A Salute to Book Writers
"In her [Nov 26th] article on Raúl Esparza, Joyce Wadler keeps referring to the show in which he appears as “Sondheim’s ‘Company.’ ” Once again The New York Times, like so many other publications, neglects to mention the book writer’s contribution to a musical, in this case that (and a brilliant that) of George Furth. One of the pleasures of John Doyle’s production is that it draws attention to George’s work. Would that The New York Times and other publications acknowledged what book writers do." Stephen Sondheim, Manhattan
In his letter to the editor, Mr Sondheim reveals how sublime an individual he truly is. How true that book writers often get the back burner, if they get a burner at all. Today, I offer a brief list of some very talented individuals and the musicals for which they deserve credit.
George Furth: COMPANY, THE ACT, MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG
Rachel Sheinkin: PUTNAM COUNTY SPELLING BEE
Roger Allers and Irene Mecchi: LION KING
Joseph A. Fields: WONDERFUL TOWN, FLOWER DRUM SONG, GENTLEMEN PREFER BLONDES
Jerome Chodorov: WONDERFUL TOWN, I HAD A BALL
Arthur Kopit: NINE, HIGH SOCIETY
Lawrence D. Cohen: CARRIE
Tom Eyen: DREAMGIRLS
Bill Russell: SIDE SHOW
Bob Martin, Don McKellar: DROWSY CHAPERONE
Doug Wright: GREY GARDENS
Otto Harbach: NO NO NANETTE, ROBERTA, ROSE MARIE (and about 75 others!)
Arthur Laurents: WEST SIDE STORY, GYPSY, NICK AND NORA, ANYONE CAN WHISTLE
Burt Shevelove: A FUNNY THING...FORUM
Larry Gelbart: A FUNNY THING...FORUM, CITY OF ANGELS
Sherman Yellen: REX, THE ROTHSCHILDS
Peter Stone: TITANIC, CURTAINS, SUGAR, 1776, others
Thomas Meehan: ANNIE, HAIRSPRAY, PRODUCERS, BOMBAY DREAMS
For more, check out IBDB.com.
3 comments:
Just curious... have you actually seen all these shows (one way or another) or just some and the rest is culled from musicals you've heard good things about or through award nominations or wins?
I'm just curious about the inclusion of CARRIE, if you've actually seen it.
That's basically it.
And what's that slit-nose f*** griping about?, he said, not having actually seen the musical himself, but knowing only of the cartoon and that Julie Taymore directed the musical...
alrighty boys. this is merely a list of musicals and their book writers. they deserve credit for the task, not necessarily the success of the task or the historical import of the task. i could have named about a gazillion other people, but just stopped caring after a while of research.
also, i have not seen all of these, no. namely, CARRIE. however, i want video or audio of it if you've got it.
NO, I WANT VIDEO or AUDIO if YOU'VE got it!
Oh, great. Your blog is gradually awakening an old fascination/obsession of mine now with that fiasco CARRIE.
Thanks, blondie!
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