David Allen Friedman is a

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

and

theatre Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Defi ...

songwriter A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music gen ...

author An author is the writer of a book, article, play, mostly written work. A broader definition of the word "author" states: "''An author is "the person who originated or gave existence to anything" and whose authorship determines responsibility f ...

lyricist A lyricist is a songwriter who writes lyrics (the spoken words), as opposed to a composer, who writes the song's music which may include but not limited to the melody, harmony, arrangement and accompaniment. Royalties A lyricist's income ...

and conductor based in

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 L ...

. He received a 1997 Backstage Bistro Award for Composer of the Year and a 1997

Johnny Mercer John Herndon Mercer (November 18, 1909 – June 25, 1976) was an American lyricist, songwriter, and singer, as well as a record label executive who co-founded Capitol Records with music industry businessmen Buddy DeSylva and Glenn E. Wallich ...

Award for Songwriter of the Year, and a Special Lifetime Achievement Award at the 26th Annual

MAC Awards The MAC Awards, established in 1986, are presented annually to honor achievements in cabaret, comedy and jazz. They are administered by the non-profit Manhattan Association of Cabarets & Clubs (MAC), founded in 1983, and voted on by the MAC member ...

. His

oratorio An oratorio () is a large musical composition for orchestra, choir, and soloists. Like most operas, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguishable characters, and arias. However, opera is mus ...

, ''King Island Christmas'', won a

Frederick Loewe Frederick Loewe (, originally German Friedrich (Fritz) Löwe ; June 10, 1901 – February 14, 1988) was an Austrian-United States, American composer. He collaborated with lyricist Alan Jay Lerner on a series of Broadway musicals, including ''Br ...

Award and Dramatists Guild Award. David's musical '' Desperate Measures'' won the 2018 Drama Desk Award for Best Music and Best Lyrics (Peter Kellogg) as well as the Outer Critic's Circle Award for Best Off Broadway Musical and the Off Broadway Alliance Award for Best Musical.

Career

Original songs

Friedman's original songs include "Listen to My Heart", "Help is on the Way", "We Can Be Kind", "We Live on Borrowed Time", "I'll Be Here With You", "

Just in Time for Christmas ''Just in Time for Christmas'' is the tenth studio album, and first Christmas album, recorded by country music artist Pam Tillis. The album was released on November 13, 2007, on Tillis' own Stellar Cat Records and distributed by RED Distribution. T ...

" (with

David Zippel David Joel Zippel (born May 17, 1954) is an American musical theatre lyricist, director, and producer. Early life and education Zippel was born and raised in Easton, Pennsylvania in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania. Falling in lo ...

), and "My Simple Christmas Wish". In January 2003, Friedman published the music book ''Listen To My Heart: The Songs of David Friedman'' through his publishing firm Midder Music. The book features 63 Friedman songs, including "Listen to My Heart", "We Live On Borrowed Time", "We Can Be Kind", "Help is on the Way", "Your Love", "Trust the Wind", "My Simple Christmas Wish", and "I'll Be Here With You". Following upon the book, Friedman in October 2003 debuted his musical review by the same name.

Disney

Friedman was conductor of the music scores for

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

's animated features, including ''

Beauty and the Beast ''Beauty and the Beast'' (french: La Belle et la Bête) is a fairy tale written by French novelist Gabrielle-Suzanne de Villeneuve, Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve and published in 1740 in ''La Jeune Américaine et les contes marins'' ( ...

'', ''

Aladdin Aladdin ( ; ar, علاء الدين, ', , ATU 561, ‘Aladdin') is a Middle-Eastern folk tale. It is one of the best-known tales associated with ''The Book of One Thousand and One Nights'' (''The Arabian Nights''), despite not being part of ...

'', ''

Pocahontas Pocahontas (, ; born Amonute, known as Matoaka, 1596 – March 1617) was a Native American woman, belonging to the Powhatan people, notable for her association with the colonial settlement at Jamestown, Virginia. She was the daughter of ...

'', ''

The Hunchback of Notre Dame ''The Hunchback of Notre-Dame'' (french: Notre-Dame de Paris, translation=''Our Lady of Paris'', originally titled ''Notre-Dame de Paris. 1482'') is a French Gothic novel by Victor Hugo, published in 1831. It focuses on the unfortunate story o ...

'', and was vocal contractor for ''

Mulan Hua Mulan () is a legendary folk heroine from the Northern and Southern dynasties era (4th to 6th century CE) of Chinese history. According to legend, Mulan took her aged father's place in the conscription for the army by disguising herself as ...

''. Songs written by Friedman have been featured in the

film ''

Aladdin and the King of Thieves ''Aladdin and the King of Thieves'' is a 1996 American direct-to-video animated musical fantasy adventure film produced by Walt Disney Television Animation. It is the second sequel to the 1992 film ''Aladdin'', and serves as the final chapter and ...

'', ''

The Lizzie McGuire Movie ''The Lizzie McGuire Movie'' is a 2003 American Teen film, teen comedy film directed by Jim Fall. The film serves as the finale of the Disney Channel Lizzie McGuire, television series of the same name, and was the first theatrical film based on ...

'', ''

Bambi 2 ''Bambi II'' (also known as ''Bambi and the Great Prince of the Forest'') is a 2006 American animated drama film directed by Brian Pimental and produced by the Australian office of Disneytoon Studios as a followup to the 1942 film ''Bambi''. A ...

'', in the movie ''

Salsa Salsa most often refers to: * Salsa (Mexican cuisine), a variety of sauces used as condiments * Salsa music, a popular style of Latin American music * Salsa (dance), a Latin dance associated with Salsa music Salsa or SALSA may also refer to: A ...

'' and in three

animated Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most anim ...

television series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite television, satellite, or cable television, cable, excluding breaking news, television adverti ...

; '' Happy Ness'', ''

Sky Dancers Sky Dancers is the name of a line of toys and an animated show spin-off that were popular in the mid-1990s. The toys were constructed of a pull-string base and a doll with foam wings. When the doll was inserted into the base and the string pulle ...

'', and ''

Dragon Flyz ''Dragon Flyz'' is an animated television series created by Savin Yeatman-Eiffel and produced by Gaumont Multimédia in association with Abrams/Gentile Entertainment. The show, based on a toy line by Galoob, ran for two seasons, in syndication in ...

''.

Television

Friedman is a regular on the

Today Show ''Today'' (also called ''The Today Show'' or informally, ''NBC News Today'') is an American news and talk morning television show that airs weekdays from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on NBC. The program debuted on January 14, 1952. It was ...

"Everyone Has a Story" series, and partners with Kathie Lee Gifford to write a new song each month, which he performs with a current Broadway star on the first Thursday of each month.

Theater

Friedman has also worked in theatre, on several

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

musicals, serving as

musical director A music(al) director or director of music is the person responsible for the musical aspects of a performance, production, or organization. This would include the artistic director and usually chief conductor of an orchestra or concert band, the ...

for such original Broadway productions such as '' Saravà'', ''

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat ''Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat'' (often colloquially known as ''Joseph'') is a sung-through musical with lyrics by Tim Rice and music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, based on the character of Joseph from the Bible's Book of Genesis. Thi ...

'', '' Song & Dance'' and ''

''.Friedman, David. ''Listen to My Heart: The Songs of David Friedman''. New York: Midder Music, 2002. p. vi Friedman is the composer of 4 musicals with

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 ...

Nominated book writer/lyricist

Peter Kellogg Peter R. Kellogg (born September 5, 1942), is an American businessman with a net worth estimated by Forbes at around $3.4 billion, primarily derived from his leadership of Wall Street firm Spear, Leeds & Kellogg. Personal Peter attended the Rec ...

. ''Nicolette & Aucassin'', based upon the 13th Century romance

Aucassin et Nicolette ''Aucassin et Nicolette'' (12th or 13th century) is an anonymous medieval French fictional story. It is the unique example of a ''chantefable'', literally, a "sung story", a combination of prose and verse (similar to a ''prosimetrum''). History ...

, has been produced at locations such as the

Little Shubert Theatre Stage 42 (known as the Little Shubert Theatre until July 2015) is a theatre in New York City on Theatre Row, about half a mile west of Broadway. Its address is 422 West 42nd Street, between 9th Avenue and Dyer Avenue. It was built in 2002 and ...

, the

Westport Country Playhouse Westport Country Playhouse, is a not-for-profit regional theater in Westport, Connecticut. It was founded in 1931 by Lawrence Langner, a New York theater producer. Langner remodeled an 1830s tannery with a Broadway-quality stage. History Con ...

, and the

Prince Music Theater The Prince Theater is a non-profit theatrical producing organization located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and specializing in music theatre, including opera, music drama, musical comedy and experimental forms. Founded in 1984 as the American ...

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 ...

. A

Christmas Christmas is an annual festival commemorating Nativity of Jesus, the birth of Jesus, Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people Observance of Christmas by country, around t ...

called ''King Island Christmas'', written with

librettist A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, 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 litu ...

Deborah Brevoort, has had over 40 productions worldwide. Friedman is also co-composer, with

David Pomeranz David Pomeranz (born February 9, 1951) is an American singer, composer, lyricist, and writer for musical theatre. He is also an ambassador for Operation Smile. Solo career Born and raised on Long Island, Pomeranz expressed interest in music from ...

and

Kathie Lee Gifford Kathryn Lee Gifford (née Epstein; born August 16, 1953) is an American television presenter, singer, songwriter, actress and author. From 1985 to 2000, she and Regis Philbin hosted the talk show ''Live! with Regis and Kathie Lee''. Gifford is a ...

of the new musical '' Scandalous: The Life and Trials of Aimee Semple McPherson'' about the life of

Aimee Semple McPherson Aimee Elizabeth Semple McPherson (née Kennedy; October 9, 1890 – September 27, 1944), also known as Sister Aimee or Sister, was a Canadian Pentecostalism, Pentecostal Evangelism, evangelist and media celebrity in the 1920s and 1930s,Ob ...

, which debuted in 2005 as ''Saving Aimee'' and reached

in 2012. In 2009, he released a

musical play Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movement ...

''Stunt Girl'', (now titled "Front Page Girl") in association with author/lyricist Peter S. Kellogg, and developed in association with the

Village Theatre Village Theatre is a major regional theatre located in the Seattle metropolitan area. It is a member of Theatre Puget Sound and the National Alliance for Musical Theatre. The theatre was founded in Issaquah, Washington, in 1979 and built a second lo ...

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

, based on the life of

Nellie Bly Elizabeth Cochran Seaman (born Elizabeth Jane Cochran; May 5, 1864 – January 27, 1922), better known by her pen name Nellie Bly, was an American journalist, industrialist, inventor, and charity worker who was widely known for her record-breaki ...

. This was a project worked on together by Kellogg and Friedman for 10 years. Friedman and Kellogg's '' Desperate Measures'', and all-verse

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

musical comedy Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movemen ...

loosely based on

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

's ''

Measure for Measure ''Measure for Measure'' is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1603 or 1604 and first performed in 1604, according to available records. It was published in the ''First Folio'' of 1623. The play's plot features its ...

'' premiered

Off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

at the

York Theatre York Theatre is an off-Broadway theatre company based in East Midtown Manhattan, New York City. In its 50th year, York Theatre is dedicated to the production of new musicals and concert productions of forgotten musicals from the past. Each seas ...

in 2017. The show was extended three times and currently holds a 91% rating at

Show-Score Show-Score is an independent leisure website founded in 2015 as a Culture of New York City, New York City theatre review aggregator, community review site, and ticket finder. It has been likened to "the ''Rotten Tomatoes'' for theatre" and also to ...

. David is currently working on ''Temple'', a musical about the life of

Temple Grandin Mary Temple Grandin (born August 29, 1947) is an American academic and animal behaviorist. She is a prominent proponent for the humane treatment of livestock for slaughter and the author of more than 60 scientific papers on animal behavior. Gra ...

, in collaboration with Elizabeth Dewberry. David's Web series, "Koga and Family," in collaboration with Philip Kholos, is designed to help young children deal with everyday challenges through martial arts, meditation and kindness.

Other

Friedman also wrote two songs for ''

Barney's Great Adventure ''Barney's Great Adventure'' (also known by its promotional title ''Barney's Great Adventure: The Movie'') is a 1998 musical comedy adventure film based on the children's television series ''Barney & Friends'', featuring Barney the Dinosaur in hi ...

'', the 1998 film, based the

PBS Kids PBS Kids is the brand for most of the children's programming aired by the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) in the United States. Some public television children's programs are not produced by PBS member stations or transmitted by PBS. Instead, ...

television series ''

Barney & Friends ''Barney & Friends'' is an American children's television series targeted at young children aged 2–7, created by Sheryl Leach. The series premiered on PBS on April 6, 1992. The series features the title character Barney, a purple anthropomorp ...

''. In 2006, Friedman worked in the music department for ''

World Trade Center World Trade Centers are sites recognized by the World Trade Centers Association. World Trade Center may refer to: Buildings * List of World Trade Centers * World Trade Center (2001–present), a building complex that includes five skyscrapers, a ...

'', a biopic film based on the

September 11, 2001 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial ...

starring

Nicolas Cage Nicolas Kim Coppola (born January 7, 1964), known professionally as Nicolas Cage, is an American actor and film producer. Born into the Coppola family, he is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Screen Actors Gu ...

The Thought Exchange

Friedman is the creator of a metaphysical method called "The Thought Exchange", and in 2011 published a book by the same name. Friedman appeared in the 2012

documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional film, motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". Bill Nichols (film critic), Bil ...

'' The Thought Exchange'', based on the book. The film was directed by

Usher Morgan Usher Morgan (born May 23, 1985) is an Israeli screenwriter, film director, producer, author and entrepreneur based in New York City. He is best known as the writer, director, and producer of films such as '' Prego'' and '' Pickings''. Biography ...

and starred

Lucie Arnaz Lucie Désirée Arnaz (born July 17, 1951) is an American actress and singer. She is the daughter of actors Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. Early life Arnaz was born at Cedars of Lebanon Hospital in Los Angeles, California, the daughter of acto ...

, Arje Shaw and others. In his book, Friedman admits to being diagnosed with severe

agoraphobia Agoraphobia is a mental and behavioral disorder, specifically an anxiety disorder characterized by symptoms of anxiety in situations where the person perceives their environment to be unsafe with no easy way to escape. These situations can in ...

at age 20. His being hospitalized for treatment was an experience which motivated him to create the Thought Exchange concept at a later age.

Personal life

Friedman's romantic partner since 2003 is Shawn Moninger, a four time

MAC Award The Hermann Trophy is awarded annually by the Missouri Athletic Club to the United States's top men's and women's college soccer players. History In 1967, Bob Hermann, the president of the National Professional Soccer League (1967), National ...

-winning technical director,

Unity Unity may refer to: Buildings * Unity Building, Oregon, Illinois, US; a historic building * Unity Building (Chicago), Illinois, US; a skyscraper * Unity Buildings, Liverpool, UK; two buildings in England * Unity Chapel, Wyoming, Wisconsin, US; a h ...

minister, and emerging cabaret performer. They live in Connecticut.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Friedman, David American male composers 21st-century American composers Musicians from New York City American male conductors (music) American musical theatre composers Broadway composers and lyricists Living people Classical musicians from New York (state) Songwriters from New York (state) 21st-century American conductors (music) 21st-century American male musicians American male songwriters Year of birth missing (living people)