Richard Maltby Jr.

Last updated
Richard Maltby Jr.
Born
Richard Eldridge Maltby Jr.

(1937-10-06) October 6, 1937 (age 86)
Ripon, Wisconsin, United States
Nationality American
Occupation(s) Theatre director, producer, lyricist, screenwriter
Parent(s) Richard Maltby, Sr.
Virginia (née Hosegood)

Richard Eldridge Maltby Jr. [1] (born October 6, 1937) is an American theatre director and producer, lyricist, and screenwriter. He conceived and directed the only two musical revues to win the Tony Award for Best Musical: Ain't Misbehavin' (1978: Tony, N.Y. Drama Critics, Outer Critics, Drama Desk Awards, also Tony Award for Best Director) and Fosse (1999: Tony, Outer Critics, Drama Desk Awards).

Contents

Life and career

Maltby was born in Ripon, Wisconsin, the son of Virginia (née Hosegood) and Richard Maltby, Sr., a well-known orchestra leader. [1]

Maltby and David Shire started working together as students at Yale University (where he was a member of Manuscript Society); their first Broadway credit was in 1968, when their song "The Girl of the Minute" was used in the revue New Faces of 1968 . In 1977 the Manhattan Theatre Club produced a revue of their earlier songs, written for other works, finally titled Starting Here, Starting Now . [2] With composer Shire, Maltby was the director and lyricist for Baby , (1983, book by Sybille Pearson) and the lyricist for Big (1996, book by John Weidman). Also with Shire, he conceived and wrote the lyrics for Take Flight (book by John Weidman), which had its world premiere in July 2007 at the Menier Chocolate Factory in London. [3]

He was director/co-lyricist for the American version of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Song and Dance , (1986) starring Bernadette Peters. He was co-lyricist for Miss Saigon (Evening Standard Award 1990; Tony nomination: Best Score, 1991).

He also conceived and directed Ring of Fire , a musical about Johnny Cash, which ran on Broadway in 2006. He is co-bookwriter/lyricist for The Pirate Queen (2007). [4] He was most recently represented on Broadway as the director of the new, original musical The Story of My Life by composer/lyricist Neil Bartram and book writer Brian Hill. That musical had a brief run at the Booth Theatre in February 2009. [5] and received a 2009 Drama Desk Award nomination for outstanding production of a musical.

Since 1976 he has constructed the monthly cryptic crossword puzzles for Harper's Magazine , formerly in collaboration with E. R. Galli. He constructed cryptic crosswords for New York Magazine in the late 1960s. [6]


Personal life

Maltby married twice: first to Barbara Black Sudler on June 5, 1965 (they had two children, Nicholas and David), and second, in 1987, to Janet Brenner (they had three children, Jordan, Emily, and Charlotte). He now has seven grandchildren: Liam, Owen, Matt, Aidan, Emma, Lionel, and Jesse Maltby.

Work

Broadway
Off-Broadway
Regional
Film

Awards and nominations

Awards
Nominations

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fred Ebb</span> Musical artist

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles Strouse</span> American composer and lyricist (born 1928)

Charles Strouse is an American composer and lyricist best known for writing the music to such Broadway musicals as Bye Bye Birdie, Applause, and Annie.

Stephen Flaherty is an American composer of musical theatre and film. He works most often in collaboration with the lyricist/book writer Lynn Ahrens. They are best known for writing the Broadway musicals Ragtime, which was nominated for thirteen Tony Awards, two Grammy Awards, and won the Tony for Best Original Score; Once on This Island, which won the Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical, the Olivier Award for London's Best Musical, and was nominated for a Grammy Award and eight Tony Awards; and Seussical, which was nominated for the Grammy Award. Flaherty was also nominated for two Academy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards for his songs and song score for the animated film musical Anastasia.

Lynn Ahrens is an American songwriter, and librettist for the musical theatre, television and film. She has collaborated with Stephen Flaherty for many years. She won the Tony Award, Drama Desk Award, and Outer Critics Circle Award for the Broadway musical Ragtime. Together with Flaherty, she has written many musicals, including Lucky Stiff, My Favorite Year, Ragtime, Seussical, A Man of No Importance, Dessa Rose, The Glorious Ones, Rocky, Little Dancer and, recently on Broadway, Anastasia and Once on This Island.

<i>Timbuktu!</i> Musical

Timbuktu! is a musical, with lyrics by George Forrest and Robert Wright, set to music by Borodin, Forrest and Wright. The book is by Luther Davis. It is a resetting of Forrest and Wright's musical Kismet. The musical is set in 1361 in Timbuktu, in the Empire of Mali, West Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeanine Tesori</span> American composer and musical arranger (born 1961)

Jeanine Tesori, known earlier in her career as Jeanine Levenson, is an American composer and musical arranger best known for her work in the theater. She is the most prolific and honored female theatrical composer in history, with five Broadway musicals and six Tony Award nominations. She won the 1999 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Music in a Play for Nicholas Hytner's production of Twelfth Night at Lincoln Center, the 2004 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Music for Caroline, or Change, the 2015 Tony Award for Best Original Score for Fun Home, making them the first female writing team to win that award, and the 2023 Tony Award for Best Original Score for Kimberly Akimbo. She was named a Pulitzer Prize for Drama finalist twice for Fun Home and Soft Power.

Edward "Ed" Kleban was an American musical theatre composer and lyricist. Kleban was born in the Bronx, New York City, in 1939 and graduated from New York's High School of Music & Art and Columbia University, where he attended with future playwright Terrence McNally.

David Joel Zippel is an American musical theatre lyricist, director, and producer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Shire</span> American songwriter and composer

David Lee Shire is an American songwriter and composer of stage musicals, film and television scores. Among his best known works are the motion picture soundtracks to The Big Bus, The Taking of Pelham One Two Three, The Conversation, All the President's Men, and parts of the Saturday Night Fever soundtrack such as "Manhattan Skyline". His other work includes the score of the 1985 film Return to Oz, and the stage musical scores of Baby, Big, Closer Than Ever, and Starting Here, Starting Now. Shire is married to actress Didi Conn.

David Norman Yazbek is an American writer, musician, composer, and lyricist. He wrote the music and lyrics for the Broadway musicals The Full Monty (2000), Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (2005), Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (2010), The Band's Visit (2017), and Tootsie (2019). His most recent projects include the musicals Dead Outlaw and Buena Vista Social Club.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">André De Shields</span> American entertainer (born 1946)

André Robin De Shields is an American actor, singer, dancer, director, and choreographer. He has received numerous accolades including an Emmy Award, Grammy Award, and Tony Award.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matthew Sklar</span> American composer for musical theatre, television, and film

Matthew Sklar is an American composer for musical theatre, television, and film. His works have appeared on Broadway, the West End, and theatres worldwide. Sklar has written primarily with lyricist Chad Beguelin, having written music for their Broadway shows The Prom, Elf the Musical, and The Wedding Singer. The Prom and The Wedding Singer earned him nominations for the Tony Award for Best Original Score.

Chad Beguelin is an American playwright and lyricist. He wrote the lyrics and co-wrote the book for The Prom. He also wrote the book for Disney's Aladdin, as well as additional lyrics for the score. He was nominated for Best Original Book and Best Original Score for Aladdin. He is also known for his collaborations with composer Matthew Sklar, having written the lyrics and co-written the book for the Broadway musical The Wedding Singer and the lyrics for the Broadway musical Elf the Musical. Beguelin was nominated for two Tony Awards for his work on The Wedding Singer, as well as a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lyrics.

Jack O'Brien is an American director, producer, writer and lyricist. He served as the Artistic Director of the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego, California from 1981 through the end of 2007.

Graciela Daniele is an Argentine-American dancer, choreographer, and theatre director.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alex Timbers</span> American writer and director

Alex Timbers is an American writer and director best known for his work on stage and television. He has received numerous accolades including two Tony Awards, a Golden Globe Award, a Drama Desk Award, as well as nominations for a Primetime Emmy Award and a Grammy Award. Timbers received the Drama League Founder's Award for Excellence in Directing and the Jerome Robbins Award for Directing.

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.

Michael Starobin is an orchestrator, conductor, composer, arranger, and musical director, primarily for the stage, film and television. He won Tony Awards for the orchestrations of Assassins (2004) and Next to Normal.

Sergio Trujillo is a theater director, choreographer, dancer and actor. Born in Colombia and raised in Toronto, Canada, he is now an American citizen and resides in New York City. Trujillo was the recipient of the 2019 Tony Award for Best Choreography for Ain't Too Proud and the 2015 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Theatre Choreographer for Memphis. He is the first ever Hispanic recipient of the Tony Award for Best Choreography.

Douglas Besterman is an American orchestrator, musical arranger and music producer. He is the recipient of three Tony Awards out of six total nominations and two Drama Desk Awards out of six total nominations, and was a 2009 Grammy Award nominee.

References

  1. 1 2 Filmreference.com
  2. Theatre Alliance, January 22, 2008
  3. "Take Flight Takes Off at London's Menier Chocolate Factory July 13" playbill.com, July 13, 2007
  4. "Pirate Queen Unfurls Her Sails on Broadway March 6" playbill.com, March 6, 2007
  5. "The Story of My Life, With Gets and Chase, Aims for Broadway in February 2009" playbill.com, November 12, 2008
  6. Fott, Galen (2014-07-21). "Blogfott: Stephen Sondheim's Crossword Puzzles". Blogfott. Retrieved 2024-05-20.
  7. Ibdb.com
  8. The New York Times review, February 18, 2002
  9. 1 2 Ibdb.com
  10. Ibdb.com
  11. NODANW listing
  12. Playbill article, Aug. 10, 2006, Flashback: Maltby Directs The 60's Project, a Musical Tale of a Generation
  13. Virini, Bob. "L.A. Theater Review: ‘Waterfall’ with Thai Pop Star Bie Sukrit", Variety, June 12, 2015