John Marshall Forster (born April 1, 1948) is an American cabaret musician, satirist, songwriter, composer, lyricist, and record producer. He has released several solo and collaborative albums, and has also worked on several

revue A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance, and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own duri ...

s and musicals.

Career

Musicals and revues

Forster wrote the music and lyrics for the musical comedy special ''

How to Eat Like a Child ''How to Eat Like a Child – And Other Lessons in Not Being a Grown-up'' is an original musical comedy television special that aired on NBC on September 22, 1981. Based on Delia Ephron's best-selling book of the same name, and adapted for telev ...

'', based on the book of the same name by Delia Ephron, as well as those for the satirical revue ''

A Good Swift Kick A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes'' ...

''. He also founded the satirical revue "The Proposition" while an undergraduate at

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 ...

which played in Cambridge, Massachusetts and in New York City. He also wrote the satirical revue "Both Barrels: A Salvo of John Forster Songs", which ran in Los Angeles and later in

Chester, Connecticut Chester is a town in Middlesex County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 3,749 at the 2020 census. The town center is defined by the U.S. Census Bureau as a census-designated place (CDP). The name is a transfer from Chester, in Engl ...

in the late 1990s. For a musical adaptation of the immensely popular novel

Freaky Friday ''Freaky Friday'' is a comedic children's novel written by Mary Rodgers, first published by Harper & Row in 1972. It has been adapted for several films, including versions in 1976, 1995, 2003, and 2018, and was reinterpreted as a horror film f ...

by Mary Rodgers, he wrote the book and lyrics, with

Mary Rodgers Mary Rodgers (January 11, 1931 – June 26, 2014) was an American composer, screenwriter, and author who wrote the novel '' Freaky Friday'', which served as the basis of a 1976 film starring Jodie Foster, for which she wrote the screenplay, as ...

writing the music.

Solo career

In 1993, Forster released his debut album, ''Entering Marion'', on Philo Records. ''People'' reviewed the album and described Forster as "a musical satirist who mixes social critique with a shot of wry." After hearing the album,

Tom Lehrer Thomas Andrew Lehrer (; born April 9, 1928) is an American former musician, singer-songwriter, satirist, and mathematician, having lectured on mathematics and musical theater. He is best known for the pithy and humorous songs that he recorded in ...

, to whom Forster has often been compared, wrote that "You don't need me anymore, now you have John Forster to kick around." The album received an Indie Award honorable mention for best comedy album. In 1997, Forster released the album ''Helium'', followed by ''The Official Bootleg Album'' in 1998.

Collaboration with Tom Chapin

Forster was nominated four times for Grammy Awards: the first for his work producing

Tom Chapin Tom Chapin (born March 13, 1945) is an American musician, entertainer, singer-songwriter, and storyteller. Chapin is known for the song " Happy Birthday", released in 1989 in his ''Moonboat'' album. It takes its melody from "Love Unspoken", a so ...

's 1998 album ''In My Hometown'' as well as being nominated for three other Forster-Chapin albums. Together, Forster and Chapin co-wrote twelve albums for children and families. "Family Tree" also received received recognition and awards from parent's magazines. Beginning in 1999, Forster began working on a collaborative album with Chapin. This album, entitled ''Broadsides: A Miscellany of Musical Opinion'', was released in 2010.

Discography

SOLO - writer / producer *''Entering Marion'' (Philo, 1993) *''Helium'' (Philo, 1997) *''The Official Bootleg Album'' (

Limousine A limousine ( or ), or limo () for short, is a large, chauffeur-driven luxury vehicle with a partition between the driver compartment and the passenger compartment. A very long wheelbase luxury sedan (with more than four doors) driven by a prof ...

, 1998) COLLABORATIONS - co-writer/co-producer *''Broadsides: A Miscellany of Musical Opinion'' (with Tom Chapin) ( Sundance, 2010) *" Family Tree" (Sony) * "Moonboat" (Sony) * "Mother Earth"(Sony)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Forster, John American cabaret performers American satirists Harvard University alumni Living people American songwriters American musical theatre composers American comedy musicians 1948 births