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
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
James Leonard Joy was born and raised in Michigan, where he graduated Salutatorian in a class of more than 900 at Bentley High School before earning Phi Beta Kappa honors at the University of Michigan. He then completed an MFA in Set Design at Carnegie Mellen University and taught briefly at Skidmore College before launching his very successful career in set design in New York City. ... read more
Jay Binder has cast over 70 Broadway productions, including the Tony Award winning productions of The Lion King, A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder, Dames At Sea, Nice Work If You Can Get It, Gypsy, The King and I, Lost in Yonkers and Jerome Robbins’ Broadway. In addition, he was fortunate enough to cast every Neil Simon play from 1990 through 2009. Mr. Binder was one of the founders and continues to be a driving force behind the highly-acclaimed Encores! Great American Musicals in Concert series at City Center in New York City. His work casting this series led ... read more
Natasha Katz is a New York-based lighting designer. She is a six-time Tony Award winner who has designed extensively for theatre, opera, dance, concerts, and permanent lighting installations around the world. Her recent Broadway credits include: Diana, The Music Man, All My Sons, Burn This, The Prom, Frozen, Long Day's Journey Into Night, Cats, School of Rock, An American in Paris, Aladdin, Skylight, The Glass Menagerie, Once, Follies, The Coast of Utopia: Salvage, and Aida. ... read more
Prior to her retirement, Marilyn Magness directed a small army of Imagineers spanning the globe for Disney Parks & Resorts, but her beginnings were much more humble.
While attending the University of Redlands, Marilyn began her theatrical career at Knott's Berry Farm in Orange County. She was a member of the famed melodrama troupe at the Bird Cage Theater where she worked alongside the then-unknown Steve Martin. During her time at Redlands, she also created the role of comedic cowgirl Dolly Drew for the Walt Disney World dinner show Hoop Dee Doo.
This led her to join the burgeoning Walt Disney ... read more
Tony Awards: The Book of Mormon, Angels in America: Millennium Approaches (Pulitzer) and Perestroika, Copenhagen, God of Carnage, Clybourne Park, Death of a Salesman, A Raisin in the Sun. Nominations: Wicked; Peter Pan; The Diary of Anne Frank; Hello, Dolly!; You're Welcome America, Man of La Mancha A View From the Bridge, Venus in Fur, The Motherfu**er With the Hat, Nice Work if You Can Get It. Current: Wicked, The Book of Mormon. This is Our Youth. Upcoming: A Delicate Balance, Fun Home ... read more
Arthur Rubin (June 16, 1926 – July 22, 2023)
It is with great sadness that we inform you of the passing of Gold Card Manager Arthur Rubin. Arthur came into membership in February of 1962.
Arthur Rubin, 97, died peacefully surrounded by his loving children: Ronnie and Anne, Alan and Jane. He had a long and distinguished career in the entertainment industry, both as a singer-actor on Broadway & in films and in theater management. He adored and loved his grandchildren Jonathan (Kristen), Erica (Mike) and Daniel (Gabby) and his great grandchildren Ezra, Miles and Sabine.
Arthur began his professional career singing ... read more
With the scores of such Broadway classics as Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Peter Pan, Bells Are Ringing, Gypsy, and Funny Girl to his credit, composer Jule Styne ranks as one of the undisputed architects of the American musical theater.
Born in London's East End on December 31, 1905, Styne's family moved to the United States in 1912. Young Julius showed such a talent for the piano that he had performed with the Chicago, St. Louis, and Detroit Symphonies by age 10.
He developed his feel for popular music working with the jazz bands of 1920s Chicago, and as vocal coach to such ... read more
