Burton Lane was an American composer and lyricist, born Morris Hyman Bernstein on February 2, 1912, in New York City. He began his career in the 1930s as a pianist and arranger for various bands, including the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra.
In 1937, Lane had his first Broadway success with the musical "On a Clear Day You Can See Forever," which he co-wrote with lyricist Alan Jay Lerner. The show was later adapted into a film starring Barbra Streisand. Lane and Lerner went on to collaborate on several other successful shows, including "Royal Wedding" and "Paint Your Wagon."
One of Lane's most famous ... read more
His early career was spent performing in Off-Broadway productions, including Class Enemy in 1979, for which he won a Theater World Award for outstanding stage debut.
His first major Broadway credit was the ill-fated Stephen Sondheim/Hal Prince/George Furth musical Merrily We Roll Along (1981), which underwent constant changes during an unusually long preview period and closed after only sixteen performances. His next show, the Athol Fugard play "Master Harold"...and the Boys - in which he portrayed a South African student opposite Danny Glover and Zakes Mokae as the family servants - ran for eight months.
Possibly his most significant Off-Broadway stage credit ... read more
