Irving Berlin's incredible songbook remains deeply engrained in the current musical landscape of the US, UK and beyond. Contemporary pop artists who have given their own stamp to his work include Lady Gaga, Bob Dylan, Gregory Porter, Rufus Wainwright, Billie Martin, Herb Alpert, Leonard Cohen, Paul McCartney, Michael Buble, Lily Frost, Sarah McLachlan and most recently Gwen Stefani on her 2017 Christmas album. His music continues to be widely featured in films, commercials and television shows. Lady Gaga sang "God Bless America" at 2017's Super Bowl Halftime Show, whilst Seth MacFarlane covered "Let's Face the Music and Dance" for animated ... read more
Leonard Bernstein was born on August 25, 1918, in Lawrence, Massachusetts. He took piano lessons as a boy and attended the Garrison and Boston Latin Schools. At Harvard University, he studied with Walter Piston, Edward Burlingame-Hill, and A. Tillman Merritt, among others. Before graduating in 1939, he made an unofficial conducting debut with his own incidental music to "The Birds," and directed and performed in Marc Blitzstein's "The Cradle Will Rock." Then at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, he studied piano with Isabella Vengerova, conducting with Fritz Reiner, and orchestration with Randall Thompson.
In 1940, he studied at the ... read more
Jerry Bock was an American composer best known for his work in musical theater. Born in New Haven, Connecticut on November 23, 1928, Bock showed an early interest in music and began playing the piano at a young age. He studied music at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and later at the Manhattan School of Music.
Bock's first success in musical theater came in 1955 with the production of "Catch a Star," which he wrote with lyricist Larry Holofcener. However, it was his collaboration with lyricist Sheldon Harnick that would bring him his greatest success. The two first worked together on the ... read more
Betty Comden, born in Brooklyn in 1917, was an American lyricist, screenwriter, and actress. She is best known for her work with Adolph Green, with whom she collaborated on numerous musicals and films.
Comden and Green met in 1938 while both were studying at New York University, and began writing together shortly thereafter. Their first Broadway credit was for On the Town, a musical about three sailors on a 24-hour leave in New York City. The show premiered in 1944 and was a huge success, cementing Comden and Green's place in the world of musical theater.
Comden and Green went on to ... read more
Noel was an English playwright, composer, actor, producer and director. His plays include The Vortex (1924), Hay Fever (1925), Private Lives (1930), Blithe Spirit (1941), Present Laughter (1943) and This Happy Breed (1943). He produced, wrote, starred in and co-directed (with David Lean) the Academy Award-winning film In Which We Serve (1942) as well as writing the screenplay for one of the most beloved British films of all time, Brief Encounter (1945). He wrote many songs now considered classics, including "Mad About the Boy", "Mad Dogs and Englishmen", "I’ll See You Again" and "20th Century Blues" and in 1955 performed ... read more
Adolph Green was an American lyricist and playwright who was born on December 2, 1914, in the Bronx, New York. He was the son of Hungarian Jewish immigrants. Green's father was a successful businessman, and his mother was a homemaker. Green attended New York University, where he studied English and drama.
Green began his career in show business as a performer in the late 1930s. He appeared in several Broadway productions, including "The New Yorkers" and "Two for the Show." However, it was his work as a lyricist that would make him famous.
Green's first major success as a lyricist came in ... read more
Oscar Greeley Clendenning Hammerstein II was an American lyricist, librettist, theatrical producer, and (usually uncredited) director in musical theater for nearly 40 years. He won eight Tony Awards and two Academy Awards for Best Original Song. Many of his songs are standard repertoire for vocalists and jazz musicians. He co-wrote 850 songs.
He is best known for his collaborations with composer Richard Rodgers, as the duo Rodgers and Hammerstein, whose musicals include Oklahoma!, Carousel, South Pacific, The King and I, and The Sound of Music. Described by Stephen Sondheim as an "experimental playwright", Hammerstein helped bring the American musical to new ... read more
Sheldon Harnick is a legendary lyricist and composer who has made an indelible mark on Broadway. Born in Chicago in 1924, Harnick began writing songs at a young age, and went on to attend the Northwestern University School of Music. After serving in World War II, he moved to New York City to pursue a career in musical theater.
Harnick's first Broadway credit came in 1955, when he wrote the lyrics for the musical "The Body Beautiful." However, it was his collaboration with composer Jerry Bock that would prove to be his most successful partnership. The duo first worked together on ... read more
Rupert Holmes is the author of numerous songs, musicals, plays and novels, which have earned him three Tony Awards (Best Book, Best Score and Best Musical), several Drama Desk Awards, and the prestigious Edgar Award, which was given to him by the Mystery Writers of America. He has developed and arranged songs for many renowned artists, including Barbra Streisand, Dolly Parton, Barry Manilow, Paul Williams, the Manhattan Transfer and Barbara Cook. His Solitary, which starred Stacy Keach, set a new box office record at the Kennedy Center. Other notable theatrical projects include the Tony Award-Winning, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, ... read more
Laura Nyro (/ˈnɪəroʊ/ NEER-oh; born Laura Nigro; October 18, 1947 – April 8, 1997) was an American songwriter and singer. She achieved critical acclaim with her own recordings, particularly the albums Eli and the Thirteenth Confession (1968) and New York Tendaberry (1969), and had commercial success with artists such as Barbra Streisand and the 5th Dimension recording her songs. Wider recognition for her artistry was posthumous, while her contemporaries such as Elton John idolized her. She was praised for her emotive three-octave mezzo-soprano voice.
Between 1968 and 1970, a number of artists had hits with her songs: the 5th Dimension with ... read more
Richard Rodgers was an American composer of 43 Broadway musicals, leaving a legacy as one of the most significant composers of 20th century American music. He is best known for his songwriting partnerships with the lyricists Lorenz Hart and Oscar Hammerstein II. His compositions have had a significant impact on popular music.
Rodgers was the first person to win an EGOT. In addition, he was awarded a Pulitzer Prize, making him one of only two people to receive all five awards ... read more
Stephen Sondheim is widely acknowledged as the most innovative, most influential, and most important composer and lyricist in modern Broadway history. He is the winner of an Academy Award, numerous Tony Award, multiple Grammy Awards and a Pulitzer Prize. Some of his other accolades include a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Kennedy Center Honors (1993), the National Medal of Arts (1996), the American Academy of Arts and Letters' Gold Medal for Music (2006) and a special Tony Awards for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre (2008).
Stephen Sondheim wrote the music and lyrics for Road Show (2008), Passion (1994), Assassins (1991), Into ... read more
Mr. Azenberg's producing credits on Broadway include Ragtime, The Lion in Winter, Mark Twain Tonight, Ain't Misbehavin', Children of a Lesser God, Master Harold...and the boys, Stoppard's The Real Thing, A Moon for the Misbegotten, Sunday in the Park With George, Whoopi Goldberg, Long Day's Journey into Night, Jerome Robbins' Broadway, Side Show, The Iceman Cometh, Stones in His Pockets, Private Lives and Movin' Out.
He has produced Neil Simon's work since 1972, including The Odd Couple,The Sunshine Boys, Chapter Two, They're Playing Our Song, Brighton Beach Memoirs, Biloxi Blues, Broadway Bound, Lost in Yonkers.
Film: Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are ... read more
Leonard Soloway has been involved with over 150 productions, including Waiting in the Wings with Lauren Bacall and Rosemary Harris, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, Jerome Robbins' Broadway, A Moon For the Misbegotten and Mark Twain Tonight! with Hal Holbrook.
His productions collected more than 40 Tony Awards, 21 Drama Desk Awards and three Pulitzer Prizes. In addition to launching many careers from performers to craftspeople, Leonard has worked with veteran stage actors like Jason Robards and Colleen Dewhurst as well as film stars like Paul Newman whose revival of Our Town on Broadway was facilitated by Mr. ... read more
