Drew Gasparini | |
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 Drew Gasparini onstage at 54 Below in NYC. Nov. 1, 2021 | |
| Born | April 20, 1986 |
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Drew Gasparini (born April 20, 1986) is a songwriter and musical theatre composer/lyricist, best known for writing songs for season 2 of Smash , as well as the scores for the Broadway musicals The Karate Kid , Skittles Commercial: The Broadway Musical , It's Kind of a Funny Story, and more. . [1]
Gasparini briefly attended the Musicians Institute in Hollywood, but he dropped out after he "realized [he] didn't need a degree in order to be a songwriter". [2]
Gasparini is currently writing the scores for a number of new stage musicals including the Broadway-bound adaptation of The Karate Kid alongside screenwriter Robert Mark Kamen, an adaptation of Night Shift for Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures, an adaptation of the Ned Vizzini novel/film It's Kind of a Funny Story for Universal Theatrical Group (book by Alex Brightman), an adaptation of the Newberry Award-winning children's novel The Whipping Boy (also with Brightman), and his semi-autobiographical song-cycle, We Aren't Kids Anymore . Gasparini is also collaborating with playwright Carson Kreitzer on the development of a new musical about the life of suffragette Victoria Woodhull.
Gasparini's other full-length musicals include Crazy, Just Like Me (book, music & lyrics; 2011 NYMF winner: "Best of Fest" and runner-up: "Best Book"), Make Me Bad (a musical, psychological thriller co-created with Alex Brightman), and Turn of the Screw (book by Michael Kimmel; 2012 workshop at Lincoln Center ). Gasparini was a contributing composer for the fictional musical Hit List on the NBC television series Smash . In 2019 Gasparini wrote the music for Skittles Commercial: The Broadway Musical , a highly publicized PR stunt starring Michael C. Hall for Super Bowl LIII.
Gasparini is an alum of the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop and his unique brand of musical-theatre concerts have been performed to sold-out houses all over the world including Lincoln Center, Kennedy Center, the St. James Theater in London, and NYC venues including Joe's Pub , Feinstein's/54 Below , and Rockwood Music Hall where he hosts Drew Gasparini & Friends, a monthly residency where Gasparini helps promote and showcase new artists. In 2018 Gasparini was invited to The Ferguson Center for the Arts in Newport News, VA to play a night of his music accompanied by the Virginia Symphony Orchestra .
The popularity of Gasparini's songs among the musical theatre community has made him a top ten best-seller on sites where his sheet music is sold. Gasparini's album I Could Use a Drink was released in 2013 by Broadway Records. The album features performances by Broadway and TV stars including Jeremy Jordan, Mykal Kilgore, Lindsay Mendez, Caissie Levy, Alex Brightman, F. Michael Haynie, Andrew Kober, Justin Guarini, Jennifer Damiano, and many more. On April 10, 2020, the studio cast recording of Gasparini's song-cycle We Aren't Kids Anymore was released by Concord Theatricals. The album features performances by Bonnie Milligan, Colton Ryan, Lilli Cooper, Raymond J. Lee, and Nicholas Christopher.
Gasparini's catalog is represented by Concord Music, and outside of musical theatre his songs have been heard on TV shows including the CMT series Gainesville and The Biggest Loser on NBC, as well as ads for Hotels.com. Alongside his two sisters, Chloe and Kasie, Gasparini is one third of the indie-folk band Saint Adeline [3] and continues to perform as a solo artist as well.
On January 13, 2021, Gasparini launched his podcast "Now We're Talking with Drew Gasparini" on the Broadway Podcast Network [4] with guests Alex Brightman, Kathryn Gallagher, and Colton Ryan. [5]
Crazy, Just Like Me
Gasparini wrote the book, music, and lyrics for Crazy, Just Like Me, with additional book by Louis Sacco. [6] The musical premiered in 2007 in Gasparini's hometown at the Novato Theatre Company's Pacheco Playhouse. [7] Crazy, Just Like Me was produced as part of the 2009 San Francisco Theatre Festival and the 2011 New York Musical Theatre Festival, where it won Best of Fest and was runner-up for Best Book. [8] [9]
Make Me Bad
Make Me Bad, with music and lyrics by Gasparini and book by Alex Brightman, premiered at the Bloomington Playwrights Project in 2011. [10]
It's Kind of a Funny Story, commissioned by Universal Theatrical Group, features music and lyrics by Gasparini and a book by Alex Brightman. [11] [12] The musical is based on Ned Vizzini's novel and the film of the same name. It debuted at Feinstein's/54 Below in March 2017. [13]
Night Shift
Gasparini wrote the music and lyrics for Night Shift, with book by screenwriters Babaloo Mandel and Lowell Ganz. Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures commissioned the musical based on the 1982 movie of the same name. [14]
Skittles Commercial: The Broadway Musical
Skittles Commercial: The Broadway Musical, with music by Drew Gasparini, lyrics by Nathaniel Lawlor, and book by Will Eno, was performed on the day of the 2019 Super Bowl. The show was produced by produced by Mars, DDB, and Smuggler, directed by Sarah Benson, and starred Michael C. Hall. Forbes Magazine declared it the funniest Super Bowl ad of 2019. [15]
The Karate Kid
Gasparini wrote the music and lyrics and screenwriter Robert Mark Kamen wrote the book for the Broadway-bound musical adaption of The Karate Kid . [16] The production is being produced by Gorgeous Entertainment, directed by Amon Miyamoto, and choreographed by Keone and Mari Madrid.
We Aren't Kids Anymore
Gasparini wrote the book, music, and lyrics for We Aren't Kids Anymore, a song cycle that premiered at Christopher Newport University in 2019. The show also features a poem by Keith White. Concord Theatricals released a cast album of the show in April 2020 featuring Lilli Cooper, Bonnie Milligan, Nicholas Christopher, Colton Ryan, and Raymond J. Lee. [17] [18] Licensing rights for the show are available from Concord Theatricals. [19]
The Whipping Boy
The Whipping Boy is a musical adaptation of the children's novel by Sid Fleischman with music and lyrics by Gasparini and book and lyrics by Alex Brightman. [11]
Untitled Victoria Woodhull project
Gasparini is currently collaborating with Carson Kreitzer on a musical about the life of suffragette Victoria Woodhull. [20]
Gasparini is also part of comedy group The (M)orons along with three other Broadway actors: Alex Brightman, Andrew Kober, and F. Michael Haynie. He and Brightman developed The Life and Slimes of Marc Summers together in 2016. [21]
John Harold Kander is an American composer, known largely for his work in the musical theater. As part of the songwriting team Kander and Ebb, Kander wrote the scores for 15 musicals, including Cabaret (1966) and Chicago (1975), both of which were later adapted into acclaimed films. He and Ebb also wrote the standard "New York, New York".
Harvey Forbes Fierstein is an American actor, playwright, and screenwriter, known for his distinctive gravelly voice. He is best known for his theater work in Torch Song Trilogy and Hairspray and film roles in Mrs. Doubtfire, Independence Day, and as the voice of Yao in Mulan and Mulan II. Fierstein won two Tony Awards, Best Actor in a Play and Best Play, for Torch Song Trilogy. He received his third Tony Award, Best Book of a Musical, for the musical La Cage aux Folles and his fourth, the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical, for playing Edna Turnblad in Hairspray, a role he revived in its live television event, Hairspray Live! Fierstein also wrote the books for the Tony Award-winning musicals Kinky Boots, Newsies, and Tony Award-nominated, Drama League Award-winner A Catered Affair. He was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame in 2007.
The Really Useful Group Ltd. (RUG) is an international company set up in 1977 by Andrew Lloyd Webber. It is involved in theatre, film, television, video and concert productions, merchandising, magazine publishing, records and music publishing. The name is inspired by a phrase from the children's book series The Railway Series in which Thomas the Tank Engine and friends and other locomotives are referred to as "Really Useful Engines".
Disney Theatrical Productions Limited (DTP), also known as Disney on Broadway, is the stageplay and musical production company of the Disney Theatrical Group, a subsidiary of Disney Entertainment, a major division and business unit of The Walt Disney Company.
The Whipping Boy is a Newbery Medal-winning children's book by Sid Fleischman, first published in 1986.
Hazel Flagg is a 1953 musical, book by Ben Hecht, based on a story by James H. Street. The lyrics are by Bob Hilliard, and music by Jule Styne. The musical is based on the 1937 screwball comedy film Nothing Sacred, the primary screenwriter of which was Ben Hecht.
Music Theatre International (MTI) is a theatrical licensing agency based in New York City and founded in 1952 by American composer and lyricist Frank Loesser and orchestrator Don Walker. Along with licensing the rights to Loesser's works, the firm licenses production rights of over 500 Broadway, Off-Broadway, and West End musicals. Cameron Mackintosh became a partner in 1990 and majority owner in 2015.
Joe DiPietro is an American playwright, lyricist and author. He is best known for the Tony Award-winning musical Memphis, for which he won the Tony Awards for Best Book of a Musical and Best Original Score as well as for writing the book and lyrics for the long-running off-Broadway show I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change.
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Eva Quinn Dolan is an American musician and actress, best known for originating the role of Katie in the Broadway adaption of School of Rock.
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Andrew Kober is an American stage and screen actor, best known for playing the role of Margaret Mead in the 2009 Broadway revival of Hair.
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Justin Goldner is an American music producer, songwriter, arranger and session musician based in New York City, originally from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
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Johnny Guitar is a 2004 stage musical with music by Martin Silvestri, lyrics by Joel Higgins, and a book by Nicholas van Hoogstraten. The musical is based on the 1953 novel by Roy Chanslor, that also inspired the 1954 film of the same name which starred Joan Crawford in the lead role.
The Life and Slimes of Marc Summers is a one-man stage performance by American stage and screen actor Marc Summers.