1985), and two young daughters from his second marriage, Natalya Morley Sands (b. 16 August 1996) and Imogen Morley Sands (b. 31 December 1999).
References[link]
- ^ Births, Marriages & Deaths Index of England & Wales, 1916-2005.; at ancestry.com
- ^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcfour/cinema/features/praise-of-hardcore.shtml
- ^ Brown, Jonathan (10 June 2011). "Malkovich and Pinter: an unlikely alliance". The Independent. http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/theatre-dance/news/malkovich-and-pinter-an-unlikely-alliance-2295509.html?origin=internalSearch. Retrieved 29 April 2012.
- ^ "Julian Sands in a Celebration of Harold Pinter". The List (magazine). August 2011. http://edinburghfestival.list.co.uk/event/228722-julian-sands-in-a-celebration-of-harold-pinter/. Retrieved 29 April 2012.
External links[link]
- Julian Sands at the Internet Movie Database
- Interview with Julian Sands 2011 (video) at 9. Weekend of Horrors
- The Guardian interview (19 August 2000)
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| Name | Sands, Julian |
| Alternative names | |
| Short description | |
| Date of birth | 4 January 1958 |
| Place of birth | Otley, Yorkshire, England |
| Date of death | |
| Place of death | |
http://wn.com/Julian_Sands
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http://fr.wn.com/Julian Sands
http://pl.wn.com/Julian Sands
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This page contains text from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julian_Sands
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
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Jonathan Tunick (born April 19, 1938, New York City, New York) is an American orchestrator, musical director, and composer, one of eleven people to have won all four major American show business awards: the Tony Awards, Academy Awards, Emmy Awards and Grammy Awards.[1] He has worked on most of the musicals of Stephen Sondheim, starting in 1970 with Company and ending with the 2010-11 revival of Follies.
Contents |
Biography[link]
He graduated from the LaGuardia Performing Arts High School, and holds degrees from Bard College and the Juilliard School.[1] Tunick's principal instrument is the clarinet.[2]
Much of his work has arisen from his involvement in theatre, and he is associated especially with the musicals of Stephen Sondheim.[3] Sondheim said of Tunick's work: " 'I think he's tops'..." and further noted that "Tunick is a standout in his field not only because of his musicianship and imagination, but primarily because of 'his great sensitivity to theatrical atmosphere.' "[4]
Tunick also has a band, the "Broadway Moonlighters", which played at Birdland in March 2012[2] and in 2008 with Barbara Cook as his special guest.[5] He has worked as an arranger and/or conductor on recordings with Judy Collins, Cleo Laine, Kiri Te Kanawa, Itzhak Perlman, Placido Domingo, Johnny Mathis, Barbra Streisand, Paul McCartney and Bernadette Peters.[6] In his review of the Bernadette Peters recording Bernadette Peters Loves Rodgers and Hammerstein (Angel Records, 2002), John Kenrick wrote: "Jonathan Tunick provides the brilliant arrangements."[7] Tunick won the Grammy Award as "Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s)/Best Background Arrangement" for his work on the song "No One Is Alone" from the Cleo Laine album Cleo Laine Sings Sondheim (RCA Victor, 1987).[8]
Tunick won the first Tony Award for Best Orchestrations that was awarded, in 1997, for Titanic.[3] "Also winning for 'Titanic'...Jonathan Tunick, orchestration, a new category this year."[9] In addition to the other awards, he has won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Orchestrations three times and won a Drama Desk Special Award in 1982.
Tunick was inducted into the American Theatre Hall of Fame in January 2009.[10]
Tunick is married to actress Leigh Beery.[1]
Work[link]
Stage[link]
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Filmography[link]
- The Twelve Chairs - 1970 - musical director, orchestrator
- Blazing Saddles - 1974 - orchestrator
- Young Frankenstein - 1974 - orchestrator
- The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother- 1975 - orchestrator
- A Little Night Music - 1977 - composer orchestrator, conductor
- Columbo: Murder Under Glass - 1978 - (television) - composer, conductor
- Flying High - 1978 - (television) - composer, conductor
- 3 by Cheever: "O Youth and Beauty", "The Sorrows of Gin" and 3 by Cheever: The 5:48 - 1979 - (television) - composer, conductor
- Rendezvous Hotel - 1979 - (television) - composer, conductor
- Swan Song - 1980 - (television) - composer, conductor
- Blinded by the Light - 1980 - (television) - composer, conductor
- The Jilting of Granny Weatherall - 1980 - (television) - composer, conductor
- Fort Apache the Bronx - 1981 - composer, conductor
- Endless Love - 1981 - composer, conductor
- Reds - 1981 - orchestrator
- The Shady Hill Kidnapping - 1982 - (television) - composer, conductor
- Night of 100 Stars - 1982 - (television) - music arranger
- Sweeney Todd - 1982 - (television) - orchestrator
- Alice in Wonderland - 1983 - (television) - composer, conductor
- I Am the Cheese - 1983 - composer, conductor
- Murder, She Wrote - 1984 - (television) - series composer, conductor
- Concealed Enemies - 1984 - (television) - composer, conductor
- Brotherly Love - 1985 - (television) - composer, conductor[25]
- Steven Spielberg's Amazing Stories - 1985 - (television) - series composer, conductor
- The B.R.A.T. Patrol - 1986 - (television) - composer, conductor[26]
- You Ruined My Life - 1987 - (television) - composer, conductor
- Into the Woods - 1991 - (television) - orchestrator
- Sondheim: A Celebration at Carnegie Hall - 1993 (televised) (concert in 1992) - (television) - orchestrator[27]
- The Last Good Time - 1994 - composer, conductor
- The Birdcage - 1996 - music arranger and adapter, composer, conductor
- Hey, Mr. Producer! The Musical World of Cameron Mackintosh - 1998 - (television) - orchestrator
- The Fantasticks - 2000 - music adaptor and arranger, conductor
- Find Me Guilty - 2006 - composer, conductor
- Sweeney Todd (Tim Burton film) - 2007 - music adaptor and orchestrator
Awards[link]
- 1977 Academy Award - Original Song Score and Its Adaptation or Adaptation Score - A Little Night Music[28]
- 1997 Tony Award - Best Orchestrations for Titanic[29]
- 1988 Grammy Award - Best Instrumental Arrangement, "No One Is Alone", performed by Cleo Laine[30]
- 1982 Emmy Award - Outstanding Achievement in Music Direction - Night of 100 Stars[31]
- 1994 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Orchestrations - Passion[32]
- 1997 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Orchestrations - Titanic
- 2007 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Orchestrations - Lovemusik[33]
References[link]
- ^ a b c Rothstein, Mervyn."A Life in the Theatre: Orchestrator, Composer and Music Director Jonathan Tunick" playbill.com, September 16, 2005
- ^ a b Gans, Andrew. "Tony-Winning Orchestrator Jonathan Tunick Plays Birdland March 19; Rebecca Faulkenberry Is Special Guest" playbill.com, March 19, 2012
- ^ a b c "Jonathan Tunick Biography" sondheimguide.com, accessed April 17, 2012
- ^ Sharbutt, Jay. "Orchestrators", The Associated Press, May 23, 1982 (no page number)
- ^ Gans, Andrew. "Tony Winner Cook Will Join Tunick at Birdland Nov. 24" playbill.com, November 11, 2008
- ^ "Jonathan Tunick" goodmantheatre.org, June 2003, accessed April 17, 2012
- ^ Kenrick, John. "Solo CD's. Bernadette Peters" Musicals101.com, accessed April 18, 2012
- ^ Laine Sings Sondheim allmusic.com, accessed April 18, 2012
- ^ Kuchwara. Michael (Byline)."Revival rakes in the awards;Tony taps 'Chicago'", Chicago Sun-Times, June 2, 1997, p.25
- ^ Gans, Andrew."Theater Hall of Fame Ceremony Presented Jan. 26; Ivey Hosts" playbill.com, January 26, 2009
- ^ a b "Jonathan Tunick Credits" allmusic.com, accessed April 17, 2012
- ^ a b Jonathan Tunick Listing" Internet Broadway Database, accessed April 17, 2012
- ^ Hischak, Thomas S. "Chapter Two, A New Arena:The 1950's" Off-Broadway Musicals Since 1919 (2011), (books.google.com), Scarecrow Press, Inc., ISBN 978-0-8108-7771-9, p. 43
- ^ " 'All in Love' Listing" Internet Off-Broadway Database, accesed April 17, 2012
- ^ " 'Sondheim: A Musical Tribute'" SondheimGuide.com, accessed April 17, 2012
- ^ " 'Smith' Listing" Internet Broadway database, accessed April 17, 2012
- ^ " 'Phantom' Cast Album Listing" castalbumdb.com, accessed April 17, 2012
- ^ Brantley, Ben. "Theater Review; Both a Sendup and an Embrace, Based on Bergman Again" The New York Times, December 19, 1994
- ^ Evans, Greg. "Patti Lupone on Broadway" Variety (webcache.googleusercontent.com), October 12, 1995
- ^ " 'Minnelli on Minnelli' Listing" Internet Broadway Database, accessed April 17, 2012
- ^ " 'Road Show'" Internet Off-Broadway database, accessed April 18, 2012
- ^ Murray, Matthew. "Theatre Review. 'Bounce' " talkinbroadway.com, November 2, 2003, accessed April 18, 2012
- ^ Eadie, Bill."Regional Reviews. 'Some Lovers', Old Globe" talkinbroadway.com, December 10, 2011
- ^ "Jonathan Tunick Listing" Internet Movie Database, accessed April 17, 2012
- ^ "Cast and Crew, 'Brotherly Love'" fandango.com, assessed April 18, 2012
- ^ " 'The B.R.A.T Patrol' Cast and Crew" movies.amctv.com, accessed April 18, 2012
- ^ "Sondheim: A Celebration at Carnegie Hall" sondheimguide.com, accessed April 18, 2012
- ^ "Jonathan Tunick Listing" The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (awardsdatabase.oscars.org), accessed April 17, 2012
- ^ "1997 Tony Awards" infoplease.com, accessed April 18, 2012
- ^ "1988 Grammy Awards" infoplease.com, accessed April 18, 2012
- ^ "Awards for Night of 100 Stars" Internet Movie Database, accessed April 18, 2012
- ^ Gerard, Jeremy. "Drama Desk Nod TO 'Perestroika';Sondheim's 'Passion' top tuner", Daily Variety, June 7, 1994, p.2
- ^ Cox, Gordon. " 'Utopia' sweeps Drama Desk Awards" Variety', May 20, 2007
External links[link]
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| Persondata | |
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| Name | Tunick, Jonathan |
| Alternative names | |
| Short description | |
| Date of birth | April 19, 1938 |
| Place of birth | |
| Date of death | |
| Place of death | |
http://wn.com/Jonathan_Tunick
Related pages:
http://it.wn.com/Jonathan Tunick
This page contains text from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jonathan_Tunick
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License, which means that you can copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license.
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James Lapine (born January 10, 1949) is an American stage director and librettist. He has won the Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical three times, for Into the Woods, Falsettos, and Passion. He has frequently collaborated with Stephen Sondheim and William Finn.
Lapine was born in Mansfield, Ohio and graduated from Franklin and Marshall College in 1971. He did graduate study in both photography and graphic design at the California Institute of the Arts. He was a photographer, graphic designer, and architectural preservationist and taught design at the Yale School of Drama. At Yale University he wrote an adaptation and directed the Gertrude Stein play Photograph, which was produced Off-Broadway at the Open Space in SoHo in 1977. He proceeded to write and direct Off-Broadway plays and musicals, working with composer William Finn on March of the Falsettos in 1981 as director; the musical won the Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Off-Broadway Play. Frank Rich, the New York Times theatre critic, noted "Mr. Lapine's wildly resourceful staging."
