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David Yazbek
David Norman Yazbek (born 1961) 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). Early life Yazbek was born in New York City. His father is of Lebanese descent, and his mother was of half Italian and half Jewish ancestry. He began cello lessons in elementary school and took up the piano as a teenager. He attended Riverdale Country School. While attending Brown University as an undergraduate, he wrote an original musical with the production group Brownbrokers before graduating in 1982. He also directed a production of ''Hair'' with the student theatre group Production Workshop, for which he composed an original song to complement the classic score. After college he got a job writing for David Letterman David Michael Letterman (born April 12, 19 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the List of United States cities by population density, most densely populated major city in the United States, and is more than twice as populous as second-place Los Angeles. New York City lies at the southern tip of New York (state), New York State, and constitutes the geographical and demographic center of both the Northeast megalopolis and the New York metropolitan area, the largest metropolitan area in the world by urban area, urban landmass. With over 20.1 million people in its metropolitan statistical area and 23.5 million in its combined statistical area as of 2020, New York is one of the world's most populous Megacity, megacities, and over 58 million people live within of the city. New York City is a global city, global Culture of New ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
David Letterman
David Michael Letterman (born April 12, 1947) is an American television host, comedian, writer and producer. He hosted late night television talk shows for 33 years, beginning with the February 1, 1982 debut of ''Late Night with David Letterman'' on NBC and ending with the May 20, 2015 broadcast of ''Late Show with David Letterman'' on CBS. In total, Letterman hosted 6,080 episodes of ''Late Night'' and ''Late Show'', surpassing his friend and mentor Johnny Carson as the longest-serving late night talk show host in American television history. In 1996, Letterman was ranked 45th on ''TV Guide''s 50 Greatest TV Stars of All Time.Miller, Gregory E.; Schneider, Michael (December 31, 2015). "2015 by the Numbers", ''TV Guide''. p. 10. In 2002, ''The Late Show with David Letterman'' was ranked seventh on TV Guide's 50 Greatest TV Shows of All Time. He is also a television and film producer. His company, Worldwide Pants, produced his shows as well as '' The Late Late Show'' and several p ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Full Monty
''The Full Monty'' is a 1997 British comedy film directed by Peter Cattaneo, starring Robert Carlyle, Mark Addy, William Snape, Steve Huison, Tom Wilkinson, Paul Barber and Hugo Speer. The screenplay was written by Simon Beaufoy. The film is set in Sheffield, England during the 1990s, and tells the story of six unemployed men, four of them former steel workers, who decide to form a male striptease act (à la the Chippendale dancers) in order to make some money and for the main character, Gaz, to be able to see his son. Gaz declares that their show will be much better than the renowned Chippendales dancers because they will go "the full monty"—strip all the way—hence the film's title. Despite being a comedy, the film also touches on serious subjects such as unemployment, fathers' rights, depression, impotence, homosexuality, body image, working class culture and suicide. ''The Full Monty'' was a major critical success upon release and an international commercial success, gr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Adam Guettel
Adam Guettel (; born December 16, 1964) is an American composer-lyricist of musical theater and opera. The grandson of musical theatre composer Richard Rodgers, he is best known for his musical '' The Light in the Piazza'', for which he won the Tony Award for Best Original Score and the Tony Award for Best Orchestrations. Biography Early years Guettel was born on December 16, 1964, to film executive Henry Guettel and writer/composer Mary Rodgers, daughter of famed composer Richard Rodgers, and was raised on the Upper West Side of New York City. He performed as a boy soprano soloist in operas including '' Pelléas et Mélisande'' and ''The Magic Flute'', both at the Metropolitan Opera and the New York City Opera, and in another production of ''Pelléas'' with the Santa Fe Opera. He was also slated to play Amahl in the film remake of Gian Carlo Menotti's "Amahl and the Night Visitors". He later claimed that he ended his career as a boy soprano at age 13, by faking that his voice was ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jack O'Brien (director)
Jack O'Brien (born June 18, 1939) 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. O'Brien has won three Tony Awards and been nominated for seven more, and won five Drama Desk Awards. He has directed and produced musicals, including ''The Full Monty'' and ''Hairspray'', contemporary dramas such as ''The Piano Lesson'', ''The Invention of Love'' and ''The Coast of Utopia'', Shakespeare classics, including ''Hamlet'' and ''Henry IV'' (a combination of '' Part 1'' and '' Part 2''), and operas, including ''Il trittico'' at the Metropolitan Opera''. He has also been associated with some notorious Broadway failures. In 1972, he wrote the lyrics and co-wrote the book for ''The Selling of the President'', which closed after five performances. The Old Globe also co-produced the stage adaptation of ''Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All'', which closed af ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Persuasions
The Persuasions are an American a cappella group that began singing together in Brooklyn, New York in the mid-1960s. The Persuasions were formed in Brooklyn in 1962, singing a cappella under corner streetlights and in subway corridors. Their style combined gospel, soul, early rock and jazz into melodic five-part harmonies. Since being discovered by Frank Zappa, The Persuasions have recorded 23 albums to date. Career The Persuasions appeared on such public affairs television shows as ''Inside Bedford-Stuyvesant'' on WNEW-TV and '' Like It Is'' on WABC-TV in 1968. Frank Zappa was responsible for The Persuasions' first LP, ''Acappella''. He heard The Persuasions singing over the phone from a New Jersey record shop known as Stan's Square Records. The store's owner, Stan Krause, was the group's manager. Before that time, The Persuasions had recorded several a cappella tracks for Krause's record label, Catamount Records. Zappa appreciated soul and street corner style singing, and a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tito Puente
Ernest Anthony Puente Jr. (April 20, 1923 – June 1, 2000), commonly known as Tito Puente, was an American musician, songwriter, bandleader, and record producer of Puerto Rican descent. He is best known for dance-oriented mambo and Latin jazz compositions from his 50-year career. His most famous song is "Oye Como Va". Puente and his music have appeared in films including ''The Mambo Kings'' and Fernando Trueba's ''Calle 54''. He guest-starred on television shows, including ''Sesame Street'' and ''The Simpsons'' two-part episode " Who Shot Mr. Burns?". Early life Tito Puente was born on April 20, 1923, at Harlem Hospital Center in the New York borough of Manhattan, the son of Ernest and Felicia Puente, Puerto Ricans living in New York City's Spanish Harlem. His family moved frequently, but he spent the majority of his childhood in Spanish Harlem. Puente's father was the foreman at a razorblade factory. As a child, he was described as hyperactive, and after neighbors complaine ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spacehog
Spacehog are an English rock band formed in 1994 in New York City. Their music is heavily influenced by David Bowie, Queen (band), Queen, and T.Rex (band), T. Rex. The band's best known single is In the Meantime (Spacehog song), "In the Meantime". History Though all the band members are from Leeds, West Yorkshire, the band was formed in New York City. Antony Langdon met Jonny Cragg by chance in a café where Cragg had a job killing rats. Soon after, Langdon's brother Royston joined the band, and Spacehog was born. The band's original guitarist, Robert Curreri, was asked to leave the band, and Cragg's Canadian friend Richard Steel replaced him in 1994. The band signed in 1994 with Seymour Stein to Sire Records. On 24 October 1995, Spacehog released its first album, ''Resident Alien (Spacehog album), Resident Alien''. It went Music recording sales certification, gold on the Billboard charts, selling over 500,000 copies and spawned the hit single and video "In the Meantime (Spaceh ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Andy Partridge
Andrew John Partridge (born 11 November 1953) is an English guitarist, singer, songwriter, and record producer who founded the rock music, rock band XTC. He and Colin Moulding each acted as a songwriter and frontman for XTC, with Partridge writing and singing about two-thirds of the group's material. While the band were a formative punk rock, punk group, Partridge's music drew heavily from 1960s songwriters, and his style gradually shifted to more traditional pop music, pop, often with pastoral themes. The band's only UK top 10 hit, "Senses Working Overtime" (1982), was written by Partridge. Partridge is sometimes regarded as the "godfather" of Britpop. Since the 1980s, he has worked, written with, or produced for many other recording artists—efforts which include collaborative albums with Peter Blegvad, Harold Budd and Robyn Hitchcock. From 2002 to 2006, Partridge's APE House record label released several volumes of his demo (music), demos and songs as part of the ''Fuzzy War ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Where In Time Is Carmen Sandiego? (game Show)
''Where in Time Is Carmen Sandiego?'' is an American half-hour children's television game show loosely based on the computer game of the same name created by Broderbund Software. Just like its predecessor, the show was produced by WGBH Boston and WQED Pittsburgh. The program ran for two seasons on PBS, consisting of 115 episodes (65 in Season 1 and 50 in Season 2), which ran from October 7, 1996 to December 12, 1997, with reruns airing until September 25, 1998. The show starred Lynne Thigpen as "The Chief", Kevin Shinick as "ACME Time Pilot Squadron Leader" replacing Greg Lee and "The Engine Crew" who is considered a replacement for Rockapella as various informants. The show replaced '' Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego?'', and was recorded entirely at Kaufman Astoria Studios in Queens, New York City, the longtime home of ''Sesame Street''. Gameplay Before the show began, the viewing audience would see Carmen Sandiego in her V.I.L.E. headquarters. In Season 1, Carmen ap ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Rockapella
Rockapella is an American a cappella musical group formed in 1986 in New York City. The group's name is an amalgam of "rock" and "a cappella". Rockapella sings original vocal music and a cappella covers of pop and rock songs; and over time, their sound has evolved from high-energy pop and world music toward a more R&B-style sound. Rockapella initially found their biggest success in Japan throughout their career. They are also known for their role as a vocal house band and resident comedy troupe on the PBS children's geography game show '' Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego?'', based on the educational computer game of the same name developed and published by Broderbund. Rockapella has released 19 albums in both Japan and the United States, and three compilation albums in Japan. The text "All sounds provided by the voices and appendages of Rockapella", the central idea of the band, has appeared on all of their CDs since the addition of their vocal percussionist. Band history ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sean Altman
Sean Altman (born May 9, 1961) is an American musician and songwriter. He is a founder and former lead singer (tenor) of the a capella musical group Rockapella and a pioneer of the modern a cappella movement. He was a member of Rockapella from its inception in 1986 until he left the group in 1997 to launch a solo career. As a founding member of Rockapella, Altman is best remembered for his role on the PBS children's geography game show '' Where in the World Is Carmen Sandiego?'', as the band served as the house vocal band and comedy troupe. Altman and his childhood friend David Yazbek co-wrote the show's theme song, which is recognized as one of the best-known television themes in history. Rockapella released seven albums in Japan and two in the United States during Altman's eleven-year tenure. As a subsequent solo artist, Altman has released four solo albums on the independent Chow Fun Records: ''seanDEMOnium'' (1997), ''alt.mania'' (2002), ''Losing Streak'' (2005), and ''SALT ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
