Alaric "Rokko" Jans (born January 27, 1949) is an American film and theater composer.

Career

Jans co-wrote with James Quinn the music and lyrics of the 1979 musical adaptation of

John R. Powers John R. Powers (November 30, 1945 – January 17, 2013) was an American novelist and playwright. Early life Powers grew up in the Mt. Greenwood neighborhood on the far southwest side of Chicago. He held a Ph.D. in Communications from Northw ...

' ''

Do Black Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up? ''Do Black Patent Leather Shoes Really Reflect Up?'' is a novel published in 1975 by author John R. Powers. It was subsequently adapted into a Broadway musical and a screenplay. Film in development Director and author Ken Kwapis (''Sisterhood of ...

''. Jans, along with

William H. Macy William Hall Macy Jr. (born March 13, 1950) is an American actor. His film career has been built on appearances in small, independent films, though he has also appeared in mainstream films. Some of his best known starring roles include those i ...

and David Kovacs, also participated in the revival of John Stasey's 1964 children's musical, ''The Adventures of Captain Marbles and His Acting Squad'' at David Mamet's St. Nicholas Theatre; he served as the composer and the co-lyricist of that musical. He has also composed music for films directed by Mamet, such as ''

House of Games ''House of Games'' is a 1987 American neo-noir heist thriller film directed by David Mamet, his directorial debut. He also wrote the screenplay, based on a story he co-wrote with Jonathan Katz. The film's cast includes Lindsay Crouse, Joe Mant ...

'' (1987), '' Things Change'' (1988), ''

Homicide Homicide occurs when a person kills another person. A homicide requires only a volitional act or omission that causes the death of another, and thus a homicide may result from accidental, reckless, or negligent acts even if there is no inten ...

'' (1991) and ''

The Winslow Boy ''The Winslow Boy'' is an English play from 1946 by Terence Rattigan based on an incident involving George Archer-Shee in the Edwardian era. The incident took place at the Royal Naval College, Osborne. Background Set against the strict co ...

'' (1999). In 2009, Jans composed the music for the Chicago Shakespeare Theater's production of ''

Twelfth Night ''Twelfth Night'', or ''What You Will'' is a romantic comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written around 1601–1602 as a Twelfth Night's entertainment for the close of the Christmas season. The play centres on the twins Vio ...

''. Jans also co-wrote with Robert Sickinger the 2014 musical adaptation of

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...

's ''

Nicholas Nickleby ''Nicholas Nickleby'' or ''The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby'' (or also ''The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, Containing a Faithful Account of the Fortunes, Misfortunes, Uprisings, Downfallings, and Complete Career of the ...

''. Jans shared a 2008

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual cer ...

as a member of Chicago Shakespeare Theater.

Personal life

Jans was born in

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

, the son of Paul Jans. He grew up in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

and

Lincoln Park Lincoln Park is a park along Lake Michigan on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois. Named after US President Abraham Lincoln, it is the city's largest public park and stretches for seven miles (11 km) from Grand Avenue (500 N), on the south, ...

. Jans attended

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

. Jans was married to singer-composer June Shellene. The couple resides in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. They have a son by the name of Joe.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Jans, Alaric 1949 births 20th-century American composers Musicians from Chicago Musicians from St. Louis Living people Harvard University alumni