William Alan Finn (born February 28, 1952) is an American composer and lyricist. He is best known for his musicals, which include ''
Falsettos
''Falsettos'' is a sung-through musical with a book by William Finn and James Lapine, and music and lyrics by Finn. The musical consists of '' March of the Falsettos'' (1981) and '' Falsettoland'' (1990), the last two installments in a trio o ...
'', for which he won the 1992
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 for
Best Original Score and
Best Book of a Musical, ''
A New Brain
''A New Brain'' is a musical with music and lyrics by William Finn and book by Finn and James Lapine. Though many of Finn's previous musicals were to some extent autobiographical, ''A New Brain'' dealt directly with his own harrowing experience ...
'' (1998), and ''
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
''The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee'' is a musical comedy with music and lyrics by William Finn, based on a book by Rachel Sheinkin, conceived by Rebecca Feldman with additional material by Jay Reiss. The show centers on a fictional spe ...
'' (2005).
Early life
Finn was born in
Boston, Massachusetts. He is Jewish, raised in
conservative Judaism
Conservative Judaism, known as Masorti Judaism outside North America, is a Jewish religious movement which regards the authority of ''halakha'' (Jewish law) and traditions as coming primarily from its people and community through the generatio ...
,
[ Hoffman, Wayne]
'' Tablet (magazine), Tablet'' October 26, 2016 and grew up in
Natick, Massachusetts
Natick ( ) is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is near the center of the MetroWest region of Massachusetts, with a population of 37,006 at the 2020 census. west of Boston, Natick is part of the Greater Boston area. ...
, with his parents and siblings, Michael and Nancy. He attended the Temple Israel in Natick, where his Rabbi was
Harold Kushner
Harold Samuel Kushner (born April 3, 1935) is a prominent American rabbi and author. He is a member of the Rabbinical Assembly of Conservative Judaism and served as the congregational rabbi of Temple Israel of Natick, in Natick, Massachusetts, ...
. In Hebrew School, Finn wrote his first play, saying, "I don't think I ever told anyone this: The first play I ever wrote was in Hebrew. I have no idea what it was about. But it was horrible, I guarantee it. I couldn't write plays, and I couldn't really speak Hebrew, so how good could it be?"
While attending
Natick High School
Natick High School is an urban/suburban public high school serving students in grades 9 to 12 in Natick, Massachusetts, United States. The school is located on the banks of Dug Pond. Its enrollment was 1,603 students during the 2015–2016 schoo ...
, Finn competed with the Natick Speech Team and was in the drama department headed by Gerald Dyer. For his
bar mitzvah, he received a guitar and taught himself to play.
[Viagas, Robert]
''Playbill'' February 10, 2004
He went on to attend
Williams College
Williams College is a Private college, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Williamstown, Massachusetts. It was established as a men's college in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim Williams, a col ...
in
Williamstown, Massachusetts
Williamstown is a town in the northern part of Berkshire County, in the northwest corner of Massachusetts, United States. It shares a border with Vermont to the north and New York to the west. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolit ...
as a music major. He originally entered as a guitar major, "When I got to college I kind of transferred to the piano. I transferred what I knew on the guitar to the piano. But when I was playing the guitar I was always writing my own songs — and singing a few of — I only had one book of folk songs, a blue book, of these sad, sad folk songs. ...I would start them the way they were written and then I would change them to how I wanted them….I would just use the lyrics — re-musicalize the lyrics."
He attended Williams after another future prominent musical theatre writer,
Stephen Sondheim
Stephen Joshua Sondheim (; March 22, 1930November 26, 2021) was an American composer and lyricist. One of the most important figures in twentieth-century musical theater, Sondheim is credited for having "reinvented the American musical" with sho ...
. When he graduated, he received the Hutchinson Fellowship (a musical composition award). He is also Adjunct Faculty Composer/Lyricist at
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 ...
.
["Programs and Faculty, New York University, Tisch School of the Arts, New York, NY"](_blank)
''New York University'', accessed February 15, 2011
Career
Finn is a heavily
autobiographical
An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life.
It is a form of biography.
Definition
The word "autobiography" was first used deprecatingly by William Taylor in 1797 in the English peri ...
writer; he always writes his own lyrics. His topics have included the
gay
''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'.
While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...
and
Jew
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""Th ...
ish experiences in contemporary America, and also family, belonging, sickness, healing, and loss. According to a 2006 article, "''The Washington Post'' called him 'the composer laureate of loss.'"
[
Finn is especially noted for his work on what was to become a trilogy of short musicals ]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 ...
. ''In Trousers
''In Trousers'' is a musical theatre, musical, which premiered Off-Broadway in 1979, with book, music and lyrics by William Finn. It is the first in a trilogy of musicals, followed by ''March of the Falsettos'' and then ''Falsettoland''.
Concept ...
'', ''March of the Falsettos
''March of the Falsettos'' is a 1981 musical with a book, lyrics, and music by William Finn. It is the second in a trilogy of musicals, preceded by '' In Trousers'' and followed by '' Falsettoland''. ''March of the Falsettos'' and ''Falsettoland'' ...
'', and ''Falsettoland
''Falsettoland'' is a musical with a book by James Lapine and music and lyrics by William Finn.
Following '' In Trousers'' and '' March of the Falsettos'', it is the third in a trio of one-act musicals centering on Marvin, his wife Trina, his p ...
'' all chronicle the lives of the character Marvin, his ex-wife Trina, his boyfriend, Whizzer, his psychiatrist
A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in psychiatry, the branch of medicine devoted to the diagnosis, prevention, study, and treatment of mental disorders. Psychiatrists are physicians and evaluate patients to determine whether their sy ...
, Mendel, and his son, Jason.[Henry, William ]
"The Quirky William Finn"
'Time Magazine'', May 11, 1992 ''Falsettos
''Falsettos'' is a sung-through musical with a book by William Finn and James Lapine, and music and lyrics by Finn. The musical consists of '' March of the Falsettos'' (1981) and '' Falsettoland'' (1990), the last two installments in a trio o ...
'', the combination of the latter two parts of his Marvin Trilogy (''March of the Falsettos'' and ''Falsettoland''), 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 ...
at the John Golden Theater
The John Golden Theatre, formerly the Theatre Masque and Masque Theater, is a Broadway theater at 252 West 45th Street (George Abbott Way) in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1927, the Golden Theatre was d ...
on April 29, 1992,[ and ran for 486 performances. It went on to garner seven nominations at the ]46th Tony Awards
The 46th Annual Tony Awards was broadcast by CBS from the Gershwin Theatre on May 31, 1992. The host was Glenn Close.
The ceremony
Presenters:
* Alan Alda
* Alec Baldwin
* Carol Channing
* Kirk Douglas
* Michael Douglas
* Richard Dreyfuss
* Da ...
, winning two: the 1992 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 ...
as well as the 1992 Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical
The Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical is awarded to librettists of the spoken, non-sung dialogue, and storyline of a musical play. Eligibility is restricted to works with original narrative framework; plotless revues and revivals are ineligib ...
, the latter shared with James Lapine
James Elliot Lapine (born January 10, 1949) is an American stage director, playwright, screenwriter, and librettist. He has won the Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical three times, for ''Into the Woods'', ''Falsettos'', and '' Passion''. He ha ...
.
A critically acclaimed revival opened on September 29, 2016 at the Walter Kerr Theater
The Walter Kerr Theatre, previously the Ritz Theatre, is a Broadway theater at 219 West 48th Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. The theater was designed by Herbert J. Krapp and was constructed for the Shuber ...
and went on to garner five nominations at the 71st Tony Awards
The 71st Annual Tony Awards were held on June 11, 2017, to recognize achievement in Broadway theatre, Broadway productions during the 2016–17 season. The ceremony was held at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, and was broadcast live by CBS.V ...
, including Best Revival.
With Lapine, Finn penned a musical loosely based on his near-death experience following brain surgery, exploring the role of music in his life and recovery. The musical's main character is a man who has what may be a terminal arteriovenous malformation (AVM). Finn's longtime partner, Arthur Salvadore, is represented by the character Roger Delli-Bovi. Finn's mother is also present in the piece.[Pall, Elle]
"The Long-Running Musical of William Finn's Life"
nytimes.com, February 20, 2012 That musical, ''A New Brain
''A New Brain'' is a musical with music and lyrics by William Finn and book by Finn and James Lapine. Though many of Finn's previous musicals were to some extent autobiographical, ''A New Brain'' dealt directly with his own harrowing experience ...
'', starred Malcolm Gets
Malcolm Gets (born December 28, 1963) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Richard in the American television sitcom '' Caroline in the City''. Gets is also a dancer, singer, composer, classically trained pianist, vocal direct ...
, and Chip Zien
Jerome Herbert "Chip" Zien (born March 20, 1947) is an American actor. He is best known for playing the lead role of the Baker in the original Broadway production of ''Into the Woods'' by Stephen Sondheim. He has appeared in all of the "Marvin ...
, and premiered 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 ...
at the Lincoln Center Theater
The Vivian Beaumont Theater is a Broadway theater in the Lincoln Center complex at 150 West 65th Street on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. Operated by the nonprofit Lincoln Center Theater (LCT), the Beaumont is the only Broad ...
in 1998. The musical won the 1999 Outer Critics Circle Award
The Outer Critics Circle Awards are presented annually for theatrical achievements both on Broadway and Off-Broadway. They are presented by the Outer Critics Circle (OCC), the official organization of New York theater writers for out-of-town newspa ...
for Outstanding Off-Broadway Musical. The UK premiere was at the 2005 Edinburgh Festival Fringe
The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as The Fringe, Edinburgh Fringe, or Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest arts and media festival, which in 2019 spanned 25 days and featured more than 59,600 performances of 3,841 dif ...
.
At the 2006 Elliot Norton Awards
The Elliot Norton Awards are presented annually to honor the best achievements in Boston-area theater. The genesis of the awards was the Norton Medal, which was first awarded in 1983 and was named after long-time theater critic Elliot Norton (1903 ...
Ceremony, Finn brought his high school drama teacher, Gerry Dyer, onstage with him to present an award. Finn said of Dyer that he "imbued us with a ridiculous sense of our own self-worth." Another student of Gerald Dyer, Alison Fraser
Alison Fraser (born in Natick, Massachusetts) is an American actress, voice actress and singer who has appeared on Broadway, Off-Broadway, and in television and film. In concert, she has performed at such venues as Carnegie Hall, The White Hou ...
, found fame on Broadway, collaborating with Finn in the original casts of ''In Trousers
''In Trousers'' is a musical theatre, musical, which premiered Off-Broadway in 1979, with book, music and lyrics by William Finn. It is the first in a trilogy of musicals, followed by ''March of the Falsettos'' and then ''Falsettoland''.
Concept ...
'' and ''March of the Falsettos
''March of the Falsettos'' is a 1981 musical with a book, lyrics, and music by William Finn. It is the second in a trilogy of musicals, preceded by '' In Trousers'' and followed by '' Falsettoland''. ''March of the Falsettos'' and ''Falsettoland'' ...
''.
Finn had another Broadway success with ''The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
''The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee'' is a musical comedy with music and lyrics by William Finn, based on a book by Rachel Sheinkin, conceived by Rebecca Feldman with additional material by Jay Reiss. The show centers on a fictional spe ...
'', for which he wrote both music and lyrics. The show won two Tony Awards
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 ...
in 2005-one for Best Book of a Musical, and another for the Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical. It ran Off-Broadway, then on Broadway in 2005 and toured the United States in 2006. The show was first workshopped and produced at Barrington Stage Company
Barrington Stage Company (BSC) is a regional theatre company in the Berkshires of Western Massachusetts. It was co-founded in 1995 by Artistic Director Julianne Boyd, and former Managing Director Susan Sperber in Sheffield, Massachusetts.
I ...
(BSC) in Pittsfield, MA, where Finn later created The Musical Theatre Lab (MTL) with BSC Artistic Director Julianne Boyd
Julianne Boyd is an American theatre director and was the Founding Artistic Director of the Barrington Stage Company of Pittsfield, Massachusetts. She retired in 2022.
Education
Boyd received a B.A. in Theater and Education from Beaver College ...
. The MTL is an annual summer lab where emerging musical theatre artists are supported and new musical works are created, fine-tuned and produced under the curatorship of Finn and Boyd.
Three musical revues or song suites of Finn's music have been produced:
* '' Infinite Joy'', in which the composer played the piano and sang along with an all-star cast, contained several songs from shows that were unfinished, and some that were cut from previous shows.
* '' Elegies: A Song Cycle'' (2003) is a series of songs the composer wrote in memoriam of loved ones now gone, and in response to the September 11, 2001 attacks
The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commercial ...
.
* '' Make Me a Song'', conceived and directed by Rob Ruggiero, premiered at Hartford's Theaterworks in the summer of 2006, opened 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 ...
in November 2007, and closed in December 2007 after 54 performances. A live recording was released by Sh-K-Boom Records
Sh-K-Boom Records is an independent record label and producer of recorded and live entertainment, which was founded in 2000 by Kurt Deutsch with the mission of bridging the gap between pop music and theater. In 2004 Sh-K-Boom created their second ...
on April 29, 2008.
Finn's first show was called ''Sizzle'' and was produced at Williams College in the fall of 1971. Finn wrote the music and lyrics, and his good friend, Charlie Rubin, wrote the libretto. ''Sizzle'' was the first original musical produced on the Williams College campus since Stephen Sondheim attended the college over 20 years earlier. ''Sizzle'' was a coming of age musical about college students but concluded in an unusual way with the star of the show, played by J. Tyler Griffin, Jr., dying in an electric chair. ''Sizzle'' played to packed houses. Rubin possesses a reel-to-reel tape containing excerpts from the show, including most of the music.
His long-in-development show, ''The Royal Family of Broadway'', with a book by Richard Greenberg
Richard Greenberg (born February 22, 1958) is an American playwright and television writer known for his subversively humorous depictions of middle-class American life. He has had more than 25 plays premiere on and Off-Broadway in New York City ...
, was based on the play by George S. Kaufman and Edna Ferber
Edna Ferber (August 15, 1885 – April 16, 1968) was an American novelist, short story writer and playwright. Her novels include the Pulitzer Prize-winning '' So Big'' (1924), ''Show Boat'' (1926; made into the celebrated 1927 musical), '' Cim ...
, which tells the story of a girl from a family of great Broadway actors who contemplates leaving show business and getting married. It has apparently been shelved, according to William Finn's personal notes for '' Make Me a Song'', ''Playbill
''Playbill'' is an American monthly magazine for theatergoers. Although there is a subscription issue available for home delivery, most copies of ''Playbill'' are printed for particular productions and distributed at the door as the show's pr ...
'' magazine and an article from 2006.[
Finn's songs were featured exclusively on Lisa Howard's album ''Songs of Innocence and Experience'', released on April 12, 2011.
The musical comedy '']Little Miss Sunshine
''Little Miss Sunshine'' is a 2006 American tragicomedy road film and the feature film directorial debut of the husband–wife team of Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris. The screenplay was written by first-time writer Michael Arndt. The film sta ...
'', premiered at the La Jolla Playhouse
La Jolla Playhouse is a not-for-profit, professional theatre on the campus of the University of California, San Diego.
History
La Jolla Playhouse was founded in 1947 by Gregory Peck, Dorothy McGuire, and Mel Ferrer. In 1983, it was revived under ...
, California, from February 15, 2011 through March 27, 2011. James Lapine wrote the book and is the director, set design by David Korins, staging by Lapine and Christopher Gattelli
Christopher Gattelli is an American choreographer, performer and theatre director.
Early life and career
Gattelli grew up in Bristol, Pennsylvania. He started dancing at the age of 11 and is a "Star Search" Grand champion. . The opening night cast featured Hunter Foster
Hunter Foster (born June 25, 1969) is an American musical theatre actor, singer, librettist, playwright and director.
Career
After touring in several shows and playing on Broadway, in 2001 he was cast in his breakthrough role of Bobby Strong i ...
(Richard), Malcolm Gets
Malcolm Gets (born December 28, 1963) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Richard in the American television sitcom '' Caroline in the City''. Gets is also a dancer, singer, composer, classically trained pianist, vocal direct ...
(Frank), Dick Latessa
Richard Robert Latessa (September 15, 1929 – December 19, 2016) was an American stage, film, and television actor.
Early life
Latessa was born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1929. After serving in the Army in maybe 1952, he began performing in Clevela ...
(Grandpa), Taylor Trensch
Taylor Hunt Trensch (born May 3, 1989) is an American stage and film actor.
Early life and education
Trensch was born in Tampa, Florida.
He began his education at Howard W. Blake High School in Tampa, Florida. He was an acting major and stud ...
(Dwayne), Georgi James (Olive), and Jennifer Laura Thompson
Jennifer Laura Thompson (born December 5, 1969) is an American actress and singer, best known for her theatrical performances. She originated the role of Cynthia Murphy in the Tony Award-winning musical, ''Dear Evan Hansen'', and received a Tony ...
(Sheryl). The ensemble, who Jay Irwin wrote "...took the small parts they were given and ran with them, almost right out of the theater as each of them brilliantly played the comedic relief to the family's "straight man"", starred Bradley Dean
Bradley Dean (born June 18, 1970) is an American stage and screen actor.
Early life
Dean is originally from Pottsville, Pennsylvania. He is a graduate of Carnegie Mellon University.
Career Theatre Broadway theatre
Dean made his Broadway debut ...
, Carmen Ruby Floyd, Eliseo Roman, Andrew Samonsky, Sally Wilfert, and Zakiya Young.
''Little Miss Sunshine
''Little Miss Sunshine'' is a 2006 American tragicomedy road film and the feature film directorial debut of the husband–wife team of Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris. The screenplay was written by first-time writer Michael Arndt. The film sta ...
'' began previews 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 ...
at the Second Stage Theatre
Second Stage Theater is a theater company founded in 1979 by Robyn Goodman and Carole Rothman and located in Manhattan, New York City. It produces both new plays and revivals of contemporary American plays by new playwrights and established wri ...
in New York on October 15, 2013, and opened November 14, 2013.
Finn's frequent collaborators include librettist
A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major litu ...
James Lapine
James Elliot Lapine (born January 10, 1949) is an American stage director, playwright, screenwriter, and librettist. He has won the Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical three times, for ''Into the Woods'', ''Falsettos'', and '' Passion''. He ha ...
, director
Director may refer to:
Literature
* ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine
* ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker
* ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty
Music
* Director (band), an Irish rock band
* ''D ...
Graciela Daniele Graciela Daniele (born December 8, 1939) is an Argentine-American dancer, choreographer, and theatre director.
Biography
Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina to Raúl Daniele and Rosa del Carmen Almoina. After her parents divorced, her mother got a jo ...
and singers/actors Stephen Bogardus, Carolee Carmello
Carolee Ann Carmello (born September 1, 1962) is an American actress best known for her performances in Broadway musicals and for playing the role of Maple LaMarsh on the television series ''Remember WENN'' (1996–1998). She is a three-time T ...
, Stephen DeRosa, Alison Fraser
Alison Fraser (born in Natick, Massachusetts) is an American actress, voice actress and singer who has appeared on Broadway, Off-Broadway, and in television and film. In concert, she has performed at such venues as Carnegie Hall, The White Hou ...
, Keith Byron Kirk
Keith Byron Kirk is an American theater actor, singer and playwright. He is a director of graduate studies for the Theatre Department at the Virginia Commonwealth University.
Education
Kirk attended SUNY (Anderson Scholarship recipient) whe ...
, Norm Lewis
Norm Lewis (born June 2, 1963) is an American actor and singer. He has appeared in Europe, on Broadway, in film, television, recordings and regional theatre. Productions that he has been involved in include '' Dessa Rose'', ''Miss Saigon'', '' T ...
, Michael Rupert
Michael John Rupert (born October 23, 1951, Denver, Colorado) is an American actor, singer, director and composer. In 1968 he made his Broadway debut in '' The Happy Time'' as Bibi Bonnard for which he received a Tony Award nomination and the ...
, Mary Testa
Mary Testa (born June 4, 1955) is an American stage and film actress. She is a three-time Tony Award nominee, for performances in revivals of Leonard Bernstein's '' On the Town'' (1998), '' 42nd Street'' (2001) and'' Oklahoma'' (2019).
Early life ...
, Christian Borle
Christian Dominique Borle (born October 1, 1973) is an American actor and singer. He is a two-time Tony Award winner for his roles as Black Stache in ''Peter and the Starcatcher'' and as William Shakespeare in ''Something Rotten!''. Borle also ...
and Chip Zien
Jerome Herbert "Chip" Zien (born March 20, 1947) is an American actor. He is best known for playing the lead role of the Baker in the original Broadway production of ''Into the Woods'' by Stephen Sondheim. He has appeared in all of the "Marvin ...
.
Finn was one of a selected few composers who contributed to the song cycle ''Stars of David'' which premiered in October 2012 at the Philadelphia Theatre Company
The Philadelphia Theatre Company (PTC) is a theater company located Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1974 as The Philadelphia Company by Robert Hedley and Jean Harrison. Since October 2007, PTC's home has been the new Suzanne Rober ...
. It was based on the Abigail Pogrebin
Abigail Pogrebin (born May 17, 1965) is an American writer, journalist, podcast host for Tablet magazine, and former Director of Jewish Outreach for the Michael Bloomberg 2020 presidential campaign.
Family and early life
Pogrebin was born in N ...
's book '' Stars of David: Prominent Jews Talk About Being Jewish'' and starred Nancy Balbirer, Alex Brightman, Joanna Glushak, Brad Oscar
Brad Oscar (born September 22, 1964) is an American musical theatre actor, known for his Broadway performances in musicals such as '' The Producers'' and ''Jekyll and Hyde''. He has earned two Tony Award nominations: one for ''The Producers'' as ...
and Donna Vivino
Donna Marie Vivino is an American theatre, television, film actress and singer. She is well known for playing Elphaba in the Broadway production of ''Wicked'' and as the original Young Cosette in ''Les Misérables'' on Broadway. She was seen on ...
. Finn also contributed to the Off-Broadway musical ''Mama & her Boys''.
His long-shelved musical, ''The Royal Family of Broadway'', is seeing its first full production at the Barrington Stage Company
Barrington Stage Company (BSC) is a regional theatre company in the Berkshires of Western Massachusetts. It was co-founded in 1995 by Artistic Director Julianne Boyd, and former Managing Director Susan Sperber in Sheffield, Massachusetts.
I ...
with ''Putnam'' librettist Rachel Sheinkin penning the book.
Personal life
In 1992, Finn suffered deteriorating vision, dizziness and partial paralysis and was rushed to the hospital. He had arteriovenous malformation
Arteriovenous malformation is an abnormal connection between arteries and veins, bypassing the capillary system. This vascular anomaly is widely known because of its occurrence in the central nervous system (usually cerebral AVM), but can appea ...
, or AVM, in his brain stem. In September 1992, he had Gamma Knife
Radiosurgery is surgery using radiation, that is, the destruction of precisely selected areas of tissue using ionizing radiation rather than excision with a blade. Like other forms of radiation therapy (also called radiotherapy), it is usually u ...
surgery, which obliterated the AVM. After the surgery, Finn experienced a year of humbled serenity and constantly felt like he had a "new brain." Finn's 1998 musical ''A New Brain
''A New Brain'' is a musical with music and lyrics by William Finn and book by Finn and James Lapine. Though many of Finn's previous musicals were to some extent autobiographical, ''A New Brain'' dealt directly with his own harrowing experience ...
'' is based on his experience with AVM and his subsequent successful surgery.
He is openly gay, and lives with his life partner, Arthur Salvadore, in New York City[Guthmann, Edwar]
"A playwright steeped in loss finds bliss in 'Spelling Bee'"
sfgate.com, February 18, 2006 and Pittsfield, Massachusetts, where he is a composer and writer.
Finn is a member of the NYU Tisch Graduate Program in Musical Theater Writing faculty. He is the co-founder and artistic producer of the Musical Theatre Lab at the Barrington Stage Company
Barrington Stage Company (BSC) is a regional theatre company in the Berkshires of Western Massachusetts. It was co-founded in 1995 by Artistic Director Julianne Boyd, and former Managing Director Susan Sperber in Sheffield, Massachusetts.
I ...
in Pittsfield, Massachusetts
Pittsfield is the largest city and the county seat of Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the principal city of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Berkshire County. Pittsfield ...
, established in 2006.
Writing credits
* ''In Trousers
''In Trousers'' is a musical theatre, musical, which premiered Off-Broadway in 1979, with book, music and lyrics by William Finn. It is the first in a trilogy of musicals, followed by ''March of the Falsettos'' and then ''Falsettoland''.
Concept ...
'' (1979, revised 1985) – 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 ...
musical – composer, lyricist, writer
* ''March of the Falsettos
''March of the Falsettos'' is a 1981 musical with a book, lyrics, and music by William Finn. It is the second in a trilogy of musicals, preceded by '' In Trousers'' and followed by '' Falsettoland''. ''March of the Falsettos'' and ''Falsettoland'' ...
'' (1981) – 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 ...
musical – composer, lyricist, writer
* ''America Kicks Up Its Heels'' (1983) – 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 ...
musical – composer, lyricist (book by Charles Rubin) - an earlier version of ''Romance in Hard Times
''Romance in Hard Times'' is a musical by William Finn. It ran briefly Off-Broadway in 1989 at the Public Theater.
Productions
An earlier version of the same show, '' America Kicks Up Its Heels'', received two staged readings from Playwrights Hor ...
''
* ''Dangerous Games'' (1989) – 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 ...
musical – lyricist (music by Ástor Piazzolla
Astor Pantaleón Piazzolla (, ; March 11, 1921 – July 4, 1992) was an Argentine tango composer, bandoneon player, and arranger. His works revolutionized the traditional tango into a new style termed ''nuevo tango'', incorporating elements from ...
, book by Graciela Daniele Graciela Daniele (born December 8, 1939) is an Argentine-American dancer, choreographer, and theatre director.
Biography
Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina to Raúl Daniele and Rosa del Carmen Almoina. After her parents divorced, her mother got a jo ...
and Jim Lewis)
* ''Romance in Hard Times
''Romance in Hard Times'' is a musical by William Finn. It ran briefly Off-Broadway in 1989 at the Public Theater.
Productions
An earlier version of the same show, '' America Kicks Up Its Heels'', received two staged readings from Playwrights Hor ...
'' (1989, revised 2015) – 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 ...
musical – composer, lyricist, writer
* ''Falsettoland
''Falsettoland'' is a musical with a book by James Lapine and music and lyrics by William Finn.
Following '' In Trousers'' and '' March of the Falsettos'', it is the third in a trio of one-act musicals centering on Marvin, his wife Trina, his p ...
'' (1990) – 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 ...
musical – composer, lyricist, book by James Lapine
James Elliot Lapine (born January 10, 1949) is an American stage director, playwright, screenwriter, and librettist. He has won the Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical three times, for ''Into the Woods'', ''Falsettos'', and '' Passion''. He ha ...
* ''Falsettos
''Falsettos'' is a sung-through musical with a book by William Finn and James Lapine, and music and lyrics by Finn. The musical consists of '' March of the Falsettos'' (1981) and '' Falsettoland'' (1990), the last two installments in a trio o ...
'' (1992) – 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 ...
musical – composer, lyricist, co-writer with James Lapine
James Elliot Lapine (born January 10, 1949) is an American stage director, playwright, screenwriter, and librettist. He has won the Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical three times, for ''Into the Woods'', ''Falsettos'', and '' Passion''. He ha ...
; includes ''March of the Falsettos'' and ''Falsettoland''
* ''The Sisters Rosensweig
''The Sisters Rosensweig'' is a play by Wendy Wasserstein. The play focuses on three Jewish-American sisters and their lives. It "broke theatrical ground by concentrating on a non-traditional cast of three middle-aged women." Wasserstein received ...
'' (1993) – 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 ...
play – composer and lyricist for the song "Scarlet Pimpernel"
* ''A New Brain
''A New Brain'' is a musical with music and lyrics by William Finn and book by Finn and James Lapine. Though many of Finn's previous musicals were to some extent autobiographical, ''A New Brain'' dealt directly with his own harrowing experience ...
'' (1998) – 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 ...
musical – composer, lyricist, co-writer with James Lapine
James Elliot Lapine (born January 10, 1949) is an American stage director, playwright, screenwriter, and librettist. He has won the Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical three times, for ''Into the Woods'', ''Falsettos'', and '' Passion''. He ha ...
* ''Love's Fire
''Love's Fire'' is a collection of short plays by American writers based on Shakespeare's Sonnets. It was commissioned and premiered by The Acting Company in its 1997-98 season.
Plays
*"Bitter Sauce" by Eric Bogosian, inspired by Sonnet 118
* ...
'' (1998) – playwright, composer and lyricist for the song "Painting You"
* ''Muscle'' (2001) - O'Rourke Center for the Performing Arts, Truman College
Harry S Truman College, (called Truman College and formerly called Mayfair College), is a part of City Colleges of Chicago. It offers multiple 2-year associate degrees, as well as occupational training in a number of fields. Located at 1145 W ...
- composer (lyrics by Ellen Fitzhugh, book by James Lapine)[Jones, Kenneth]
"Lapine, Finn and Fitzhugh Flex Their Muscle June 13-July 22 in Chi"
playbill.com, June 13, 2001
* '' Elegies: A Song Cycle'' (2003) – 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 ...
revue – composer, lyricist
* ''The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
''The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee'' is a musical comedy with music and lyrics by William Finn, based on a book by Rachel Sheinkin, conceived by Rebecca Feldman with additional material by Jay Reiss. The show centers on a fictional spe ...
'' (2004) - 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 ...
musical transferred to 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 ...
(2005) – composer, lyricist (book by Rachel Sheinkin)
* '' Make Me a Song'' (2007) – 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 ...
revue – composer, lyricist
* ''Little Miss Sunshine
''Little Miss Sunshine'' is a 2006 American tragicomedy road film and the feature film directorial debut of the husband–wife team of Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris. The screenplay was written by first-time writer Michael Arndt. The film sta ...
'' (2011) – La Jolla Playhouse
La Jolla Playhouse is a not-for-profit, professional theatre on the campus of the University of California, San Diego.
History
La Jolla Playhouse was founded in 1947 by Gregory Peck, Dorothy McGuire, and Mel Ferrer. In 1983, it was revived under ...
musical and then 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 ...
, Second Stage Theatre
Second Stage Theater is a theater company founded in 1979 by Robyn Goodman and Carole Rothman and located in Manhattan, New York City. It produces both new plays and revivals of contemporary American plays by new playwrights and established wri ...
, (2013) – composer, lyricist (books by James Lapine)
* ''The Royal Family of Broadway
''The Royal Family of Broadway'' is a 1930 American pre-Code comedy film directed by George Cukor and Cyril Gardner and released by Paramount Pictures. The screenplay was adapted by Herman J. Mankiewicz and Gertrude Purcell from the play ''The ...
'' (2018) -- Barrington Stage Company
Barrington Stage Company (BSC) is a regional theatre company in the Berkshires of Western Massachusetts. It was co-founded in 1995 by Artistic Director Julianne Boyd, and former Managing Director Susan Sperber in Sheffield, Massachusetts.
I ...
(new book by Rachel Sheinkin, original book by James Lapine)
Notable Songs:
* "Anytime (I Am There)"
* "The Baseball Game"
* "Change"
* "Four Jews in a Room Bitching"
* "Goodbye"
* "Gordo's Law of Genetics"
* "Heart and Music"
* "Holding to the Ground"
* "How Marvin Eats His Breakfast"
* "Sailing"
* "I Have Found"
* "The I Love You Song"
* "Infinite Joy"
* "Just Go"
* "Monica and Mark"
* "Set Those Sails"
* "Song of Innocence and Experience"
* "What Would I Do"
* "What More Can I say"
* "When the Earth Stopped Turning"
* "Whizzer Going Down"
* "Unlikely Lovers"
* "Republicans"
Awards and nominations
See also
*List of notable brain tumor patients
A brain tumor is an abnormal growth of cells within the brain or inside the skull, and can be cancerous (malignant) or non-cancerous (benign). Just over half of all primary brain tumors are malignant; the rest are benign, though they may still be ...
References
External links
William Finn
at the Internet Off Broadway Database
*
*
MusicalTalk Interview with, and discussion on
William Finn.
falsettos.net
''The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Finn, William
1952 births
Living people
American musical theatre composers
American musical theatre lyricists
Broadway composers and lyricists
LGBT composers
American LGBT musicians
Jewish American composers
Jewish American songwriters
LGBT Jews
Musicians from Boston
Tony Award winners
Williams College alumni
Writers from Boston
New York University faculty
Natick High School alumni
LGBT people from Massachusetts
21st-century American composers
20th-century American composers
21st-century American Jews
20th-century American Jews