David Joel Zippel (born May 17, 1954) is an American

musical theatre Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movemen ...

lyricist A lyricist is a songwriter who writes lyrics (the spoken words), as opposed to a composer, who writes the song's music which may include but not limited to the melody, harmony, arrangement and accompaniment. Royalties A lyricist's income ...

, director, and producer.

Early life and education

Zippel was born and raised in

Easton, Pennsylvania Easton is a city in, and the county seat of, Northampton County, Pennsylvania, United States. The city's population was 28,127 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Easton is located at the confluence of the Lehigh River, a river tha ...

in the

Lehigh Valley The Lehigh Valley (), known colloquially as The Valley, is a geographic region formed by the Lehigh River in Lehigh County and Northampton County in eastern Pennsylvania. It is a component valley of the Great Appalachian Valley bound to the no ...

region of eastern

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. Falling in love with theater as a child, Zippel first articulated his life's ambition to become a lyricist and director in junior high school. As an undergraduate at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

, he contributed lyrics to an equity production of "a bizarre political musical" called ''Rotunda'', which had a brief run in Washington, D.C. before graduating with a B.A. in 1976. Mindful of the difficulties of achieving success in theater, Zippel first obtained a J.D. degree from

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class ...

, graduating in the class of 1979. At Harvard, Zippel continued to pursue his ambition of writing several pop songs with singer Pamala Stanley that appeared on her 1979 debut album, ''This Is Hot'', and collaborating on three songs with

Wally Harper Wally Harper (c. 1941 – October 8, 2004) was an American musical director, composer, conductor, dance arranger, and musical supervisor for many Broadway and Off-Broadway productions. For three decades from the mid-1970s, he worked with Barbara ...

Barbara Cook Barbara Cook (October 25, 1927 – August 8, 2017) was an American actress and singer who first came to prominence in the 1950s as the lead in the original Broadway musicals '' Plain and Fancy'' (1955), ''Candide'' (1956) and ''The Music Man'' ( ...

's musical director, whose performance of the songs at

Carnegie Hall Carnegie Hall ( ) is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is at 881 Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh Avenue, occupying the east side of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street (Manhattan), 56th and 57th Street (Manhatta ...

in 1980 marked Zippel's own New York theatrical debut.

Career

Theatre

As lyricist/writer *'' City of Angels'' (1989), an original musical with book by

Larry Gelbart Larry Simon Gelbart (February 25, 1928 – September 11, 2009) was an American television writer, playwright, screenwriter, director and author, most famous as a creator and producer of the television series ''M*A*S*H'', and as co-writer of the B ...

and music by

Cy Coleman Cy Coleman (born Seymour Kaufman; June 14, 1929 – November 18, 2004) was an American composer, songwriter, and jazz pianist. Life and career Coleman was born Seymour Kaufman in New York City, United States, to Eastern European Jewish parents ...

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 ...

for Best Musical, Best Score, Best Book, Best Actor (

James Naughton James Naughton (born December 6, 1945) is an American actor and director. He is best known as Michael Bower on '' Who's the Boss?'' (1984-1992) and was also notable for his earlier role as the astronaut Pete Burke in the 1974 single-season telev ...

) Best Featured Actress (

Randy Graff Randy Lynn Graff (born May 23, 1955) is an American actress and singer. Career Graff was born in Brooklyn, New York City and is a graduate of Wagner College. She is a cousin of actors Todd Graff and Ilene Graff. Graff has been in feature films ...

), and Best Set Design ( Robin Wagner);

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 ...

; Olivier Awards for Best New Musical (1994), Best Musical Revival (2015); The Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Musical (1993) *''

The Goodbye Girl ''The Goodbye Girl'' is a 1977 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Herbert Ross, written by Neil Simon and starring Richard Dreyfuss, Marsha Mason, Quinn Cummings and Paul Benedict. The film, produced by Ray Stark, centers on an od ...

'' (1993), a musical based on

Neil Simon Marvin Neil Simon (July 4, 1927 – August 26, 2018) was an American playwright, screenwriter and author. He wrote more than 30 plays and nearly the same number of movie screenplays, mostly film adaptations of his plays. He has received mo ...

's 1977 screenplay, with music by Marvin Hamlisch. Nominated for five Tony Awards including Best Musical; Drama Desk Award nomination for Outstanding Lyrics. * ''Hercules'' (2019), an adaptation of the Disney animated film of the same name, with music by Alan Menken. *'' The Woman in White'' (2004), an adaptation of the novel by

Wilkie Collins William Wilkie Collins (8 January 1824 – 23 September 1889) was an English novelist and playwright known especially for ''The Woman in White (novel), The Woman in White'' (1859), a mystery novel and early "sensation novel", and for ''The Moons ...

, with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, book by Charlotte Jones. The music and lyrics received a Tony Award nomination for Best Original Score. The show was nominated for five Laurence Olivier Awards, including Best Musical. * ''Liza's at the Palace'' (2009), script co-written with

Liza Minnelli Liza May Minnelli ( ; born March 12, 1946) is an American actress, singer, dancer, and choreographer. Known for her commanding stage presence and powerful alto singing voice, Minnelli is among a rare group of performers awarded an Emmy, Grammy ...

, special lyrics with music by

John Kander John Harold Kander (born March 18, 1927) is an American composer, known largely for his work in the musical theater. As part of the songwriting team Kander and Ebb (with lyricist Fred Ebb), Kander wrote the scores for 15 musicals, including ''Cab ...

and

Billy Stritch Billy Stritch (born February 12, 1962, in Houston, Texas) is an American composer, arranger, vocalist, and jazz pianist. For many years, he was best known as a "confidant", music director, and piano player for Liza Minnelli. Early life and care ...

; Tony Award for Best Special Theatrical Event (2009) * ''Cinderella'' (2020), a new adaptation of the classic story; with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, book by Emerald Fennell As conceiver/director *''Princesses'' (2004), loosely inspired by ''

A Little Princess ''A Little Princess'' is a children's novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett, first published as a book in 1905. It is an expanded version of the short story "Sara Crewe: or, What Happened at Miss Minchin's", which was serialized in ''St. Nicholas Ma ...

'' by

Frances Hodgson Burnett Frances Eliza Hodgson Burnett (24 November 1849 – 29 October 1924) was a British-American novelist and playwright. She is best known for the three children's novels ''Little Lord Fauntleroy'' (published in 1885–1886), '' A Little ...

. Zippel conceived and directed; book by Bill and Cheri Steinkellner, music by

Matthew Wilder Matthew Wilder ( Weiner; January 24, 1953) is an American musician, singer, songwriter and record producer. In early 1984, his single " Break My Stride" hit No. 2 on the ''Cash Box'' chart and No. 5 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. He also wrote t ...

. The musical was produced at the 5th Avenue Theatre,

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

, Washington, in August 2005, after a "developmental" production at

Goodspeed Musicals Goodspeed Musicals is a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation and advancement of musical theater and the creation of new works, located in East Haddam, Connecticut. A distinctive feature of the view from the Connecticut River, the ...

' Norma Terris Theatre in fall 2004. *''The Best Is Yet To Come: The Music of Cy Coleman'', Indy Award for Best Direction (2010); Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Revue (2012) *''They're Playing His Songs: The Music of Marvin Hamlisch'' (2013) *''The Importance of Being Earnest (In New York)'' (2015) As producer *'' Spamilton: An American Parody'' (2016),

Gerard Alessandrini Gerard Alessandrini (born November 27, 1953) is an American playwright, parodist, actor and theatre director best known for creating the award-winning off-Broadway musical theatre parody revue '' Forbidden Broadway''. He is the recipient of ...

's off-Broadway spoof of

Lin-Manuel Miranda Lin-Manuel Miranda (; born January 16, 1980) is an American songwriter, actor, playwright and filmmaker. He is known for creating the Broadway musicals ''Hamilton'' (2015) and ''In the Heights'' (2005), and the soundtracks for the Disney animate ...

's Broadway musical ''

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

'', Off-Broadway Alliance Award for Best Unique Theatrical Experience (2017); MAC Award for Show of the Year (2017)

Film and television

As lyricist/writer * Theme song for ''

Veronica's Closet ''Veronica's Closet'' is an American sitcom television series created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, that aired on NBC for three seasons, from September 25, 1997, to December 7, 2000. The show stars Kirstie Alley as Veronica "Ronnie" Chase, ...

'' (1997), a sit-com starring Kirstie Alley Zippel contributed lyrics to ''

The Swan Princess ''The Swan Princess'' is a 1994 American animated fantasy film based on the ballet ''Swan Lake''. Featuring Michelle Nicastro, Howard McGillin, Jack Palance, John Cleese, Steven Wright, Sandy Duncan, and Steve Vinovich, the film is directed by ...

'' (1994) and provided the singing voice of Jean-Bob the Frog. He also wrote the lyrics for the

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

films ''

Hercules Hercules (, ) is the Roman equivalent of the Greek divine hero Heracles, son of Jupiter and the mortal Alcmena. In classical mythology, Hercules is famous for his strength and for his numerous far-ranging adventures. The Romans adapted the Gr ...

'' (1997), with music by Alan Menken (the song "

Go the Distance "Go the Distance" is a song from Disney's 1997 animated feature film, ''Hercules''. It was written by composer Alan Menken and lyricist David Zippel, and originally recorded by American actor Roger Bart in his film role as the singing voice of He ...

" received an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

nomination for

Best Original Song This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...

), and ''

Mulan Hua Mulan () is a legendary folk heroine from the Northern and Southern dynasties era (4th to 6th century CE) of Chinese history. According to legend, Mulan took her aged father's place in the conscription for the army by disguising herself as ...

'' (1998), with music by

. The music and lyrics received an

nomination for Best Musical or Comedy Score and an

Annie Award The Annie Awards are accolades which the Los Angeles branch of the International Animated Film Association, ASIFA-Hollywood, has presented each year since 1972 to recognize excellence in animation shown in cinema and television. Originally desi ...

nomination for Music in an Animated Feature Production. He was in his agent Richard Kraft's film ''

Finding Kraftland ''Finding Kraftland'' is a 2006 independent documentary from Richard Kraft productions starring Stacey J. Aswad, Richard Kraft, and Nicholas Kraft. It premiered at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival on January 27, 2006 and continued to ...

''. ''Pamela's First Musical'', written with Coleman and

Wendy Wasserstein Wendy Wasserstein (October 18, 1950 – January 30, 2006) was an American playwright. She was an Andrew Dickson White Professor-at-Large at Cornell University. She received the Tony Award for Best Play and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1989 ...

, based on Wasserstein's children's book, received its world premiere in a concert staging at Town Hall in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

on May 18, 2008. In 2011, Zippel wrote the lyrics to the song "The Star-Spangled Man" featured in the film '' Captain America: The First Avenger''. Alan Menken composed the music for the song, which was an affectionate send-up of 1940s Irving Berlin songs.

References

External links

* *
David Zippel profile
at Filmreference {{DEFAULTSORT:Zippel, David 1954 births Living people American lyricists American musical theatre lyricists Animation composers Annie Award winners Broadway composers and lyricists Easton Area High School alumni University of Pennsylvania alumni Harvard Law School alumni Musicians from Easton, Pennsylvania Jewish American composers Jewish American songwriters Songwriters from Pennsylvania Tony Award winners Walt Disney Animation Studios people