Scott Wittman (born November 16, 1954) is an American director, lyricist, composer and writer for

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 ...

, concerts, and television.

Life and career

Wittman was raised in

Nanuet, New York Nanuet is a hamlet and census-designated place in the town of Clarkstown, Rockland County, New York, United States. The third largest hamlet in Clarkstown, it is located north of Pearl River, south of New City, east of Spring Valley, and west o ...

, graduated from Nanuet Senior High School in 1972 and attended

Emerson College Emerson College is a private college with its main campus in Boston, Massachusetts. It also maintains campuses in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California and Well, Limburg, Netherlands ( Kasteel Well). Founded in 1880 by Charles Wesley Emerson as a ...

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

for two years before leaving to pursue a career in musical theatre in New York City. While directing a show for a

Greenwich Village Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village ...

club he met songwriter and composer

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 ...

, and the two became collaborators and professional partners. While Shaiman wrote for television shows, including ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock. Michaels currently serves a ...

'', Wittman directed concerts for such artists as

Bette Midler Bette Midler (;''Inside the Actors Studio'', 2004 born December 1, 1945) is an American singer, actress, comedian and author. Throughout her career, which spans over five decades, Midler has received List of awards and nominations received by Be ...

Christine Ebersole Christine Ebersole (born February 21, 1953) is an American actress and singer. She has appeared in film, television, and on stage. She starred in the Broadway musicals '' 42nd Street'' and ''Grey Gardens'', winning two Tony Awards. She has co-s ...

Raquel Welch Jo Raquel Welch ( Tejada; September 5, 1940) is an American actress. She first won attention for her role in ''Fantastic Voyage'' (1966), after which she won a contract with 20th Century Fox. They lent her contract to the British studio Hammer ...

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, and Lypsinka, among others.Shaiman, Marc (b. 1959), and Scott Wittman (b. 1955)
. GLBTQ.com. In 2002, Shaiman and Wittman wrote the music and lyrics for the musical ''

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 ...

'', which won the

Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lyrics The Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lyrics is an annual award presented by Drama Desk in recognition of achievements in the theatre among Broadway, Off Broadway and Off-Off Broadway productions. Stephen Sondheim holds the record for most wins and ...

, the

Tony Award for Best Original Score The Tony Award for Best Original Score is the Tony Award given to the composers and lyricists of the best original score written for a musical theatre, musical or Play (theatre), play in that year. The score consists of music and/or lyrics. To be ...

, and 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 ...

. In addition to ''Hairspray'', Wittman conceived, wrote lyrics for, and directed ''

Martin Short Martin Hayter Short (born March 26, 1950) is a Canadian-American actor, comedian, and writer. He has received various awards including two Primetime Emmy Awards, and a Tony Award. In 2019 Short became an Officer of the Order of Canada. He ...

: Fame Becomes Me'' and conceived and directed ''Matters of the Heart'', a solo concert by

Patti LuPone Patti Ann LuPone (born April 21, 1949) is an American actress and singer best known for her work in musical theater. She has won three Tony Awards, two Olivier Awards, two Grammy Awards, and was a 2006 inductee to the American Theater Hall of Fa ...

in 2000. Shaiman and Wittman worked on ''

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 ...

'', a musical adaptation of the 2002

Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg (; born December 18, 1946) is an American director, writer, and producer. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, he is the most commercially successful director of all time. Spie ...

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

, together with

Terrence McNally Terrence McNally (November 3, 1938 – March 24, 2020) was an American playwright, librettist, and screenwriter. Described as "the bard of American theater" and "one of the greatest contemporary playwrights the theater world has yet produced," ...

. The musical opened on Broadway in April 2011. They again worked together on '' Charlie and the Chocolate Factory the Musical''. In 2011, ''

'' was performed at Nanuet Senior High School, where Wittman attended high school. In 2013, Wittman and Marc Shaiman co-wrote the score for '' Bombshell'', a musical about Marilyn Monroe within the context of the NBC television show '' Smash''. A soundtrack was released later that same year. Wittman and Shaiman collaborated in 2018 on ''Mary Poppins Returns'' where Wittman wrote the lyrics for nine of the tracks listed. He and Shaiman were nominated for the

Academy Award for Best Original Song The Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is presented to the ''songwriters'' who have composed th ...

for the song "The Place Where Lost Things Go". In 2021, Wittman and Shaiman wrote a song entitled "Save the City" for the

Marvel Cinematic Universe The Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) is an American media franchise and shared universe centered on a series of superhero films produced by Marvel Studios. The films are based on characters that appear in American comic books published by ...

(MCU) in-universe Broadway production, titled '' Rogers: The Musical'' featured in the first episode of Hawkeye, "Never Meet Your Heroes". It was released as a single on November 24, the day the episode became available on

Disney+ The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and interest of an audience or gives pleasure and deligh ...

. In February 2021, it was announced that Wittman and Shaiman were writing songs for a new musical adaptation of ''

Some Like It Hot ''Some Like It Hot'' is a 1959 American crime comedy film directed, produced and co-written by Billy Wilder. It stars Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon, with George Raft, Pat O'Brien, Joe E. Brown, Joan Shawlee, Grace Lee Whitney and N ...

'', due on Broadway in 2022, with a book by

Amber Ruffin Amber Mildred Ruffin (born January 9, 1979) is an American comedian. She hosts her own late-night talk show titled ''The Amber Ruffin Show'' on NBC and Peacock. She has been a writer for ''Late Night with Seth Meyers'' since 2014. When she joined ...

and

Matthew Lopez Matthew Lopez (born December 12, 1987) is an American mixed martial artist who competed in the bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Background Lopez was born in Safford, Arizona, United States. Lopez's father was t ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Wittman, Scott 1954 births American musical theatre directors American musical theatre lyricists Broadway composers and lyricists Drama Desk Award winners Grammy Award winners LGBT theatre directors American LGBT musicians Living people Tony Award winners Place of birth missing (living people)