Rick Crom
Encyclopedia
Rick Crom is an award-winning American
actor
, singer, comedian
, lyricist
, and composer
. He has appeared in numerous television shows and specials, Broadway
and off-Broadway
musicals, as well as written several off-Broadway
revues, and has 3 times been nominated for the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lyrics
.
. He was an understudy
in Footloose
and appeared in Urinetown: The Musical as Tiny Tom/Dr. Billeaux. His off-Broadway acting credits include the 1994 revival of Merrily We Roll Along
and the Encores!
productions of Fiorello!
and Li'l Abner
.
As a comedian
, Crom has appeared with the Chicago City Limits
, and performed stand-up
across the country, most frequently at New York City's Comedy Cellar
. On television
, he has been seen on Chappelle's Show
, Caroline's
Comedy Hour, and Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn
. He recently appeared on the FX sitcom Louie
, starring fellow comic Louis CK.
Crom teaches a course in Stand-up Comedy at the Comedy Cellar in New York www.comedycellarclasses.com
, and received his first Drama Desk nomination for Outstanding Lyrics
, with NEWSical picking up a nomination for Outstanding Review . An original cast recording was released on April 5, 2005. Though NEWSical closed in 2005 after 215 performances, a new edition (renamed NEWSICAL the Musical: We Distort, You Decide, and featuring an entirely original book and music) began previews at the 47th Street Theater on November 24, 2009, and opened December 9 of that year. Once again, Crom was nominated for the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lyrics
, and the show was nominated for the Outstanding Musical Revue award. The 2009-2010 production closed March 21, 2010. The latest edition of NEWSical the Musical: Full Spin Ahead began previews December 13 of that year and opened on January 9, 2011 at The Kirk at Theatre Row
, where it is enjoying an open-ended run.
Crom also created the Star Trek
spoof Space Trek with bookwriter Marc Lipitz, and authored the topical musical revues Oh Fine RSVP!, The Subject Was Neurosis, Absolutely Rude, and Our Life and Times, which won him a MAC Award
and a Back Stage
Bistro Award for Outstanding Musical Revue.
Crom contributed a majority of the topical material featured at the Crystal Palace Theater in Aspen, Colorado
from the late 1980s to 2008 (when the venue closed). A recording of his songs for the Crystal Palace, Who Writes This Stuff? The Songs of Rick Crom, was released in 2008. He currently performs the same function for Laffing Matterz, a dinner theater in Fort Lauderdale, Florida
.
In 2009, Crom composed the score and co-wrote lyrics with Fred M. Caruso for the film The Big Gay Musical
. He also composed the score and wrote the lyrics for Bonnie & Clyde: A Folktale, with a book by his Urinetown co-star Hunter Foster
. It was presented at the 2009 New York Musical Theatre Festival
, where it won awards for Best Music and Most Promising Musical.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
, singer, comedian
Comedian
A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience, primarily by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy...
, 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:...
, and 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...
. He has appeared in numerous television shows and specials, Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
and off-Broadway
Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway theater is a term for a professional venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, and for a specific production of a play, musical or revue that appears in such a venue, and which adheres to related trade union and other contracts...
musicals, as well as written several off-Broadway
Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway theater is a term for a professional venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, and for a specific production of a play, musical or revue that appears in such a venue, and which adheres to related trade union and other contracts...
revues, and has 3 times been nominated for the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lyrics
Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lyrics
The Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lyrics is an annual award presented by the Drama Desk, a committee of New York City theatre critics, writers, and editors...
.
Performer
In 1993, Crom made his Broadway acting debut in The Goodbye GirlThe Goodbye Girl (musical)
The Goodbye Girl is a musical with a book by Neil Simon, lyrics by David Zippel, and music by Marvin Hamlisch, based on Simon's original screenplay for the 1977 film of the same name.-Production history:...
. He was an understudy
Understudy
In theater, an understudy is a performer who learns the lines and blocking/choreography of a regular actor or actress in a play. Should the regular actor or actress be unable to appear on stage because of illness or emergencies, the understudy takes over the part...
in Footloose
Footloose (musical)
Footloose is a 1998 musical based on the 1984 film of the same name. The music is by Tom Snow , the lyrics by Dean Pitchford , and the book by Pitchford and Walter Bobbie.-Act 1:...
and appeared in Urinetown: The Musical as Tiny Tom/Dr. Billeaux. His off-Broadway acting credits include the 1994 revival of Merrily We Roll Along
Merrily We Roll Along (musical)
Merrily We Roll Along is a musical with a book by George Furth and lyrics and music by Stephen Sondheim. It is based on the 1934 play of the same name by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart....
and the Encores!
Encores!
Encores! Great American Musicals in Concert is a program that has been presented by New York City Center since 1994. Encores! is dedicated to performing the full score of musicals that rarely are heard in New York City...
productions of Fiorello!
Fiorello!
Fiorello! is a musical about New York City mayor Fiorello H. LaGuardia, a reform Republican who took on Tammany Hall. The book is by Jerome Weidman and George Abbott, drawn substantially from the 1955 volume Life With Fiorello by Ernest Cuneo, with lyrics by Sheldon Harnick, and music by Jerry Bock...
and Li'l Abner
Li'l Abner (musical)
Li'l Abner is a musical with a book by Norman Panama and Melvin Frank, music by Gene De Paul, and lyrics by Johnny Mercer.Based on the comic strip Li'l Abner by Al Capp, the show is, on the surface, a broad spoof of hillbillies but is also a pointed satire taking on any number of topics, ranging...
.
As a comedian
Comedian
A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience, primarily by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy...
, Crom has appeared with the Chicago City Limits
Chicago City Limits
Chicago City Limits, at 318 West 53rd Street in Manhattan, is an improvisational comedy troupe in New York City, New York.It was founded by George Todisco and a number of actors and had its first show on Labor Day, 1977, and is New York City's oldest improv comedy club. It has had over 8,500...
, and performed stand-up
Stand-up comedy
Stand-up comedy is a comedic art form. Usually, a comedian performs in front of a live audience, speaking directly to them. Their performances are sometimes filmed for later release via DVD, the internet, and television...
across the country, most frequently at New York City's Comedy Cellar
Comedy Cellar
The Comedy Cellar is a comedy club in Manhattan, where many top New York comedians perform. It was founded in 1982 by then standup comedian, and current television writer/producer Bill Grundfest...
. On television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
, he has been seen on Chappelle's Show
Chappelle's Show
Chappelle's Show is an American sketch comedy television series created by comedian Dave Chappelle and Neal Brennan, with Chappelle hosting the show as well as starring in various skits. Chappelle, Brennan and Michele Armour were the show's executive producers. The series premiered on January 22,...
, Caroline's
Caroline's
Carolines on Broadway is a venue for stand-up comedy located in Times Square in New York City on Broadway between 49th and 50th Street. It is one of the most established, famous, and recognized stand-up comedy clubs in the United States. Its marketing slogan is "America's Premiere Comedy...
Comedy Hour, and Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn
Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn
Tough Crowd with Colin Quinn is a comedic talk show that aired on Comedy Central. The show featured roundtable discussions, inviting various guests of many views, mixing mostly comics/entertainers expressing themselves with journalists and political figures. Quinn's regular guests consisted mainly...
. He recently appeared on the FX sitcom Louie
Louie (TV series)
Louie is an American comedy television series on the FX network that began airing in 2010. It is written, directed, edited and produced by the show's creator, stand-up comedian Louis C.K., who stars as a fictionalized version of himself, a comedian and newly divorced father raising his two...
, starring fellow comic Louis CK.
Crom teaches a course in Stand-up Comedy at the Comedy Cellar in New York www.comedycellarclasses.com
Writer
In 2004, Crom wrote the book, music, and lyrics for NEWSicalNewsical
Newsical is a musical with music, lyrics and book written by Rick Crom. In ever-changing songs and sketches it lampoons current events, hot topics, celebrities, politicians and other well-known entities...
, and received his first Drama Desk nomination for Outstanding Lyrics
Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lyrics
The Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lyrics is an annual award presented by the Drama Desk, a committee of New York City theatre critics, writers, and editors...
, with NEWSical picking up a nomination for Outstanding Review . An original cast recording was released on April 5, 2005. Though NEWSical closed in 2005 after 215 performances, a new edition (renamed NEWSICAL the Musical: We Distort, You Decide, and featuring an entirely original book and music) began previews at the 47th Street Theater on November 24, 2009, and opened December 9 of that year. Once again, Crom was nominated for the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lyrics
Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lyrics
The Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lyrics is an annual award presented by the Drama Desk, a committee of New York City theatre critics, writers, and editors...
, and the show was nominated for the Outstanding Musical Revue award. The 2009-2010 production closed March 21, 2010. The latest edition of NEWSical the Musical: Full Spin Ahead began previews December 13 of that year and opened on January 9, 2011 at The Kirk at Theatre Row
Theatre Row (New York City)
Theatre Row is the popular name for a section of 42nd Street in New York City which is the location for a number of small theatres; it is also the name of a large theatre complex built in 2000 to house six theatres....
, where it is enjoying an open-ended run.
Crom also created the Star Trek
Star Trek
Star Trek is an American science fiction entertainment franchise created by Gene Roddenberry. The core of Star Trek is its six television series: The Original Series, The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, and Enterprise...
spoof Space Trek with bookwriter Marc Lipitz, and authored the topical musical revues Oh Fine RSVP!, The Subject Was Neurosis, Absolutely Rude, and Our Life and Times, which won him a MAC Award
Mac Awards
The MAC Awards, begun in 1986, are presented annually to honor achievements in cabaret, comedy, and jazz. The award is organized by the non-profit organization Manhattan Association of Clubs and Cabarets , founded in 1983....
and a Back Stage
Back Stage
Back Stage is an entertainment-industry brand aimed at people working in film and the performing arts, with a special focus on casting, job opportunities, and career advice.Back Stage publishes a weekly tabloid-sized trade magazine in the U.S...
Bistro Award for Outstanding Musical Revue.
Crom contributed a majority of the topical material featured at the Crystal Palace Theater in Aspen, Colorado
Aspen, Colorado
The City of Aspen is a Home Rule Municipality that is the county seat and the most populous city of Pitkin County, Colorado, United States. The United States Census Bureau estimates that the city population was 5,804 in 2005...
from the late 1980s to 2008 (when the venue closed). A recording of his songs for the Crystal Palace, Who Writes This Stuff? The Songs of Rick Crom, was released in 2008. He currently performs the same function for Laffing Matterz, a dinner theater in Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Fort Lauderdale is a city in the U.S. state of Florida, on the Atlantic coast. It is the county seat of Broward County. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 165,521. It is a principal city of the South Florida metropolitan area, which was home to 5,564,635 people at the 2010...
.
In 2009, Crom composed the score and co-wrote lyrics with Fred M. Caruso for the film The Big Gay Musical
The Big Gay Musical
The Big Gay Musical is a 2009 musical-comedy film directed by Casper Andreas and Fred M. Caruso.The film follows a brief period in the lives of two young, handsome actors starring in a gay-themed musical...
. He also composed the score and wrote the lyrics for Bonnie & Clyde: A Folktale, with a book by his Urinetown co-star Hunter Foster
Hunter Foster
Hunter Foster is an American musical theatre actor/singer, librettist and playwright.-Early life:Foster was born in Lumberton, North Carolina, but raised in Augusta, Georgia and Troy, Michigan. He earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Theatre Studies from the University of Michigan in 1992...
. It was presented at the 2009 New York Musical Theatre Festival
New York Musical Theatre Festival
The New York Musical Theatre Festival is an annual three-week fall Festival which presents more than thirty new musicals at venues in New York City's midtown theater district...
, where it won awards for Best Music and Most Promising Musical.