Margo Allison Lion (October 13, 1944 – January 24, 2020) was a producer for plays and musicals both on

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 ...

and

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 ...

, known for her role in producing the stage and screen hit ''

Hairspray Hairspray may refer to: * Hair spray, a personal grooming product that keeps hair protected from humidity and wind * ''Hairspray'' (1988 film), a film by John Waters ** ''Hairspray'' (1988 soundtrack), the film's soundtrack album ** ''Hairspray ...

''. Combined, the works Lion produced won 20

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 ...

s and a

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made h ...

Life and career

Lion was born in

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

, the daughter of Gloria (Amburgh) and Albert Lion, whose company Lion Brothers produced embroidered emblems. She was of German Jewish heritage. She started her producing career with Lyn Austin at The Music-Theater Group/Lenox Arts Center. Her first commercial production was ''How I Got That Story'' in 1982. Later off-Broadway productions included the 1987 version of Martha Clarke's ''

The Garden of Earthly Delights ''The Garden of Earthly Delights'' is the modern title given to a triptych oil painting on oak panel painted by the Early Netherlandish master Hieronymus Bosch, between 1490 and 1510, when Bosch was between 40 and 60 years old. It has bee ...

'', ''

Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune ''Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune'' is a two-character play by Terrence McNally that was first performed off-Broadway in 1987. Plot The play focuses on two lonely, middle-aged people whose first date ends with their tumbling into bed. The ...

'' and ''The Cryptogram''. Her first Broadway production was ''

I Hate Hamlet ''I Hate Hamlet'' is a comedy-drama written in 1991 by Paul Rudnick. Plot Set in John Barrymore's old apartment in New York City – at the time, the author's real-life home – the play follows successful television actor Andrew Rally as he ...

'' in 1991. In 1987 Lion commissioned George Wolfe, Susan Birkenhead and Luther Henderson to write a show about

Jelly Roll Morton Ferdinand Joseph LaMothe (later Morton; c. September 20, 1890 – July 10, 1941), known professionally as Jelly Roll Morton, was an American ragtime and jazz pianist, bandleader, and composer. Morton was jazz's first arranger, proving that a gen ...

. That musical became the 1992 Broadway show, ''

Jelly's Last Jam ''Jelly's Last Jam'' is a musical with a book by George C. Wolfe, lyrics by Susan Birkenhead, and music by Jelly Roll Morton and Luther Henderson. Based on the life and career of Ferdinand Joseph LaMothe, known as Jelly Roll Morton and general ...

'', starring

Gregory Hines Gregory Oliver Hines (February 14, 1946 – August 9, 2003) was an American dancer, actor, choreographer, and singer. He is one of the most celebrated tap dancers of all time. As an actor, he is best known for '' Wolfen'' (1981), '' The Cotton C ...

. In 1993-94 Lion produced '' Angels in America: Millennium Approaches'' and ''

Perestroika ''Perestroika'' (; russian: links=no, перестройка, p=pʲɪrʲɪˈstrojkə, a=ru-perestroika.ogg) was a political movement for reform within the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) during the late 1980s widely associated wit ...

'' followed by the 1995 production of ''

Seven Guitars ''Seven Guitars'' is a 1995 play by American playwright August Wilson. It focuses on seven African-American characters in the year 1948. The play begins and ends after the funeral of one of the main characters, showing events leading to the funer ...

''. ''Angels in America: Millennium Approaches'' won the 1993

Pulitzer Prize for Drama The Pulitzer Prize for Drama is one of the seven American Pulitzer Prizes that are annually awarded for Letters, Drama, and Music. It is one of the original Pulitzers, for the program was inaugurated in 1917 with seven prizes, four of which were a ...

. In 1997, Lion produced '' Triumph of Love'', based on a 1732 comedy by Pierre de Marivaux. Shortly after its run, while watching

John Waters John Samuel Waters Jr. (born April 22, 1946) is an American filmmaker, writer, actor, and artist. He rose to fame in the early 1970s for his Cinema of Transgression, transgressive cult films, including ''Multiple Maniacs'' (1970), ''Pink Flamin ...

' 1988 film, ''Hairspray'' she had the idea to adapt the film into a musical. She recruited

Marc Shaiman Marc Shaiman (; born October 22, 1959) is an American composer and lyricist for films, television, and theatre, best known for his collaborations with lyricist and director Scott Wittman. He wrote the music and co-wrote the lyrics for the Broadw ...

, a Hollywood film composer, for the musical's score. Four years later, in August 2002, the musical ''

'' premiered on Broadway and became an immediate commercial and critical hit. Following ''Hairspray'', Lion produced the Broadway productions ''

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 ...

'' (2004), ''

The Wedding Singer ''The Wedding Singer'' is a 1998 American romantic comedy film directed by Frank Coraci, written by Tim Herlihy, and produced by Robert Simonds and Jack Giarraputo. The film stars Adam Sandler, Drew Barrymore, and Christine Taylor, and tells the ...

'' (2006), and ''

Radio Golf Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmit ...

'' (2007) as well as ''Harlem Song'' at The Apollo. Lion also garnered a

for ''Elaine Stritch at Liberty''. She was the producer of the musical adaptation of ''

Catch Me If You Can ''Catch Me If You Can'' is a 2002 American biographical crime comedy-drama film directed and produced by Steven Spielberg and starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Tom Hanks with Christopher Walken, Martin Sheen, Nathalie Baye, Amy Adams and James ...

'' which played at Seattle's 5th Avenue Theatre in July 2009, as well as musical adaptations of

Mira Nair Mira Nair (born 15 October 1957) is an Indian-American filmmaker based in New York City. Her production company, Mirabai Films, specializes in films for international audiences on Indian society, whether in the economic, social or cultural sphe ...

's ''Monsoon Wedding'', and ''Like Water for Chocolate''. Lion was an adjunct professor at the

Tisch School of the Arts The New York University Tisch School of the Arts (commonly referred to as Tisch) is the performing, cinematic and media arts school of New York University. Founded on August 17, 1965, Tisch is a training ground for artists, scholars of the a ...

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

. She also served as Co-Chair to President Barack Obama's Arts Policy Committee during the 2008 Presidential Election and was appointed in 2009 as Co-Chair of President's Committee on the Humanities and the Arts.BWW News Des
"Obama Appointments George Stevens Jr., Margo Lion, Mary Schmidt Campbell to Arts and Humanities Committee"
dc.broadwayworld.com, September 17, 2009 She died on January 24, 2020, in Manhattan after a brain aneurysm. She was 75 years old.

References

External links

* * *
Internet Off-Broadway Database listing
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lion, Margo 1944 births 2020 deaths Businesspeople from Baltimore American people of German-Jewish descent American theatre managers and producers Tisch School of the Arts faculty Bryn Mawr School people Park School of Baltimore alumni Deaths from intracranial aneurysm

Life and career

References

Further reading

External links