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Judy Gordon is an American theater producer of plays and musicals on Broadway and off-Broadway as well as internationally. Her productions include the musical Barnum [1] with music by Cy Coleman, starring Jim Dale and Glenn Close on Broadway [2] and Michael Crawford in London. [3] [4] She also produced A History of the American Film by Christopher Durang on Broadway, [5] and 2x5 by John Kander and Fred Ebb off Broadway. [6]
Judy Gordon started her producing career as assistant to the playwright Peter Stone on a political show “A Lyrical Evening for Howard Samuels” at the Palace Theater. Her first commercial production was “2 by 5”, a compilation of John Kander & Fred Ebb songs at the Village Gate Off-Broadway in 1976. That show introduced the song “New York, New York” [7] before the release of the movie of the same name in 1977. Her first Broadway production was “A History of the American Film” by Christopher Durang in 1978. [8] It received one Tony nomination for best book for a musical and won a Drama Desk award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical (Swoosie Kurtz). [9] In 1980, Gordon produced the musical Barnum on Broadway starring Jim Dale and Glenn Close with music by Cy Coleman, lyrics by Michael Stewart and book by Mark Bramble. It received ten Tony nominations and won three Tony Awards; [10] for Best Actor in a Musical (Jim Dale), Best Set (David Mitchell), and Best Costumes (Theoni Aldredge). The London production opened in 1981 and starred Michael Crawford who won the Olivier Award [11] for Best Actor in a Musical. In 1982, Gordon optioned a book by Bruce Jay Friedman named “The Lonely Guy's Book of Life” to develop for the stage. [12] However, upon learning that Steve Martin was interested in doing it as a film, she made a deal with Universal Studios and became a producer of the film The Lonely Guy starring Steve Martin which was released in 1984. [13] During the 1980s and 1990s, Gordon lived in both New York and London. In 1988, she produced “Brel” at the Donmar Warehouse in London directed by Bill Bryden, designed by Robert Crowley and starring Sian Phillips. [14] In 1990, she produced The High Rollers Social and Pleasure Club on Broadway which featured Allen Toussaint and his music. [15] It was nominated for a Tony award for Best Featured Actress (Vivian Reed). Gordon also produced “Villa Diodati” at the New York Musical Theatre Festival, [16] The Fastest Clock in the Universe by Philip Ridley with the New Group, [17] New York Stories Off Broadway, [18] and “George White Scandals” for the 25th Anniversary of the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center.
She is currently developing a new musical.[ when? ]
Kander and Ebb were a highly successful American songwriting team consisting of composer John Kander and lyricist Fred Ebb. Known primarily for their stage musicals, which include Cabaret and Chicago, Kander and Ebb also scored several movies, including Martin Scorsese's New York, New York. Their most famous song is the theme song of that movie. Recorded by many artists, "New York, New York" became a signature song for Frank Sinatra. The team also became associated with two actresses, Liza Minnelli and Chita Rivera, for whom they wrote a considerable amount of material for the stage, concerts and television.
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".
Fred Ebb was an American musical theatre lyricist who had many successful collaborations with composer John Kander. The Kander and Ebb team frequently wrote for such performers as Liza Minnelli and Chita Rivera.
Chicago is a 1975 American musical with music by John Kander, lyrics by Fred Ebb, and book by Ebb and Bob Fosse. Set in Chicago in the jazz age, the musical is based on a 1926 play of the same title by reporter Maurine Dallas Watkins, about actual criminals and crimes on which she reported. The story is a satire on corruption in the administration of criminal justice and the concept of the "celebrity criminal".
Harold Smith Prince, commonly known as Hal Prince, was an American theatre director and producer known for his work in musical theatre.
Dolores Conchita Figueroa del Rivero Anderson, professionally known as Chita Rivera, is an American actress, singer and dancer best known for originating roles in Broadway musicals including Anita in West Side Story, Velma Kelly in Chicago, and the title role in Kiss of the Spider Woman. She is a ten-time Tony Award nominee and a three-time Tony Award recipient, including one for Lifetime Achievement. She is the first Latina and the first Latino American to receive a Kennedy Center Honor and is a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Her autobiography, Chita: A Memoir, was published in 2023.
Martin Faranan McDonagh is a British-Irish playwright and filmmaker. He is known for his absurdist black humour which often challenges the modern theatre aesthetic. He has received numerous accolades including an Academy Award, six BAFTA Awards, four Golden Globe Awards, three Olivier Awards, and nominations for five Tony Awards.
Susan P. Stroman is an American theatre director, choreographer, film director and performer. Her notable theater productions include Oklahoma!, The Music Man, Crazy for You, Contact, The Producers, The Frogs, The Scottsboro Boys, Bullets Over Broadway, POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive, and New York, New York.
Judy Kuhn is an American actress, singer and activist, known for her work in musical theatre. A four-time Tony Award nominee, she has released four studio albums and sang the title role in the 1995 film Pocahontas, including her rendition of the song "Colors of the Wind", which won its composers the Academy Award for Best Original Song.
David Burns was an American Broadway theatre and motion picture actor and singer.
David Joel Zippel is an American musical theatre lyricist, director, and producer.
The Act is a musical with a book by George Furth, lyrics by Fred Ebb, and music by John Kander.
Joseph Stein was an American playwright best known for writing the books for such musicals as Fiddler on the Roof and Zorba.
David Thompson is an American writer, playwright, and producer. His notable theater productions include Chicago, The Scottsboro Boys, The Prince of Broadway, and New York, New York.
Rob Ashford is an American stage director and choreographer. He is a Tony Award, Olivier Award, Emmy Award, Drama Desk Award, and Outer Critics Circle Award winner.
Joe Masteroff was an American playwright.
The Scottsboro Boys is a musical with a book by David Thompson, music by John Kander and lyrics by Fred Ebb. Based on the Scottsboro Boys trial, the musical is one of the last collaborations between Kander and Ebb prior to the latter's death. The musical has the framework of a minstrel show, altered to "create a musical social critique" with a company that, except for one, consists "entirely of African-American performers".
Michael Hayden is an actor who has appeared both on the stage and on television.
Thomas Joseph Kirdahy is an American Tony and Olivier Award-winning theatrical producer, lawyer, and activist.
Jana Robbins, née Marsha Eisenberg, is a Tony, Olivier and Drama Desk Award-winning American producer, actress, director, teacher, and speaker. She has produced and won awards for her West End, Broadway and Off-Broadway productions.
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