Kurt Deutsch

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Kurt Deutsch (born Jul 26, 1966, St. Louis, Missouri) is an actor, director, record producer and film producer. He is the president and co-founder, with then-wife Sherie Rene Scott, of Sh-K-Boom Records. In 2017, the company became a division of Warner Music Group's Arts Music, he and Scott divorced, and he became Senior Vice President for Theatrical & Catalog Development for Warner Chappell Music. [1]

Contents

Sh-K-Boom/Ghostlight Records

In 2000, Deutsch founded Sh-K-Boom Records, an independent record label that aimed to bridge the gap between pop/rock and theater. [2] [3] In 2004, a new musical theater subsidiary of Sh-K-Boom, Ghostlight Records, was created to focus on more traditional scores and cast recordings. [4] As of 2015, the label has over 150 albums in its catalog, including The Book of Mormon , In the Heights , Beautiful: The Carole King Musical , The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee and many more Broadway and Off-Broadway shows. [5]

Sh-K-Boom/Ghostlight Records, under Deutsch's leadership, produced and released the debut solo albums of Broadway stars, including Adam Pascal, Sherie Rene Scott, Patti LuPone, Sutton Foster and Kelli O'Hara.

Under the name Sh-K-Boom Entertainment, Deutsch was the driving force for and a producer of the 2014 film adaptation of Jason Robert Brown's The Last Five Years , written and directed by Richard LaGravenese and starring Anna Kendrick and Jeremy Jordan. [6]

As of 2017, Deutsch joined Warner Music Group as a Senior Vice President for Warner/Chappell Publishing, [7] and executive for Warner Arts on the label side. [8]

Awards and honors

As producer, Deutsch received his first Grammy Award for Best Musical Show Album in 2009 for The Original Broadway Cast Album In The Heights along with fellow producers Alex Lacamoire, Andrés Levin, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Joel Moss & Bill Sherman. [9] He has since received two more Grammy Awards for Best Musical Show Album for The Book of Mormon: Original Broadway Cast Recording [10] and Beautiful: The Carole King Musical. [11]

A full list of Grammy Award wins and nominations for Sh-K-Boom/ Ghostlight Records are as follows:

2003

2005

2006

2008

2009

2011

2014 [12]

Sh-K-Boom and Ghostlight were awarded a special 2006 Drama Desk Award for dedication to the preservation of musical theatre through original cast albums. [13]

Acting

As an actor Deutsch appeared on Broadway in Broadway Bound , A Few Good Men and has appeared Off-Broadway and in regional theaters around the country. One of his most notable stage roles was the titular character in Randy Newman's Faust where he performed opposite his wife, Sherie Renee Scott.

He was a series regular on the television series The Human Factor and Winnetka Road , and he guest starred on Sex and the City , Law & Order , Quantum Leap , Matlock , and Models Inc . His film roles included The Eye of the Storm, The First To Go, and Labor Pains . Deutsch also had an uncredited cameo appearance alongside his wife in the film version of The Last Five Years in a casting session scene. (Scott originated the role of Cathy, played in the film by Anna Kendrick, in the original 2001 off-Broadway cast.)

Related Research Articles

The Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album has been awarded since 1959. The award is generally given to the album's producers, principal vocalist(s), and the composer and lyricist if they have written a new score which comprises 51% or more playing time of the album, though the number of recipients has varied over the category's tenure.

A cast recording is a recording of a stage musical that is intended to document the songs as they were performed in the show and experienced by the audience. An original cast recording or OCR, as the name implies, features the voices of the show's original cast. A cast recording featuring the first cast to perform a musical in a particular venue is known, for example, as an "original Broadway cast recording" (OBCR) or an "original London cast recording" (OLCR).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jason Robert Brown</span> American songwriter

Jason Robert Brown is an American musical theatre composer, lyricist, and playwright. Brown's music sensibility fuses pop-rock stylings with theatrical lyrics. He is the recipient of three Tony Awards for his work on Parade and The Bridges of Madison County.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adam Pascal</span> American actor, singer, and musician

Adam Pascal is an American actor, singer, and musician, known for his performance as Roger Davis in the original 1996 cast of Jonathan Larson's musical Rent on Broadway, the 2005 movie version of the musical, and the Broadway tour of Rent in 2009. He is also known for originating the role of Radames in Elton John and Tim Rice's Aida, for playing the Emcee in the 1998 revival of Cabaret, for playing Freddie Trumper in Chess at the New Amsterdam Theatre and Royal Albert Hall, and for playing Huey Calhoun in the Broadway company of Memphis. More recently, he played William Shakespeare in the Tony Award-winning musical Something Rotten!

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andrew Lippa</span> American composer

Andrew Lippa is an American composer, lyricist, book writer, performer, and producer. He is a resident artist at the Ars Nova Theater in New York City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gavin Creel</span> American actor, singer and songwriter (1976–2024)

Gavin James Creel was an American actor, singer, and songwriter best known for his work in musical theater. Over his career he received a Grammy Award, a Tony Award, a Drama Desk Award and a Laurence Olivier Award.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sherie Rene Scott</span> American actress, singer, playwright (b. 1967)

Sherie Rene Scott is an American actor, singer, writer and producer. She has been seen in multiple Broadway and off-Broadway plays and musicals, on numerous solo and original cast recordings, and in various film and television roles.

Edward Barnes is an American composer and producer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sh-K-Boom Records</span> American independent record label

Sh-K-Boom Records is an independent record label and producer of recorded and live entertainment, which was founded in 2000 by Kurt Deutsch with the mission of bridging the gap between pop music and theater. In 2004 Sh-K-Boom created their second imprint, Ghostlight Records, dedicated to the preservation of traditional musical theater, spurred by the popular release of their first-ever show cast recording, Jason Robert Brown's The Last Five Years. Together the two labels have over 200 albums in their catalogues. The company has also produced over 50 live concerts as part of their Sh-K-Boom Room Concert Series, and are currently developing new and innovative projects for the stage and screen.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alex Lacamoire</span> American composer

Alex Lacamoire is a Cuban-American composer, arranger, conductor, musical director, music copyist, and orchestrator who has worked on many shows both on and off-Broadway. He is the recipient of multiple Tony and Grammy Awards for his work on shows such as In the Heights (2008), Hamilton (2016), and Dear Evan Hansen (2017). Lacamoire was awarded the Kennedy Center Honor in 2018.

<i>Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown</i> (musical) Musical

Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown is a musical with music and lyrics by David Yazbek and a book by Jeffrey Lane. Based on the Pedro Almodóvar film Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (1988), the musical tells the tale of a group of women in late 20th-century Madrid whose relationships with men lead to a tumultuous 48 hours of love, confusion and passion.

<i>The Book of Mormon</i> (musical) Religious satire musical

The Book of Mormon is a musical comedy with music, lyrics, and book by Trey Parker, Robert Lopez, and Matt Stone. The story follows two missionaries of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints as they attempt to preach the faith to the inhabitants of a remote Ugandan village. The earnest young men are challenged by the lack of interest from the locals, who are distracted by more pressing issues such as HIV/AIDS, famine, female genital mutilation, child molestation, and oppression by the local warlord.

<i>Everyday Rapture</i> Musical by Various Artists

Everyday Rapture is a musical with a book written by Sherie Rene Scott and Dick Scanlan and music by various composers. It ran Off-Broadway in 2009 and opened on Broadway in 2010. The musical is a loose autobiography of Scott herself, showing her travels from her half-Mennonite Kansas childhood to a life in show business.

Joel Moss is an American record producer, sound engineer and mixer.

<i>The Book of Mormon: Original Broadway Cast Recording</i> Album of the stage musical The Book of Mormon

The Book of Mormon: Original Broadway Cast Recording contains the songs from the American musical The Book of Mormon, with music, lyrics, and book by Trey Parker, Robert Lopez, and Matt Stone. It was recorded by the musical's original Broadway cast and released on May 17, 2011 to digital outlets. The album saw a physical release on June 7, 2011, in a deluxe package with liner notes provided by former The New York Times theatre critic Frank Rich, as well as full lyrics and a synopsis of the musical. The Book of Mormon was named best musical theater album at the 2012 Grammy Awards.

<i>Beautiful: The Carole King Musical</i> 2014 jukebox musical

Beautiful: The Carole King Musical is a jukebox musical with a book by Douglas McGrath that tells the story of the early life and career of Carole King, using songs that she wrote, often together with Gerry Goffin, and other contemporary songs by Barry Mann, Cynthia Weil, Phil Spector and others.

This is a list of recordings by actress and singer Sutton Foster.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Michael J. Moritz Jr.</span>

Michael J. Moritz Jr. is a Grammy Award nominee, Tony Award winner, an Emmy Award winner, American theatrical producer, record producer, music supervisor, music director, arranger, Broadway music supervisor, performer and pianist. Michael's work as a pianist, music director and arranger is featured on many recordings in the pop and musical theatre genres. Michael is on the Board of Directors for The Angel Band Project.

<i>In the Heights</i> (album) 2008 original Broadway cast recording

In the Heights (Original Broadway Cast Recording) is the cast album to the Broadway production In the Heights. Released on June 3, 2008, the album features 23 songs with music and lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda and performed by the cast members. The album was one of the best-selling cast albums in the 2000s, sold around 500,000 copies and certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America. It won the Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album, the following year.

<i>Beautiful: The Carole King Musical</i> (album) 2014 cast recording by original Broadway cast of Beautiful: The Carole King Musical

Beautiful: The Carole King Musical is the cast album for the 2014 Broadway musical Beautiful: The Carole King Musical. Released digitally on April 1, 2014 and physically on May 13, through Ghostlight Records, it featured the cast members performing the songs of Carole King in the Broadway show. The album won the Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album in 2015.

References

  1. "Warner Music Group Establishes New Arts Division – Warner Music Group Official Blog". Warner Music Group Official Website. 6 June 2017. Retrieved 2017-10-05.
  2. Feldman, Adam (10 July 2007). "Sh-K-Boom time". Time Out. Retrieved 15 October 2015.
  3. Van Buren, Ashley (17 December 2012). "Meet Kurt Deutsch, the Man Behind the Cast Recordings of Book of Mormon, and Bring It On". Theatermania. Retrieved 16 October 2015.
  4. Jones, Kenneth. "New Moon Concert Cast Album Will Shine on Ghostlight Label in Fall". Playbill. Retrieved 16 October 2015.
  5. "Vinyl Edition of THE LAST FIVE YEARS Film Soundtrack to be Released Next Month". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved 15 October 2015.
  6. Wontorek, Paul. "With a Grammy Win and a Big Screen Last Five Years Launch, Kurt Deutsch is Having a Good Week". Broadway.com. Retrieved 16 October 2015.
  7. "Kurt Deutsch Named SVP, Theatrical & Catalog Development for Warner/Chappell Music – Latest News | Warner/Chappell Music". www.warnerchappell.com. Retrieved 2017-10-05.
  8. "Warner Music Group Establishes New Arts Division – Warner Music Group Official Blog". Warner Music Group Official Website. 6 June 2017. Retrieved 2017-10-05.
  9. "GRAMMY.com – 51st Annual Grammy Awards Nominee List". Archived from the original on December 5, 2008. Retrieved February 13, 2009.
  10. "Book of Mormon Wins Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album". Playbill.com. Retrieved 15 October 2015.
  11. "Grammys 2015: Carole King musical 'Beautiful' wins". LA Times. 8 February 2015. Retrieved 15 October 2015.
  12. Glasco, Kaeley. "Grammys 2015: Best Musical Theater Album nominees". AXS. Retrieved 16 October 2015.
  13. "2006 – Drama Desk Awards – Press Releases". Archived from the original on October 1, 2006. Retrieved November 5, 2006.