Sarah Travis
Encyclopedia
Sarah Travis is a British orchestrator and musical supervisor for theatre and film. She received the Tony Award for Best Orchestrations
and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Orchestrations
for the 2005 revival of Stephen Sondheim
's Sweeney Todd
.
.
She has been the musical supervisor and/or orchestrator for many musicals, both in the West End
and at regional British theatres. Some of the latter include Crazy for You
and Me and My Girl
(Aberystwyth); Annie
(Belfast Lyric); Pal Joey (York). Additionally, she has composed music for several shows, such as Dick Whittington
at the Barbican Centre
, and seven other pantomimes for Chipping Norton. She was the musical director and arranger for Privates on Parade
at the West Yorkshire Playhouse
and Birmingham Repertory Theatre
Company (15 September 2008 to 11 October 2008).
She was also the music supervisor for the Agatha Christie
Marple series television movie Sleeping Murder (2006).
, Newbury
. Several of her productions there have gone on to West End
runs. Her Watermill productions have included Piaf
, a play by Pam Gems
, for which Travis prepared musical arrangements for an "abbreviated version" in 2001. She composed the original music for A Star Danced (2003) and arranged a swing version of H.M.S. Pinafore
, entitled Pinafore Swing, in 2004. One reviewer mentioned her "glorious arrangements".
She was the musical supervisor and orchestrator of the revival of Sweeney Todd, which started at the Watermill Theatre
in 2004 and transferred to both the West End
(2004) and Broadway
(2005). Stephen Sondheim said of Travis' work on this production: "I think what she's done is absolutely brilliant.... The variety of sounds she's gotten out of the instruments and also the practical way in which they allow John [Doyle] to work with the performers onstage is extraordinary. But what got me most about the orchestrations is what they did for the play's atmosphere. These are wonderfully weird textures."
Travis was the Musical Supervisor and orchestrator for the Watermill and London revival of Mack and Mabel (2005–2006).
She is working with producer-director Craig Revel Horwood
on several projects, in the theatre production company CRH Theatre Productions, including a jazz version of La Traviata
and the current tour of Chess
. Their revival of Sunset Boulevard
opened in the West End
at the Comedy Theatre, in December 2008, after first playing at the Watermill Theatre in July 2008.
Tony Award for Best Orchestrations
-1990s:1997*Jonathan Tunick – Titanic**Michael Gibson - Steel Pier**Luther Henderson - Play On!**Don Sebesky and Harold Wheeler - The Life1998*William David Brohn – Ragtime**Robert Elhai, David Metzger and Bruce Fowler - The Lion King...
and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Orchestrations
Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Orchestrations
The Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Orchestrations is presented by the Drama Desk, a committee of New York City theatre critics, writers, and editors...
for the 2005 revival of Stephen Sondheim
Stephen Sondheim
Stephen Joshua Sondheim is an American composer and lyricist for stage and film. He is the winner of an Academy Award, multiple Tony Awards including the Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre, multiple Grammy Awards, a Pulitzer Prize and the Laurence Olivier Award...
's Sweeney Todd
Sweeney Todd (musical)
Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street is a 1979 musical thriller with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and libretto by Hugh Wheeler. The musical is based on the 1973 play Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street by Christopher Bond....
.
Career
Travis attended City University and Guildhall School of Music and DramaGuildhall School of Music and Drama
Guildhall School of Music and Drama is an independent music and dramatic arts school which was founded in 1880 in London, England. Students can pursue courses in Music, Opera, Drama and Technical Theatre Arts.-History:...
.
She has been the musical supervisor and/or orchestrator for many musicals, both in the West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
and at regional British theatres. Some of the latter include Crazy for You
Crazy for You
Crazy for You is a musical with a book by Ken Ludwig, lyrics by Ira Gershwin, and music by George Gershwin. Billed as "The New Gershwin Musical Comedy", it is largely based on the songwriting team’s 1930 musical, Girl Crazy, but interpolates songs from several other productions as well...
and Me and My Girl
Me and My Girl
Me and My Girl is a musical with book and lyrics by Douglas Furber and L. Arthur Rose and music by Noel Gay. It takes place in the late 1930s in Hampshire, Mayfair, and Lambeth....
(Aberystwyth); Annie
Annie (musical)
Annie is a Broadway musical based upon the popular Harold Gray comic strip Little Orphan Annie, with music by Charles Strouse, lyrics by Martin Charnin, and the book by Thomas Meehan. The original Broadway production opened in 1977 and ran for nearly six years with a blonde Annie as the poster...
(Belfast Lyric); Pal Joey (York). Additionally, she has composed music for several shows, such as Dick Whittington
Dick Whittington and His Cat
Dick Whittington and His Cat is an English folk tale that has often been used as the basis for stage pantomimes and other adaptations. It tells of a poor boy in the 14th century who becomes a wealthy merchant and eventually the Lord Mayor of London because of the ratting abilities of his cat...
at the Barbican Centre
Barbican Centre
The Barbican Centre is the largest performing arts centre in Europe. Located in the City of London, England, the Centre hosts classical and contemporary music concerts, theatre performances, film screenings and art exhibitions. It also houses a library, three restaurants, and a conservatory...
, and seven other pantomimes for Chipping Norton. She was the musical director and arranger for Privates on Parade
Privates on Parade
Privates on Parade: A Play with Songs in Two Acts is a 1977 farce by English playwright Peter Nichols , with music by Denis King.-Plot:...
at the West Yorkshire Playhouse
West Yorkshire Playhouse
The West Yorkshire Playhouse in Leeds, England is a theatre which opened in March 1990 as part of the regeneration of the Quarry Hill area of the city...
and Birmingham Repertory Theatre
Birmingham Repertory Theatre
Birmingham Repertory Theatre is a theatre and theatre company based on Centenary Square in Birmingham, England...
Company (15 September 2008 to 11 October 2008).
She was also the music supervisor for the Agatha Christie
Agatha Christie
Dame Agatha Christie DBE was a British crime writer of novels, short stories, and plays. She also wrote romances under the name Mary Westmacott, but she is best remembered for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections , and her successful West End plays.According to...
Marple series television movie Sleeping Murder (2006).
Watermill Theatre
Travis has had a long relationship with the Watermill TheatreWatermill Theatre
The Watermill Theatre is an award -winning, professional repertory theatre with charitable status. It is a converted watermill with gardens beside the River Lambourn, in Bagnor, near Newbury, Berkshire, England...
, Newbury
Newbury, Berkshire
Newbury is a civil parish and the principal town in the west of the county of Berkshire in England. It is situated on the River Kennet and the Kennet and Avon Canal, and has a town centre containing many 17th century buildings. Newbury is best known for its racecourse and the adjoining former USAF...
. Several of her productions there have gone on to West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
runs. Her Watermill productions have included Piaf
Piaf (play)
Piaf is a play by Pam Gems that focuses on the life and career of French chanteuse Edith Piaf. The biographical drama with music portrays the singer in a most unflattering light...
, a play by Pam Gems
Pam Gems
Pam Gems was a British playwright. The author of numerous original plays, as well as of adaptations of works by major European playwrights of the past, Gems is best known for the 1978 musical play Piaf.-Personal life:...
, for which Travis prepared musical arrangements for an "abbreviated version" in 2001. She composed the original music for A Star Danced (2003) and arranged a swing version of H.M.S. Pinafore
H.M.S. Pinafore
H.M.S. Pinafore; or, The Lass That Loved a Sailor is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and a libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It opened at the Opera Comique in London, England, on 25 May 1878 and ran for 571 performances, which was the second-longest run of any musical...
, entitled Pinafore Swing, in 2004. One reviewer mentioned her "glorious arrangements".
She was the musical supervisor and orchestrator of the revival of Sweeney Todd, which started at the Watermill Theatre
Watermill Theatre
The Watermill Theatre is an award -winning, professional repertory theatre with charitable status. It is a converted watermill with gardens beside the River Lambourn, in Bagnor, near Newbury, Berkshire, England...
in 2004 and transferred to both the West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
(2004) and 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...
(2005). Stephen Sondheim said of Travis' work on this production: "I think what she's done is absolutely brilliant.... The variety of sounds she's gotten out of the instruments and also the practical way in which they allow John [Doyle] to work with the performers onstage is extraordinary. But what got me most about the orchestrations is what they did for the play's atmosphere. These are wonderfully weird textures."
Travis was the Musical Supervisor and orchestrator for the Watermill and London revival of Mack and Mabel (2005–2006).
She is working with producer-director Craig Revel Horwood
Craig Revel Horwood
Craig Revel Horwood is an Australian-British dancer, choreographer, and theatre director in the United Kingdom.-Biography:...
on several projects, in the theatre production company CRH Theatre Productions, including a jazz version of La Traviata
La traviata
La traviata is an opera in three acts by Giuseppe Verdi set to an Italian libretto by Francesco Maria Piave. It is based on La dame aux Camélias , a play adapted from the novel by Alexandre Dumas, fils. The title La traviata means literally The Fallen Woman, or perhaps more figuratively, The Woman...
and the current tour of Chess
Chess (musical)
Chess is a musical with music by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, formerly of ABBA, and with lyrics by Tim Rice. The story involves a romantic triangle between two top players, an American and a Russian, in a world chess championship, and a woman who manages one and falls in love with the other;...
. Their revival of Sunset Boulevard
Sunset Boulevard (musical)
Sunset Boulevard is a musical with book and lyrics by Don Black and Christopher Hampton and music by Andrew Lloyd Webber. Based on the 1950 film of the same title, the plot revolves around Norma Desmond, a faded star of the silent screen era, living in the past in her decaying mansion on the...
opened in the West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
at the Comedy Theatre, in December 2008, after first playing at the Watermill Theatre in July 2008.