Category Archives: Writers

Broadway Birthday: Jeanine Tesori

Happy birthday to two-time Pulitzer nominee Jeanine Tesori, the most honored female Broadway composer in history. Born Nov. 10, 1961, in Port Washington, N.Y., Tesori attended Paul D. Schreiber High School, before studying music at Barnard College. She made her … Continue reading

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Broadway Birthday: Maury Yeston

Happy birthday to Tony-winning composer Maury Yeston, born Oct. 23, 1945, in Jersey City, NJ. After earning his bachelor’s in music at Yale and his master’s at Cambridge, he taught at Lincoln University in Pennsylvania, before returning to Yale to … Continue reading

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Broadway Birthday: Marc Shaiman

Happy birthday to EGOT-nominee composer Marc Shaiman, who was born Oct. 22, 1959, in Newark, NJ. He grew up in Scotch Plains but left home at age 16 to work in New York, starting his career as a musical director … Continue reading

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In Memoriam: Mark O’Donnell

Yesterday, musical theater lost another unique voice. On Monday, librettist Mark O’Donnell died after collapsing in the lobby of his New York apartment. With co-writer Tom Meehan, O’Donnell crafted the books for musical adaptations of two John Waters films. The first, … Continue reading

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In Memoriam: Marvin Hamlisch

On Monday, composer Marvin Hamlisch died in Los Angeles, after a brief illness. A “singular sensation” himself, Hamlisch won three Oscars, four Emmys, four Grammys (including one as Best New Artist), one Tony, plus the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. (The … Continue reading

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In Memoriam: Richard Adler

Composer Richard Adler, co-creator of the classic musicals The Pajama Game and Damn Yankees, died last night at his home in Southampton, N.Y. He was 90 and among the last of Broadway’s Golden Age writers. When I created The Dramatist … Continue reading

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Broadway Trifecta

When Leap of Faith opened on April 26, composer Alan Menken joined the select group of writers that have had three original musicals running simultaneously on the Great White Way. Menken’s other two current shows are Newsies and Sister Act. … Continue reading

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