Robert L. Freedman (born July 27, 1957) is an American screenwriter and dramatist. He is best known for his

teleplay A teleplay is a screenplay or script used in the production of a scripted television program or series. In general usage, the term is most commonly seen in reference to a standalone production, such as a television film, a television play, or a ...

s for '' Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella'' (1997) and '' Life with Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows'' (2001), and for his Tony-winning book and lyrics of '' A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder'' (2014).

Early life and education

Freedman attended

Los Alamitos High School Los Alamitos High School (also known as Los Al) is a public school for grades 9 to 12 located in Los Alamitos, California, and also serving the city of Seal Beach and the community of Rossmoor. It is the only traditional high school in the Los ...

, where he was the editor of the school’s newspaper. That’s where he met another influential figure in his life, a journalism teacher named Margaret Hall. He attended the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California S ...

and

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, th ...

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 ...

. He holds Masters of Fine Arts from NYU in Dramatic Writing and Musical Theatre Writing.

Career

Freedman won the 1994 Writers Guild of America Award for Outstanding Television Children's Show for his script for the TV movie ''A Deadly Secret: The Robert Bierer Story'' (1993). He was the screenwriter for the TV movie ''Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella'' (1997), and received a nomination for the Writers Guild of America Award for Outstanding Children's Script. Freedman is the screenwriter and producer of the television movie '' Life with Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows'', which was televised on ABC in 2001. The movie, about the early life of

Judy Garland Judy Garland (born Frances Ethel Gumm; June 10, 1922June 22, 1969) was an American actress and singer. While critically acclaimed for many different roles throughout her career, she is widely known for playing the part of Dorothy Gale in '' The ...

, was based on the book ''Me and My Shadows: A Family Memoir'' by

Lorna Luft Lorna Luft (born November 21, 1952) is an American actress, author, and singer. She is the daughter of Judy Garland and Sidney Luft and the half-sister of Liza Minnelli. Early life Luft was born on November 21, 1952, at Saint John's Health Cent ...

. Among other awards, Freedman was nominated by the Writers Guild of America, "Adapted Long Form"."Freedman List"
wgfoundation.org, accessed June 11, 2014 He was also nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing For a Miniseries or a Movie, a Co-Nominee for the 2001 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Miniseries. He wrote the book for the stage musical ''Grand Duchy'', with music by John Bayless, which had staged readings at

Playwrights Horizons Playwrights Horizons is a not-for-profit Off-Broadway theater located in New York City dedicated to the support and development of contemporary American playwrights, composers, and lyricists, and to the production of their new work. Under the ...

and the

Paper Mill Playhouse Paper Mill Playhouse is a regional theater with approximately 1200 seats, located in Millburn, New Jersey on the Rahway River. Due to its relatively close location to Manhattan, it draws from the pool of actors (and audience members) who live i ...

and premiered in Santa Barbara, California, in 2003.Jones, Kenneth
"Holzman, Freedman, Hubbard, Needleman and Lutvak Win 2006 Kleban Awards"
playbill.com, May 1, 2006 A second performance, also in Santa Barbara, was expected spring of 2016. He wrote the book to a musical titled ''Campaign of the Century'', with lyrics by Freedman and

Steven Lutvak Steven Lutvak (born 1959) is an American musician based in New York City. He is a composer for theatre and film, as well as a singer-songwriter. Career Lutvak is most known for his work on ''A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder'' with Rober ...

and music by Lutvak. It is based on the book by Greg Mitchell, and is about the smear campaign against author Upton Sinclair. It had staged readings at the Chicago Humanities Festival in 2004, the New York Music Festival in September 2005, and the Beverly Hills Theatre Guild in 2006. Freedman co-wrote a one-man play with Faye Greenberg titled ''The Beast of Broadway'', which had its premiere in 2010 at TheatreZone, Naples, Florida. The play is based in part on the book ''The Abominable Showman'' by Howard Kissell, about the producer David Merrick. Freedman wrote the book and lyrics to a musical version of ''

Kind Hearts and Coronets ''Kind Hearts and Coronets'' is a 1949 British crime black comedy film. It features Dennis Price, Joan Greenwood, Valerie Hobson and Alec Guinness; Guinness plays nine characters. The plot is loosely based on the novel ''Israel Rank: The Auto ...

'', with music and lyrics by Steven Lutvak, directed by Ron Lagomarsino, which was presented at the Sundance Institute Theatre Laboratory, Utah, in July 2006. The musical had a staged reading in the Breaking Ground Series at the Huntington Theatre in Boston in April 2006. '' A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder'', co-written with Lutvak and based on the 1907 novel ''Israel Rank'' by Roy Horniman (the source for ''Kind Hearts and Coronets''), ultimately premiered in October 2012 at Hartford Stage in Hartford, Connecticut. The production, directed by

Darko Tresnjak Darko Tresnjak ( sr-cyr, Дарко Трешњак, Darko Trešnjak) is a director of plays, musicals, and opera, and winner of several awards, including the Tony Award. He was the artistic director of the Hartford Stage in Connecticut, United S ...

, transferred to the

Old Globe Theatre The Old Globe is a professional theatre company located in Balboa Park in San Diego, California. It produces about 15 plays and musicals annually in summer and winter seasons. Plays are performed in three separate theatres in the complex, which i ...

in San Diego, California, in March 2013, and then opened 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 ...

in 2014. Freedman won the

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 ce ...

for Best Book of a Musical for this musical.

Work

Television

Sources: ''

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 d ...

'', filmreference.com *''

The Royal Romance of Charles and Diana ''The Royal Romance of Charles and Diana'' is a 1982 American television film, made-for-television biographical film, biographical drama (film and television), drama film that depicts the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer. The film ...

'' (1982) *''Broadway Sings: The Music of Jule Styne'' (1987) *''Taken Away'' (1989) *'' Locked Up: A Mother's Rage'' (1991) *''

Woman With A Past ''Woman with a Past'' is an American daytime soap opera that aired on CBS from February 1, 1954, to July 2, 1954. The sustaining program originated at WCBS-TV and replaced ''Action in the Afternoon'' in the CBS schedule. Synopsis The soap focuse ...

'' (1992) *''A Deadly Secret: The Robert Bierer Story'' (1992) *'' Honor Thy Mother'' (1992) *'' In the Best of Families: Marriage, Pride & Madness'' (1994) *''What Love Sees'' (1996) *''Mrs. Santa Claus'' (1997) *''Unlikely Angel'' (1997) *'' Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella'' (1997) *''Long Way Home'' (1998) *''

What Makes a Family ''What Makes a Family'' is a 2001 American television film directed by Maggie Greenwald and starring Brooke Shields, Cherry Jones, Anne Meara, Al Waxman, and Whoopi Goldberg. It was distributed by Lifetime Television. The film premiered on the ne ...

'' (2001) *'' Life with Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows'' (2001) *''

Murder in the Hamptons ''Murder in the Hamptons'' (also known as ''Million Dollar Murder'') is a true story made-for-TV movie, based on the events leading to the murder of multi-millionaire Ted Ammon and the conviction of Ted's estranged wife's lover Daniel Pelosi. P ...

'' (2005) *'' The Pastor's Wife'' (2011)

Theatre

*''Grand Duchy'' (with John Bayless) *''Campaign of the Century'' (with Steven Lutvak) *''The Beast of Broadway: The Life and Times of David Merrick'' (with Faye Greenberg) (2010) *'' A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder'' (with Steven Lutvak) *''Camp Rock: The Musical'' (with Faye Greenberg)" 'Camp Rock'"
mtishows.com, accessed June 10, 2014

Honors and awards

References

External links

Official site
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Freedman, Robert L. 1957 births American lyricists American musical theatre lyricists Broadway composers and lyricists 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights American television writers American male television writers People from Los Angeles Writers from Los Angeles Living people University of California, Los Angeles alumni Tisch School of the Arts alumni Foreign Policy Research Institute Tony Award winners