Jeff Marx (born September 10, 1970) is an American

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 ...

and

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 ...

musicals 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 ...

. He is best known for creating the

Broadway musical Broadway theatre,Although ''theater'' is generally the spelling for this common noun in the United States (see American and British English spelling differences), 130 of the 144 extant and extinct Broadway venues use (used) the spelling ''Th ...

Avenue Q ''Avenue Q'' is a musical comedy featuring puppets and human actors with music and lyrics by Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx and book by Jeff Whitty. It won Best Musical, Book, and Score at the 2004 Tony Awards. The show's format is a parody of PBS' ...

'' with collaborator

Robert Lopez Robert Lopez (born February 23, 1975) is an American songwriter for musicals, best known for co-creating ''The Book of Mormon'' and '' Avenue Q'', and for co-writing the songs featured in the Disney computer-animated films '' Frozen'', its sequ ...

Early life

Marx grew up in

Hollywood, Florida Hollywood is a city in southern Broward County, Florida, United States, located between Fort Lauderdale and Miami. As of July 1, 2019, Hollywood had a population of 154,817. Founded in 1925, the city grew rapidly in the 1950s and 1960s, and is now ...

. He attended

Pine Crest School Pine Crest School is a private preparatory school with campuses in Fort Lauderdale and Boca Raton, Florida, United States. It was founded in Fort Lauderdale in 1934 by Mae McMillan, who also served as the school's first president. The School has ...

Fort Lauderdale, Florida Fort Lauderdale () is a coastal city located in the U.S. state of Florida, north of Miami along the Atlantic Ocean. It is the county seat of and largest city in Broward County with a population of 182,760 at the 2020 census, making it the tenth ...

. Following graduation, he attended the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

, where he was a member of the Men's Glee Club. He also holds a

juris doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice law ...

degree from the

Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law The Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law is the law school of Yeshiva University. Located in New York City and founded in 1976, the school is named for Supreme Court Justice Benjamin N. Cardozo. Cardozo graduated its first class in 1979. An LL.M. p ...

and is a member of the

New York State Bar Association The New York State Bar Association (NYSBA) is a voluntary bar association for the state of New York. The mission of the association is to cultivate the science of jurisprudence; promote reform in the law; facilitate the administration of justice ...

, but he does not practice law.

Musical career

After passing the New York State Bar examination Marx enrolled at the

BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theater Workshop Broadcast Music, Inc. (BMI) is a performance rights organization in the United States. It collects blanket license fees from businesses that use music, entitling those businesses to play or sync any songs from BMI's repertoire of over 20.6 milli ...

in order to meet potential clients in the entertainment industry. Here, he met

who was also in the course. Their first major project together, a spec

Muppet The Muppets are an American ensemble cast of puppet characters known for an surreal humor, absurdist, burlesque, and self-referential humor, self-referential style of Variety show, variety-sketch comedy. Created by Jim Henson in 1955, they are ...

movie, ''Kermit, Prince of Denmark'', which was very loosely based on

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

, won them (as part of a tie) part of the $150,000 Kleban Award. Together, they created the original concept for ''

'' and wrote all the show's 21 songs. ''

'' ran over six years on Broadway and then moved

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 ...

where it ran another nine years before closing on April 28, 2019. It continues to have various international productions. ''Avenue Q'' won the 2004

Tony Award for Best Musical The Tony Award for Best Musical is given annually to the best new Broadway musical play, musical, as determined by Tony Award voters. The award is one of the ceremony's longest-standing awards, having been presented each year since 1949. The awa ...

. Lopez/Marx's musical score earned them a 2004

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 ...

, and another

was awarded to ''

'' bookwriter,

Jeff Whitty Jeffrey Daniel Whitty (born September 30, 1971) is an American playwright, actor, and screenwriter. For the stage musical ''Avenue Q'', he won the Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical. For his work on the Fox Searchlight film ''Can You Ever For ...

. The musical's Original Cast Album, on the RCA/Victor label, was nominated for a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pres ...

. Marx (and his parents) can be seen in the documentary film '' ShowBusiness: The Road to Broadway'', which followed the trajectories of four Tony-nominated musicals from 2004, ''

'', ''

Wicked Wicked may refer to: Books * Wicked, a minor character in the ''X-Men'' universe * ''Wicked'', a 1995 novel by Gregory Maguire that inspired the musical of the same name * ''Wicked'', the fifth novel in Sara Shepard's ''Pretty Little Liars'' ser ...

'', ''

Taboo A taboo or tabu is a social group's ban, prohibition, or avoidance of something (usually an utterance or behavior) based on the group's sense that it is excessively repulsive, sacred, or allowed only for certain persons.''Encyclopædia Britannica ...

'' and ''

Caroline, or Change ''Caroline, or Change'' is a musical with music by Jeanine Tesori and lyrics and book by Tony Kushner. The score combines spirituals, blues, Motown, classical music, and Jewish klezmer and folk music. The show ran both Off-Broadway and on Broad ...

''. Marx, along with filmmaker Dori Berinstein and actor

Alan Cumming Alan Cumming (born 27 January 1965) is a British actor. His London stage appearances include ''Hamlet'', the Maniac in ''Accidental Death of an Anarchist'' (for which he received an Olivier Award), the lead in '' Bent'', The National Theatre o ...

, provided the audio commentary for the documentary's DVD. Lopez and Marx wrote (with

Debra Fordham Debra Fordham is an American television producer and writer. She is best known for her work on the sitcom '' Scrubs''. Early life Fordham is a graduate of Valdosta State University in Valdosta, Georgia, where she studied theatre under the directi ...

) four songs for a musical episode of the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

sitcom ''

Scrubs Scrub(s) may refer to: * Scrub, low shrub and grass characteristic of scrubland * Scrubs (clothing), worn by medical staff * ''Scrubs'' (TV series), an American television program * Scrubs (occupation), also called "scrub tech," "scrub nurse," o ...

'' which aired on January 18, 2007. Their song "Everything Comes Down to Poo" was nominated for an Emmy Award. Marx appeared in the episode as a pharmacist, dancing in the background during the song "We're Gonna Miss You Carla". ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' reported that the episode "energized a cast and crew that, at a point when most situation comedies are sputtering along or dead, have recently been doing some of their best work."

''Diagnosis: Acute Case of Broadway Melodium Tremens,''
Tuesday, January 16, 2007. In comparing it to his work on ''Avenue Q'', Marx said: "It took us five years to write ''Avenue Q'' ... There were a million readings and previews and staged readings. With this thing, we wrote the songs in a week. They rehearsed for a week. They filmed it in a week, and it was done. It was liberating, and a collaborative effort that created a much more feel-good way of working." Marx co-wrote the theme song for the

Logo Network Logo TV (often shortened to Logo, and stylized as Logo.) is an American basic cable channel owned by Paramount Media Networks, a division of Paramount Global. Launched in 2005, Logo was originally dedicated to lifestyle and entertainment progr ...

's animated series '' Rick & Steve: The Happiest Gay Couple in All the World'' and contributed additional songs for the show. Lopez and Marx have written songs for the

Disney Channel Disney Channel, sometimes known as simply Disney, is an American pay television channel that serves as the flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney General Entertainment Content division of The Walt Disney Compan ...

TV series ''

Bear in the Big Blue House ''Bear in the Big Blue House'' is an American children's television series created by Mitchell Kriegman and produced by Jim Henson Television for Disney Channel's Playhouse Disney preschool television block. Debuting on October 20, 1997, it aire ...

'' and ''

The Book of Pooh ''The Book of Pooh'' is an American children's television series that aired on the Playhouse Disney block on Disney Channel. It is the third television series to feature the characters from the Disney franchise based on A. A. Milne's works; the ...

'', as well as touring stage musicals for the children's theater company Theaterworks/USA. On December 13, 2008, Marx premiered a new song he wrote, "White Kwanzaa", on the CNN show ''

D.L. Hughley Breaks the News ''D. L. Hughley Breaks the News'' is an American news show that aired on CNN from October 25, 2008 to March 2009, hosted and head written by comedian D. L. Hughley. On March 9, 2009, CNN announced that Hughley would be ending the show due to a ...

''. Marx was an original collaborator with Lopez and ''

South Park ''South Park'' is an American animated sitcom created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone and developed by Brian Graden for Comedy Central. The series revolves around four boys Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman, and Kenny McCormickand th ...

'' creators

Trey Parker Randolph Severn "Trey" Parker III (born October 19, 1969) is an American actor, animator, filmmaker, and composer. He is known for co-creating ''South Park'' (since 1997) and ''The Book of Mormon'' (2011) with his creative partner Matt Stone. P ...

and

Matt Stone Matthew Richard Stone (born May 26, 1971) is an American actor, animator, filmmaker, and composer. He is known for co-creating ''South Park'' (since 1997) and ''The Book of Mormon'' (2011) with his creative partner Trey Parker. Stone was interes ...

on the 2011 Broadway musical ''

The Book of Mormon The Book of Mormon is a religious text of the Latter Day Saint movement, which, according to Latter Day Saint theology, contains writings of ancient prophets who lived on the American continent from 600 BC to AD 421 and during an interlude date ...

''. However, Marx departed the show before its premiere. “I worked with them on it and then we split up and made a deal,” Marx told ''

Broadway Journal The ''Broadway Journal'' was a short-lived New York City-based newspaper founded by Charles Frederick Briggs and John Bisco in 1844 and was published from January 1845 to January 1846. In its first year, the publication was bought by Edgar Allan ...

'' in 2016. “I don’t want to say more than that except that I’m extremely happy the show has been so successful!” Marx collaborated with

Mervyn Warren Mervyn Edwin Warren (born February 29, 1964) is an American film composer, record producer, conductor, arranger, lyricist, songwriter, pianist, and vocalist. Warren is a five-time Grammy Award winner and a 10-time Grammy Award nominee. Warren ...

on a song called "

You Have More Friends Than You Know "You Have More Friends Than You Know", by Jeff Marx and Mervyn Warren, was commissioned by Hancher Auditorium at the University of Iowa for ''It Gets Better'', a touring stage production which premiered at the University of Iowa in 2013. Marx r ...

" for the

It Gets Better It or IT may refer to: * It (pronoun), in English * Information technology Arts and media Film and television * ''It'' (1927 film), a film starring Clara Bow * ''It! The Terror from Beyond Space'', a 1958 science fiction film * ''It!'' (1967 f ...

organization. The song was featured on the television program ''

Glee Glee means delight, a form of happiness. Glee may also refer to: * Glee (music), a type of English choral music * ''Glee'' (TV series), an American musical comedy-drama TV series, and related media created by Ryan Murphy * ''Glee'' (Bran Van 30 ...

'' on April 18, 2013. Marx recorded his version of the song and made it available for download with a portion of the proceeds going to support

The Trevor Project The Trevor Project is an American nonprofit organization founded in 1998. Focused on suicide prevention efforts among lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and questioning (LGBTQ) youth, they offer a toll-free telephone number wher ...

. Marx has also made a karaoke version of the song available for those who want to perform their own version and help spread the song's message, and has featured other versions on the song's website. In 2015, a stage musical titled ''Home Street Home'' premiered in San Francisco. It was co-written by Marx with

Fat Mike Michael John Burkett (born January 16, 1967), known professionally as Fat Mike, is an American musician and producer. He is the bassist and lead vocalist for the punk rock band NOFX and the bassist for the punk rock supergroup cover band Me F ...

of punk band NOFX, and activist and dominatrix Soma Snakeoil.

Other work

Marx has also written the book ''How To Win A High School Election.''

References

External links

The Official ''Avenue Q'' website

''Avenue Q'' merchandise: cd, program, posters, etc.
*
Production: Avenue Q
- ''Working in the Theatre Seminar'' video at American Theatre Wing.org, September 2003
The Official website for the song "You Have More Friends Than You Know"

Marx's book ''How To Win A High School Election'' Online

Jeff Marx interviewed on a free podcast from ''Masterworks Broadway''
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Marx, Jeff 1970 births Living people American musical theatre composers American musical theatre lyricists Broadway composers and lyricists University of Michigan alumni Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law alumni American LGBT musicians LGBT people from Florida People from Hollywood, Florida Tony Award winners Songwriters from Florida