Martin Charnin was an American lyricist, writer, and theatre director. Charnin's best-known work is as conceiver, director, and lyricist of the musical Annie.
Falsettoland is a musical with a book by James Lapine, with music and lyrics by William Finn.
Two By Two is a Broadway musical with a book by Peter Stone, lyrics by Martin Charnin, and music by Richard Rodgers.
Maria Zena Schneider, known professionally as Maria Charles, was an English film, television and stage actress, director and comedienne. She was probably best known for her performance as the overbearing mother Bea Fisher in the ITV sitcom Agony. Charles also appeared on the stage in original West End productions including musicals by Stephen Sondheim, Charles Strouse and Sandy Wilson.
Falsettos is a sung-through musical with a book by William Finn and James Lapine, and music and lyrics by Finn. The musical consists of March of the Falsettos (1981) and Falsettoland (1990), the last two installments in a trio of one-act musicals that premiered off-Broadway. The story centers on Marvin, who has left his wife to be with a male lover, Whizzer, and struggles to keep his family together. Much of the first act explores the impact his relationship with Whizzer has had on his family. The second act explores family dynamics that evolve as he and his ex-wife plan his son's bar mitzvah, which is complicated as Whizzer comes down with an early case of AIDS. Central to the musical are the themes of Jewish identity, gender roles, and gay life in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
Thrill Me: The Leopold & Loeb Story is a musical with a book, music, and lyrics by Stephen Dolginoff. It is based on the true story of Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb, the so-called "thrill killers" who murdered a young boy in 1924 in order to commit "the perfect crime." The story is told in flashbacks, beginning with a 1958 parole hearing.
David Allen Friedman is a film and theatre composer, songwriter, author, lyricist and conductor based in New York City. He received a 1997 Backstage Bistro Award for Composer of the Year and a 1997 Johnny Mercer Award for Songwriter of the Year, and a Special Lifetime Achievement Award at the 26th Annual MAC Awards. His oratorio, King Island Christmas, won a Frederick Loewe Award and Dramatists Guild Award. David's musical Desperate Measures won the 2018 Drama Desk Award for Best Music and Best Lyrics as well as the Outer Critic's Circle Award for Best Off Broadway Musical and the Off Broadway Alliance Award for Best Musical.
La Strada is a musical with lyrics and music by Lionel Bart, with additional lyrics by Martin Charnin and additional music by Elliot Lawrence. It is based on the 1954 film of the same name by Federico Fellini. Bart wrote the score in 1967 and made a demonstration recording, although the musical was not produced until 1969, when it was famously cancelled after just one performance. The musical's book was written by Charles K. Peck, Jr., who also produced it on Broadway.
Merrily We Roll Along is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and a book by George Furth. It is based on the 1934 play of the same name by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart.
I Remember Mama is a musical with a book by Thomas Meehan, lyrics by Martin Charnin and Raymond Jessel, and music by Richard Rodgers. The musical ran on Broadway in 1979.
The First is a musical with a book by critic Joel Siegel. The music was composed by Robert Brush, and Martin Charnin wrote the lyrics. The show is based on the life of Brooklyn Dodgers second baseman Jackie Robinson, the first African-American to play major league baseball in the 20th century.
Five Guys Named Moe is a musical with a book by Clarke Peters and lyrics and music by Louis Jordan and others. The musical is based on an earlier musical short of the same name by Louis Jordan from 1943. It had its UK debut at the Cottesloe Theatre at the National Theatre followed by a short run at the Theatre Royal Stratford East, before moving to the West End for over four years in, and finally premiering on Broadway in 1992. It was revived in 2010 at Edinburgh Festival, starring Peters himself, and returned later in 2010 to the theatre in which it originally premiered. The musical won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Entertainment.
The Menier Chocolate Factory is a 180-seat Off-West End theatre, which comprises a bar and theatre offices.
The Happy Time is a musical with music by John Kander, lyrics by Fred Ebb, and a book by N. Richard Nash loosely based on a 1950 hit Broadway play, The Happy Time by Samuel A. Taylor, which was in turn based on stories by Robert Fontaine. The story had also been made into a 1952 film version.
West Side Story (Original Broadway Cast) is the 1957 recording of a Broadway production of the musical West Side Story. Recorded 3 days after the show opened at the Winter Garden Theatre, the recording was released in October 1957 in both mono and stereo formats. In 1962, the album reached #5 on Billboard's Pop Album chart. It certified gold by the RIAA on January 12, 1962. The album was reissued in 1973 and made its first appearance on CD in 1986. A 1997 remastered edition was released coupled with an orchestral suite, Symphonic Dances from West Side Story recomposed and conducted by its original composer Leonard Bernstein and performed by the New York Philharmonic recorded at the Manhattan Center on March 6, 1961.
Peter Friedman is an American stage, film, and television actor. He made his Broadway debut in the Eugene O'Neill play The Great God Brown in 1972. His other Broadway credits include roles in The Rules of the Game (1974), Piaf (1981), The Heidi Chronicles (1989), and Twelve Angry Men (2004). He earned a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical nomination for his role as Tateh in Ragtime (1998).
Peter Kellogg is a musical theater book writer and lyricist. He wrote the lyrics and the book for the 1992 production of the Broadway musical Anna Karenina, for which he received two 1993 Tony Award nominations, one for Best Book of a musical and one for the Best Original Score. He also wrote the lyrics and book for the musicals Chasing Nicolette, Desperate Measures, Lincoln In Love, Stunt Girl, Money Talks, and The Rivals which have been read and produced regionally. Kellogg also received the New York Musical Theatre Festival 2006 award for Excellence in Musical Theatre Writing (Book) for Desperate Measures. On June 3, 2018, Kellogg won the 2018 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lyrics for Desperate Measures.
Paul Keating is an English actor. He has been nominated twice for an Olivier Award for his performances on the West End stage. He began acting at the age of 12, appearing as Gavroche in Les Misérables at The Palace Theatre for 10 months.
Shelly Burch is an American actress and singer known to television audiences for her role as Delilah Ralston on ABC's daytime soap opera One Life to Live, a role she played for eight years.
Stewart Nicholls is a British stage director and choreographer. His credits include productions of: A Spoonful of Sherman, Bumblescratch, Bar Mitzvah Boy, Love Birds, Free As Air, Business As Usual, Jewish Legends, Salad Days and The Biograph Girl, Lunch With Marlene, Beatlemania, Gay's The Word, Over My Shoulder, South Pacific, and Carousel and Tim Rice's revival of Blondel. Choreography credits include: Iolanthe and The Mikado and Cowardy Custard. He has also directed productions in drama schools and staged numerous pantomimes.
