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 and pianist in cabarets. He later became an arranger and writer on Saturday Night Live, for which he received his first Emmy nomination in 1987 and his latest in 2015. (You can read my 2014 interview with Marc Shaiman and his collaborator Scott Wittman at Dramatics.org.)
He made his Broadway debut as music director and arranger with the 1979 Peter Allen revue Up in One, then returned later that year as vocal arranger of Bette Midler’s Divine Madness. His other early Broadway work includes the 1983 André DeShields vehicle Haarlem Nocturne, the 1985 Ellie Greenwich musical Leader of the Pack, and concerts by Harry Connick Jr. in 1990 and Patti LuPone in 1995. Below is a clip of Bette Midler as Delores DeLago in Divine Madness.
In 1988, Shaiman made his film debut with music for Big Business and music supervision for Bette Midler in Beaches. The following year, he served as music arranger for Harry Connick on When Harry Met Sally, earning him his first Grammy nomination. He received his second nomination in 1990 for Connick’s album We Are in Love. His other Grammy noms are for Hairspray (stage and film versions), the TV show Smash, and the film Mary Poppins Returns.
He received his second Emmy nomination for Billy Crystal’s 1991 Oscar opener and won for the comedian’s 1992 opener. Shaiman received further nominations for Crystal’s 2004 and 2012 Oscar work and another win for Neil Patrick Harris’s 2010 Oscar material. He also saw three Emmy nominations for his work on Smash. Below is the Emmy- and Grammy-nominated “Let Me Be Your Star” from the second episode of Smash.
Shaiman has received seven Oscar nominations: for the songs “A Wink and a Smile” from Sleepless in Seattle, “Blame Canada” from South Park, and “The Place Where Lost Things Go” from Mary Poppins Returns as well as for the scores to American President, The First Wives’ Club, Patch Adams, and Mary Poppins Returns. (The Bucket List soundtrack includes “A Seed of Grain,” which I was fortunate to record, with lyrics by Ramsey McLean set to a theme from The American President.)
His first Broadway score was for Hairspray, which received 13 Tony nominations and won eight, including best musical and best score for Shaiman. He also picked up a Grammy for the show’s cast album. His subsequent Broadway scores include Catch Me If You Can, which garnered Shaiman his second Tony nomination, and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Below is the 2007 Hairspray film cast in “You Can’t Stop the Beat.”