Andrew Lippa
Encyclopedia
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.
, England
. to English parents. He emigrated to the US in October, 1967 and grew up in Oak Park, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. He attended Oak Park High School
in Oak Park, Michigan
. While at Michigan, Lippa studied vocal performance but eventually transferred into music education and received his bachelor’s degree in music education. After graduating from the University of Michigan
, In 1987 Lippa moved to New York City and became a middle school music teacher at Columbia Grammar and Prep School (CGPS) on the Upper West Side. He was promoted his second year at (CGPS) to dean of 7th and 8th grade students – an assistant principal position – and held that post, in addition to teaching music, until June of 1991.
In 1988 Lippa was accepted into the celebrated BMI/Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop as a composer. There he met his future collaborator Tom Greenwald (John & Jen) He later pursued a music career.
The Goodspeed
produced Lippa’s first musical, John & Jen (book by Tom Greenwald) in 1993 at The Norma Terris Theatre in Chester, CT. What followed that production was a workshop production the following year at the Berkshire Theatre Festival
and, ultimately, a nearly 6-month run at Lamb's Theatre
in New York City. The show was produced by Carolyn Rossi Copeland.
Lippa then went onto write the book, music and lyric for The Wild Party
. He began work in 1996. The Manhattan Theatre Club
presented a reading of the first act later that year. Julia Murney
, who later went on to play the role of Queenie, was in the ensemble of that reading. The Wild Party had a two-week development at The Eugene O’neill Theatre Center in CT in the summer of 1997. Following that period, producers Jeffrey Seller
and Kevin McCollum
optioned the play and, with the Manhattan Theater Club, made plans for production. The Wild Party, which was given its world premiere in 2000 at the off-Broadway Manhattan Theatre Club in New York City. The Wild Party won the Outer Critics Circle Award
for best Off-Broadway musical of the season and Lippa won the 2000 Drama Desk Award
for best music. The show was nominated for 13 Drama Desk Awards including best new musical.
In 1999, Lippa contributed three new songs to the Broadway version of You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown
(including "My New Philosophy" for Kristin Chenoweth
), and created all new arrangements. The other two songs were “Beethoven Day” and the new version of the title song. Lippa also produced the original cast recording and was honored with a Grammy nomination for his work on that recording.
In 2001, Lippa joined with Brian Crawley to create A Little Princess
as a musical. That show was later premiered in the summer of 2004 at TheatreWorks in Palo Alto, California. The recording releases on September 13, 2011 on the Ghostlight label. Texas State University’
s musical theatre department under the direction of Kaitlin Hopkins will present the show in concert – Lippa will conduct – October 16-19. Following that production, Music Theatre International
(MTI) will make the title available for license to theatres all over the world.
2006 saw the premiere of Asphalt Beach at the American Music Theatre Project
at Northwestern University
. Producer Stuart Oken produced that show and then asked Lippa to write the music and lyrics for The Addams Family
. Lippa was honored with a Tony
nomination and two Drama Desk nominations for his work on The Addams Family (book by Marshall Brickman
and Rick Elice
). The Addams Family starred Nathan Lane
and Bebe Neuwirth
, broke attendance records in Chicago during it’s 2009 try-out, and will have played, on closing on December 31, 2011, 725 regular performances and 34 previews at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre
on Broadway. The US national tour begins in New Orleans in September, 2011. Planned international productions include Sao Paulo (March, 2011), Scandinavia (summer, 2011), London (autumn, 2011), an 18-month tour of Australia (beginning March 2013), and more to be announced shortly. The recording was released on Decca Broadway and the vocal selections are available from Hal Leonard.
Big Fish
, Lippa’s newest musical (book by John August) is in development and will premiere on Broadway in the spring of 2013. Susan Stroman
is director and choreographer.
ADDITIONAL WORK:
In 1998, Lippa was commissioned by the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver to create an anthem for a concert celebrating Israel's 50th birthday, to be sung by 350 singers and conducted by Sergiu Comissiona of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra.
As a singer, Lippa has performed at Carnegie Hall, Town Hall, The Rainbow Room, and The Supper Club. His vocal arrangements and singing can be heard on the songs of Stephen Schwartz in the animated feature, The Prince of Egypt.
He has acted as Kristin Chenoweth's music director since 1999 [3] and has conducted and played Chenoweth's concerts at the Metropolitan Opera House (January 2007), the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra (2005), Carnegie Hall (2004), and the Donmar Warehouse (2002), among others. Lippa wrote the music to the "Intervention Song" for Chenoweth's funnyordie.com video.
For Halloween weekend, 2011, the Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra
under the baton of Stuart Malina premieres “The Addams Family Casket of Orchestral Grotesqueries” – a symphonic suite from The Addams Family arranged by Lippa and Larry Hochman
and orchestrated by Hochman.
That same weekend The New Mexico Gay Men’s Chorus, under the direction of Aaron Howe, will premiere Lippa’s “Move Toward The Darkness” from The Addams Family in a new choral arrangement by Lippa’s frequent collaborator Mary-Mitchell Campbell.
Unfinished Work:
Jerry Christmas (book by Daniel Goldfarb): This show was produced by New York Stage and Film in 2007 but has since been shelved.
The Man In The Ceiling (book by Jules Feiffer): This show, developed by Disney Theatrical and Tom Schumacher had two readings in 2008. Lippa homes to return to this some day but has shelved it for the moment.
Recordings and Publications:
Recordings include Julia Murney’s CD I’m Not Waiting (producer, 3 songs), The Wild Party (RCA Victor) which he also produced, You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown (RCA Victor) which earned him a Grammy Award nomination, The Addams Family (Decca Broadway), A Little Princess (Ghostlight), and john & jen (Ghostlight) which he associate produced. Jazz phenom Peter Cincotti
recorded the song “Raise The Roof” on his CD titled On The Moon (Phil Ramone, producer). In addition, Mr. Lippa produced the original cast recording of Bat Boy
for RCA Victor and his singing voice can be heard on The Sondheim Album on Fynsworth Alley and If I Sing on PS Classics. Vocal selections from The Addams Family, A Little Princess, The Wild Party and john & jen are published by Hal Leonard and the shows are licensed by Music Theatre International. Hal Leonard will also release The Andrew Lippa Song Book in Fall, 2011.
's A New Brain
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
, lyricist
Lyricist
A lyricist is a songwriter who specializes in lyrics. A singer who writes the lyrics to songs is a singer-lyricist. This differentiates from a singer-composer, who composes the song's melody.-Collaboration:...
, book writer
Libretto
A libretto is the text used in an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata, or musical. The term "libretto" is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major liturgical works, such as mass, requiem, and sacred cantata, or even the story line of a...
, performer, and producer
Theatrical producer
A theatrical producer is the person ultimately responsible for overseeing all aspects of mounting a theatre production. The independent producer will usually be the originator and finder of the script and starts the whole process...
. He is a resident artist at the Ars Nova Theater in New York City.
Biography
Lippa was born in LeedsLeeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. to English parents. He emigrated to the US in October, 1967 and grew up in Oak Park, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. He attended Oak Park High School
Oak Park High School (Michigan)
Oak Park High School is a public high school located in Oak Park, Michigan an inner suburb of Detroit. The school is part of the Oak Park School district...
in Oak Park, Michigan
Oak Park, Michigan
As of the census of 2000, there were 29,793 people, 11,104 households, and 7,595 families residing in the city. The population density was 5,863.8 persons per square mile . There were 11,370 housing units at an average density of 2,263.9 per square mile...
. While at Michigan, Lippa studied vocal performance but eventually transferred into music education and received his bachelor’s degree in music education. After graduating from the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
, In 1987 Lippa moved to New York City and became a middle school music teacher at Columbia Grammar and Prep School (CGPS) on the Upper West Side. He was promoted his second year at (CGPS) to dean of 7th and 8th grade students – an assistant principal position – and held that post, in addition to teaching music, until June of 1991.
In 1988 Lippa was accepted into the celebrated BMI/Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop as a composer. There he met his future collaborator Tom Greenwald (John & Jen) He later pursued a music career.
Career
Lippa began his professional theatrical career at The Goodspeed Opera House in East Haddam, CT. He was hired in early 1992 to be the pianist for a production of “It’s A Bird, It’s a Plane, It’s Superman” but quickly rose to become the dance arranger and assistant music director. He then stayed on for the remainder of the season in that capacity. Following the Goodspeed, Lippa worked at various theatres as music director and/or pianist in addition to being an increasingly in-demand arranger.The Goodspeed
Goodspeed Musicals
Goodspeed Musicals, a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation and advancement of musical theater and the creation of new works, was formed in 1959 to restore the Goodspeed Opera House, located in East Haddam, Connecticut, to its original Victorian appearance. Each year, Goodspeed...
produced Lippa’s first musical, John & Jen (book by Tom Greenwald) in 1993 at The Norma Terris Theatre in Chester, CT. What followed that production was a workshop production the following year at the Berkshire Theatre Festival
Berkshire Theatre Festival
The Berkshire Theatre Festival is one of the oldest professional performing arts venues in the Berkshires, celebrating its 80th anniversary season in 2008.-History:...
and, ultimately, a nearly 6-month run at Lamb's Theatre
Lamb's Theatre
Lamb's Theatre was an Off-Broadway theater located at 130 West 44th Street, New York City inside the Manhattan Church of the Nazarene, near Times Square in New York City. It seated approximately 350 and specialized in musical productions...
in New York City. The show was produced by Carolyn Rossi Copeland.
Lippa then went onto write the book, music and lyric for The Wild Party
The Wild Party (Lippa musical)
The Wild Party is a musical with book, lyrics, and music by Andrew Lippa. It is based on Joseph Moncure March's 1928 narrative poem of the same name...
. He began work in 1996. The Manhattan Theatre Club
Manhattan Theatre Club
Manhattan Theatre Club is a theater company located in New York City. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Lynne Meadow and Executive Producer Barry Grove, Manhattan Theatre Club has grown since its founding in 1970 from an Off-Off Broadway showcase into one of the country’s most acclaimed...
presented a reading of the first act later that year. Julia Murney
Julia Murney
Julia Kathleen Murney is an American actress, singer and theatre performer, primarily featured in theatre and television commercial voice-overs. Until 2005, she was commonly known as the Broadway actress who had technically never appeared on Broadway...
, who later went on to play the role of Queenie, was in the ensemble of that reading. The Wild Party had a two-week development at The Eugene O’neill Theatre Center in CT in the summer of 1997. Following that period, producers Jeffrey Seller
Jeffrey Seller
Jeffrey Seller is an American theatrical producer. He is the winner of three Tony Awards for Best Musical: Rent , which also won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama; Avenue Q ; and In the Heights...
and Kevin McCollum
Kevin McCollum
Kevin McCollum is one of the leading producers on Broadway. He graduated from the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music in 1984....
optioned the play and, with the Manhattan Theater Club, made plans for production. The Wild Party, which was given its world premiere in 2000 at the off-Broadway Manhattan Theatre Club in New York City. The Wild Party won the Outer Critics Circle Award
Outer Critics Circle Award
The Outer Critics Circle Awards are presented annually for theatrical achievements both on and Off-Broadway and were begun during the 1949-1950 theater season. The awards are decided upon by theater critics who review for out-of-town newspapers, national publications, and other media outlets...
for best Off-Broadway musical of the season and Lippa won the 2000 Drama Desk Award
Drama Desk Award
The Drama Desk Awards, which are given annually in a number of categories, are the only major New York theater honors for which productions on Broadway, Off-Broadway, Off-Off-Broadway compete against each other in the same category...
for best music. The show was nominated for 13 Drama Desk Awards including best new musical.
In 1999, Lippa contributed three new songs to the Broadway version of You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown
You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown
You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown is a 1967 musical comedy with music and lyrics by Clark Gesner, based on the characters created by cartoonist Charles M. Schulz in his comic strip Peanuts...
(including "My New Philosophy" for Kristin Chenoweth
Kristin Chenoweth
Kristin Chenoweth is an American singer and actress, with credits in musical theatre, film and television. She is best known on Broadway for her performance as Sally Brown in You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown , for which she won a Tony Award, and for originating the role of Glinda in the musical...
), and created all new arrangements. The other two songs were “Beethoven Day” and the new version of the title song. Lippa also produced the original cast recording and was honored with a Grammy nomination for his work on that recording.
In 2001, Lippa joined with Brian Crawley to create A Little Princess
A Little Princess
A Little Princess is a 1905 children's novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett. It is a revised and expanded version of Burnett's 1888 serialized novel entitled Sara Crewe: or, What Happened at Miss Minchin's Boarding School, which was published in St. Nicholas Magazine.According to Burnett, she...
as a musical. That show was later premiered in the summer of 2004 at TheatreWorks in Palo Alto, California. The recording releases on September 13, 2011 on the Ghostlight label. Texas State University’
Texas State University–San Marcos
Texas State University–San Marcos is a doctoral-granting university located in San Marcos, Texas...
s musical theatre department under the direction of Kaitlin Hopkins will present the show in concert – Lippa will conduct – October 16-19. Following that production, Music Theatre International
Music Theatre International
Music Theatre International, often abbreviated MTI, is a theatrical licensing agency based in New York City. The League of American Theatres and Producers calls MTI "A leader in the theatrical licensing industry."-Description:...
(MTI) will make the title available for license to theatres all over the world.
2006 saw the premiere of Asphalt Beach at the American Music Theatre Project
American Music Theatre Project
The American Music Theatre Project was introduced in May 2005 by Northwestern University’s School of Communication, in collaboration with the School of Music, Kellogg School of Management, Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences, and the Graduate School...
at Northwestern University
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
. Producer Stuart Oken produced that show and then asked Lippa to write the music and lyrics for The Addams Family
The Addams Family (musical)
The Addams Family is a musical comedy with music and lyrics by Andrew Lippa and a book by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice. The show is based upon The Addams Family characters created by Charles Addams in his single-panel gag cartoons, which depict a ghoulish American family with an affinity for...
. Lippa was honored with a Tony
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
nomination and two Drama Desk nominations for his work on The Addams Family (book by Marshall Brickman
Marshall Brickman
Marshall Brickman is a screenwriter, best known for his collaborations with Woody Allen. He is also known for playing the banjo with Eric Weissberg in the 1960s, and for a series of comical parodies published in The New Yorker.-Biography:After attending the University of Wisconsin–Madison, he...
and Rick Elice
Rick Elice
-Life:Elice earned his BA from Cornell University, his MFA from the Yale Drama School and is a Teaching Fellow at Harvard. He was the salutatorian graduate of Francis Lewis High School in Queens, New York . He is a charter member of the American Repertory Theatre...
). The Addams Family starred Nathan Lane
Nathan Lane
Nathan Lane is an American actor of stage and screen. He is best known for his roles as Mendy in The Lisbon Traviata, Albert in The Birdcage, Max Bialystock in the musical The Producers, Ernie Smuntz in MouseHunt, Nathan Detroit in Guys and Dolls, Pseudolus in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to...
and Bebe Neuwirth
Bebe Neuwirth
Beatrice "Bebe" Neuwirth is an American actress, singer and dancer. She has worked in television and is known for her portrayal of Dr. Lilith Sternin, Dr. Frasier Crane's wife , on both the TV sitcom Cheers , and its spin-off Frasier...
, broke attendance records in Chicago during it’s 2009 try-out, and will have played, on closing on December 31, 2011, 725 regular performances and 34 previews at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre
Lunt-Fontanne Theatre
The Lunt-Fontanne Theatre is a legitimate Broadway theatre located at 205 West 46th Street in midtown-Manhattan.Designed by the architectural firm of Carrere and Hastings, it was built by producer Charles Dillingham and opened as the Globe Theatre, in honor of London's Shakespearean playhouse, on...
on Broadway. The US national tour begins in New Orleans in September, 2011. Planned international productions include Sao Paulo (March, 2011), Scandinavia (summer, 2011), London (autumn, 2011), an 18-month tour of Australia (beginning March 2013), and more to be announced shortly. The recording was released on Decca Broadway and the vocal selections are available from Hal Leonard.
Big Fish
Big Fish
Big Fish is a 2003 American fantasy adventure film based on the 1998 novel of the same name by Daniel Wallace. The film was directed by Tim Burton and stars Albert Finney, Ewan McGregor, Billy Crudup, Jessica Lange and Marion Cotillard. Finney plays Edward Bloom, a former traveling salesman from...
, Lippa’s newest musical (book by John August) is in development and will premiere on Broadway in the spring of 2013. Susan Stroman
Susan Stroman
Susan Stroman is an American theatre director, choreographer, film director, and performer. She has won the Tony Award for both her choreography and direction, notably for the stage musical The Producers.-Early years:...
is director and choreographer.
ADDITIONAL WORK:
In 1998, Lippa was commissioned by the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver to create an anthem for a concert celebrating Israel's 50th birthday, to be sung by 350 singers and conducted by Sergiu Comissiona of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra.
As a singer, Lippa has performed at Carnegie Hall, Town Hall, The Rainbow Room, and The Supper Club. His vocal arrangements and singing can be heard on the songs of Stephen Schwartz in the animated feature, The Prince of Egypt.
He has acted as Kristin Chenoweth's music director since 1999 [3] and has conducted and played Chenoweth's concerts at the Metropolitan Opera House (January 2007), the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra (2005), Carnegie Hall (2004), and the Donmar Warehouse (2002), among others. Lippa wrote the music to the "Intervention Song" for Chenoweth's funnyordie.com video.
For Halloween weekend, 2011, the Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra
Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra
The Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra is an American orchestra based in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, USA.The Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra can be traced back to the early 1930s during the throes of the Great Depression. The orchestra gave its first concert at William Penn High School in Harrisburg on...
under the baton of Stuart Malina premieres “The Addams Family Casket of Orchestral Grotesqueries” – a symphonic suite from The Addams Family arranged by Lippa and Larry Hochman
Larry Hochman
Larry Hochman is an American orchestrator and composer. He has won four Emmy Awards for his original music on the TV series The Wonder Pets, and a Tony Award for his orchestrations for The Book of Mormon....
and orchestrated by Hochman.
That same weekend The New Mexico Gay Men’s Chorus, under the direction of Aaron Howe, will premiere Lippa’s “Move Toward The Darkness” from The Addams Family in a new choral arrangement by Lippa’s frequent collaborator Mary-Mitchell Campbell.
Unfinished Work:
Jerry Christmas (book by Daniel Goldfarb): This show was produced by New York Stage and Film in 2007 but has since been shelved.
The Man In The Ceiling (book by Jules Feiffer): This show, developed by Disney Theatrical and Tom Schumacher had two readings in 2008. Lippa homes to return to this some day but has shelved it for the moment.
Recordings and Publications:
Recordings include Julia Murney’s CD I’m Not Waiting (producer, 3 songs), The Wild Party (RCA Victor) which he also produced, You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown (RCA Victor) which earned him a Grammy Award nomination, The Addams Family (Decca Broadway), A Little Princess (Ghostlight), and john & jen (Ghostlight) which he associate produced. Jazz phenom Peter Cincotti
Peter Cincotti
Peter Cincotti is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He attended the Horace Mann School and Columbia University.-Biography:...
recorded the song “Raise The Roof” on his CD titled On The Moon (Phil Ramone, producer). In addition, Mr. Lippa produced the original cast recording of Bat Boy
Bat Boy: The Musical
Bat Boy: The Musical is a musical with a book by Keythe Farley and Brian Flemming and music and lyrics by Laurence O'Keefe, based on a June 23, 1992 Weekly World News story about a half-boy, half-bat, dubbed "Bat Boy", found living in a cave....
for RCA Victor and his singing voice can be heard on The Sondheim Album on Fynsworth Alley and If I Sing on PS Classics. Vocal selections from The Addams Family, A Little Princess, The Wild Party and john & jen are published by Hal Leonard and the shows are licensed by Music Theatre International. Hal Leonard will also release The Andrew Lippa Song Book in Fall, 2011.
Personal life
Lippa married film marketing executive David Bloch in July 2008 in Los Angeles, California, shortly after that state's supreme court handed down a ruling permitting marriage of same-sex couples. They had been dating since they met through a mutual friend in 1998 seeing William FinnWilliam Finn
William Alan Finn is an American composer and lyricist of musicals. His musical Falsettos received the 1992 Tony Awards for Best Music and Lyrics and for Best Book.-Biography:...
's A New Brain
A New Brain
A New Brain is a musical with music and lyrics by William Finn and book by Finn and James Lapine.The musical was first produced Off-Broadway at the Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater at Lincoln Center, with previews beginning on May 14, 1998...
.
Awards and nominations
- Gilman/Gonzalez-Falla Theater Foundation Award (winner)
- ASCAP Foundation Richard Rodgers New Horizons Award (winner)
- Robert and Adele S. Blank Jewish Arts Award (winner)
- Drama Desk Award for Outstanding MusicDrama Desk Award for Outstanding MusicThe Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Music is an annual award presented by the Drama Desk, a committee comprising New York City theatre critics, writers, and editors...
(2000) - The Wild Party (winner) - Outer Critics Circle AwardOuter Critics Circle AwardThe Outer Critics Circle Awards are presented annually for theatrical achievements both on and Off-Broadway and were begun during the 1949-1950 theater season. The awards are decided upon by theater critics who review for out-of-town newspapers, national publications, and other media outlets...
(2000) - The Wild Party (winner) - Grammy AwardGrammy AwardA Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
(2000) - You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown (nominee) - Tony Award for Best Original ScoreTony Award for Best Original ScoreThe Tony Award for Best Original Score is the Tony Award given to the composers and lyricists of the best original score written for a musical in that year. The score consists of music and lyrics...
(2010) - The Addams Family (nominee)