Michael Stewart (August 1, 1924 – September 20, 1987) was an American playwright and dramatist, librettist, lyricist, screenwriter and novelist.

Life and career

Born Myron Stuart Rubin in Manhattan, Stewart attended

Queens College Queens College (QC) is a public college in the Queens borough of New York City. It is part of the City University of New York system. Its 80-acre campus is primarily located in Flushing, Queens. It has a student body representing more than 170 ...

, and graduated from the Yale School of Drama with a

Master of Fine Arts A Master of Fine Arts (MFA or M.F.A.) is a terminal degree in fine arts, including visual arts, creative writing, graphic design, photography, filmmaking, dance, theatre, other performing arts and in some cases, theatre management or arts a ...

in 1953.Gerard, Jeremy
"Michael Stewart Is Dead 63; Author of Broadway Musicals"
''

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 ...

'', September 21, 1987, Section B, p.16 His early work was writing sketches for the revues ''The Shoestring Revue'' (1955), ''The Littlest Revue'' (1956), and ''Shoestring '57'' (1956, Barbizon-Plaza, New York). He then joined the staff writers of

Sid Caesar Isaac Sidney Caesar (September 8, 1922 – February 12, 2014) was an American comic actor, comedian and writer. With a career spanning 60 years, he was best known for two pioneering 1950s live television series: ''Your Show of Shows'' (1950� ...

's television program, ''

Caesar's Hour ''Caesar's Hour'' is a live, hour-long American sketch-comedy television program that aired on NBC from 1954 until 1957. The program starred, among others, Sid Caesar, Nanette Fabray, Carl Reiner, Howard Morris, Janet Blair, and Milt Kamen, and f ...

''. He met Charles Strouse and Lee Adams in 1954, and several years after collaborated with them and Gower Champion on the 1960 Broadway musical ''Bye Bye Birdie''. He worked again with Champion and Jerry Herman, with their musical ''Hello, Dolly!'' opening on Broadway in 1964. Stewart died on September 20, 1987 in New York City.

Jule Styne Jule Styne (; born Julius Kerwin Stein; December 31, 1905 – September 20, 1994) was an English-American songwriter and composer best known for a series of Broadway musicals, including several famous frequently-revived shows that also became ...

said of him: "He was an extremely talented and knowledgeable man of the theater. He was one of the great musical-theater writers, and his string of hits showed that." Stewart's sister was writer

Francine Pascal Francine Pascal (''née'' Rubin, born May 13, 1938) is an American author best known for creating the Sweet Valley series of young adult novels. '' Sweet Valley High'' was the backbone of the collection, and was made into a popular television se ...

and brother Burt Rubin.

Theatre credits

*'' Bye Bye Birdie'' (1960) —

musical Musical is the adjective of music Music is generally defined as the The arts, art of arranging sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Exact def ...

—

bookwriter {{unreferenced, date=January 2014 The book writer is the member of a musical's team who creates the book—the musical's plot, character development, and dramatic structure. Essentially, the book writer is the playwright of the musical, working ver ...

— Tony Award for Best Musical *'' Carnival!'' (1961) — musical — bookwriter — Tony Nomination for Best Musical, Tony Nomination for Best Author of a Musical *'' Hello, Dolly!'' (1964) — musical — bookwriter — Tony Award for Best Musical, Tony Award for Best Author of a Musical *''Those That Play the Clowns'' (1966) — play — playwright *'' George M!'' (1968) — musical — co-bookwriter with sister

and her husband John Pascal *'' Mack and Mabel'' (1974) — musical — bookwriter — Tony Nomination for Best Book of a Musical *'' I Love My Wife'' (1977) — musical — lyricist and bookwriter — Tony Nomination for Best Original Score, Tony Nomination for Best Book of a Musical *'' The Grand Tour'' (1979) — musical — co-bookwriter *'' Barnum'' (1980) — musical — lyricist — Tony Nomination for Best Original Score *'' 42nd Street'' (1980) — musical — co-bookwriter — Tony Co-Nomination for Best Book of a Musical *'' Bring Back Birdie'' (1981) — musical — bookwriter *'' Pieces of Eight'' (1985) — music — co-bookwriter, Citadel Theatre in

Edmonton Edmonton ( ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Alberta. Edmonton is situated on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Metropolitan Region, which is surrounded by Alberta's central region. The city anc ...

, Canada and closed out of town. *''Harrigan 'n Hart'' (1985) — musical — bookwriter — Tony Nomination for Best Book of a MusicalRich, Fran
"Stage:'Harrigan 'n Hart' Opens at the Longacre"
''

'', February 1, 1985

Notes

External links

Internet Broadway Database
*
Michael Stewart papers, 1948-1987
held by the Billy Rose Theatre Division,

New York Public Library for the Performing Arts The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts, Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center, at 40 Lincoln Center Plaza, is located in Manhattan, New York City, at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts on the Upper West Side, between the Metro ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stewart, Michael Tony Award winners American musical theatre librettists American musical theatre lyricists American male screenwriters Broadway composers and lyricists Yale School of Drama alumni 1924 births 1987 deaths 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights American male dramatists and playwrights 20th-century American male writers Screenwriters from New York (state) 20th-century American screenwriters