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 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 ...

three times, for ''

Into the Woods ''Into the Woods'' is a 1987 musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by James Lapine. The musical intertwines the plots of several Brothers Grimm fairy tales, exploring the consequences of the characters' wishes and quests. T ...

'', '' Falsettos'', and '' Passion''. He has frequently collaborated with

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 ...

and William Finn.

Early life

Lapine was born in

Mansfield, Ohio Mansfield is a city in and the county seat of Richland County, Ohio, United States. Located midway between Columbus and Cleveland via Interstate 71, it is part of Northeast Ohio region in the western foothills of the Allegheny Plateau. The ci ...

, the son of Lillian (Feld) and David Sanford Lapine. He graduated from

Franklin and Marshall College Franklin & Marshall College (F&M) is a private liberal arts college in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. It employs 175 full-time faculty members and has a student body of approximately 2,400 full-time students. It was founded upon the merger of Frankli ...

in 1971. Though he did not actively pursue theatre in childhood, Lapine did play Jack in an elementary school production of

Jack and the Beanstalk "Jack and the Beanstalk" is an English fairy tale. It appeared as "The Story of Jack Spriggins and the Enchanted Bean" in 1734 4th edition On Commons and as Benjamin Tabart's moralized "The History of Jack and the Bean-Stalk" in 1807. Henry Co ...

Career

Lapine did graduate study in photography and graphic design at the

California Institute of the Arts The California Institute of the Arts (CalArts) is a private art university in Santa Clarita, California. It was incorporated in 1961 as the first degree-granting institution of higher learning in the US created specifically for students of both ...

, where he received an MFA in 1973."Stars Over Broadway, James Lapine"
pbs.com, accessed March 10, 2011 He was a photographer,

graphic design Graphic design is a profession, academic discipline and applied art whose activity consists in projecting visual communications intended to transmit specific messages to social groups, with specific objectives. Graphic design is an interdiscip ...

er, and architectural preservationist, and taught design at the Yale School of Drama. At

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the w ...

he wrote an adaptation of and directed

Gertrude Stein Gertrude Stein (February 3, 1874 – July 27, 1946) was an American novelist, poet, playwright, and art collector. Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in the Allegheny West neighborhood and raised in Oakland, California, Stein moved to Paris ...

's ''Photograph'', which was produced

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 th ...

at the Open Space in SoHo in 1977. He went on to write and direct Off-Broadway plays and musicals, directing composer William Finn's '' March of the Falsettos'' in 1981; the musical won the

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 newsp ...

for Best Off-Broadway Play.

Frank Rich Frank Hart Rich Jr. (born 1949) is an American essayist and liberal op-ed columnist, who held various positions within ''The New York Times'' from 1980 to 2011. He has also produced television series and documentaries for HBO. Rich is curren ...

, 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 ...

'' theater critic, noted "Mr. Lapine's wildly resourceful staging". In 1982, Lapine was introduced to Stephen Sondheim.Secrest, pp. 326-341 The pair developed ''

Sunday in the Park with George ''Sunday in the Park with George'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by James Lapine. It was inspired by the French pointillist painter Georges Seurat's painting ''A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande J ...

:'' Lapine wrote the book and directed; Sondheim created the music and lyrics. The play was first produced

in 1983, and moved to Broadway in 1984. Their next musical was ''

'', which premiered on Broadway in 1987, for which Lapine won the Tony Award and the

Drama Desk Award The Drama Desk Award is an annual prize recognizing excellence in New York theatre. First bestowed in 1955 as the Vernon Rice Award, the prize initially honored Off-Broadway productions, as well as Off-off-Broadway, and those in the vicinity. F ...

for Best Book of a Musical. They next collaborated on the musical '' Passion'', for which Lapine wrote the book and directed. The musical ran on Broadway in 1994 and in the West End in 1996, receiving a nomination for the

Olivier Award The Laurence Olivier Awards, or simply the Olivier Awards, are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognise excellence in professional theatre in London at an annual ceremony in the capital. The awards were originally known a ...

for Best New Musical, and winning the Tony Award for Best Musical and the

, among other awards and nominations. Their last collaboration was the revue '' Sondheim on Sondheim. P''resented on Broadway in 2010, it won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Musical Revue. In 1992, Lapine returned to working with William Finn, and wrote the book and directed the Broadway musical '' Falsettos''. Lapine wrote the book and Finn composed the music for ''

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 ...

'', which premiered Off-Broadway in 1998. They later worked together on Finn's musical '' The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee'', which premiered

in 2005 and later moved to Broadway. The ''New York Times'' reviewer wrote of the ''Spelling Bee'' Broadway transfer that "Mr. Lapine has sharpened all the musical's elements without betraying its appealing modesty." The latest Finn-Lapine work is ''

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 s ...

'', which premiered in 2011 at the La Jolla Playhouse in California.Jones, Kenneth
"Road Trip! Finn & Lapine's 'Little Miss Sunshine' Musical Begins World-Premiere Run in CA"
Playbill.com, February 15, 2011 Lapine has also directed dramas, including '' Dirty Blonde'', which ran Off-Broadway and then on Broadway in 2000. Conceived by Claudia Shear and Lapine and written by Shear with direction by Lapine, Ben Brantley called Lapine's direction "stylish and compassionate". Lapine was nominated for the Tony Award and Drama Desk Award for Best Direction of a Play. Lapine directed the 2012 Broadway revival of '' Annie''. He wrote a stage adaption of the Moss Hart autobiography '' Act One'', which premiered on Broadway at the Lincoln Center Vivian Beaumont Theater in April 2014. Lapine wrote the book for and directed the new musical ''

Flying Over Sunset ''Flying Over Sunset'' is a musical with music by Tom Kitt, lyrics by Michael Korie, and book by James Lapine. The musical is a fictional account of a meeting between Aldous Huxley, Clare Boothe Luce and Cary Grant, who all used the drug LSD. P ...

''. A staged singing/reading was presented at the Vineyard Arts Project (Martha's Vineyard) in August 2015. The composer is Tom Kitt and lyrics are by Michael Korie. The musical premiered on Broadway at the Vivian Beaumont Theater on November 11, 2021 in previews with the official opening scheduled for December 13. The production was originally scheduled to open on April 16, 2020, but was postponed due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

. In 1991, Lapine directed his first film, '' Impromptu'', which has a screenplay by his wife, Sarah Kernochan. The story revolves around the romance of George Sand and Chopin, and stars Judy Davis and Hugh Grant. He followed with '' Life With Mikey,'' with Michael J. Fox for Disney. In 1993, he directed ''Passion'', starring the original Broadway cast, for television. He directed the film version of Anne Tyler's novel '' Earthly Possessions'', starring Susan Sarandon and Stephen Dorff, for HBO in 1999. He wrote the screenplay for Disney's film version of ''

'' (2014), directed by Rob Marshall. He wrote and directed the film '' Custody'' in 2016 with Viola Davis, Hayden Panettiere, and Catalina Sandino Moreno. Lapine received the 2015 Mr. Abbott Award at a special gala on October 19, 2015. The award is presented by the Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation "in recognition of a lifetime of exceptional achievement in the theatre." Lapine's book ''Putting It Together: How Stephen Sondheim and I Created Sunday in the Park with George'' was released on August 3, 2021, and reviewed by

Alan Cumming Alan Cumming (born 27 January 1965) is a British actor. His London stage appearances include ''Hamlet'', the Maniac in '' Accidental Death of an Anarchist'' (for which he received an Olivier Award), the lead in '' Bent'', The National Theatre ...

in a cover story in the ''

New York Times Book Review ''The New York Times Book Review'' (''NYTBR'') is a weekly paper-magazine supplement to the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times'' in which current non-fiction and fiction books are reviewed. It is one of the most influential and widely rea ...

'' on August 8, 2021.

Personal life

Lapine is married to American screenwriter and director Sarah Kernochan."Sarah Kernochan biography"
TCM.com, accessed March 10, 2011 The couple's daughter is food writer Phoebe Lapine. James Lapine's niece, Sarna Lapine, directed the 2016 concert version and the 2017 Broadway revival of ''

''.

Theater

;As a director, Lapine has worked on: *''Photograph'' by Gertrude Stein (1977) *'' Twelve Dreams'' (1978; 1981; 1995) - 1981

Public Theater The Public Theater is a New York City arts organization founded as the Shakespeare Workshop in 1954 by Joseph Papp, with the intention of showcasing the works of up-and-coming playwrights and performers.Epstein, Helen. ''Joe Papp: An American L ...

"'Twelve Dreams' Listing, 1981"
InternetOff-BroadwayDatabase.com, accessed March 10, 2011 *''Table Settings'' (1979; 1980) - Playwrights HorizonsEder, Richard
"'Table Settings,' a Comedy Of a Modern Jewish Family; The Cast"
''The New York Times'', March 24, 1979"'Table Settings' Listing, 1979"
InternetOff-BroadwayDatabase.com, accessed March 10, 2011"'Table Settings' Listing, 1980"
InternetOff-BroadwayDatabase.com, accessed March 10, 2011 *'' March of the Falsettos'' (1981) - composed by William Finn *''

A Midsummer Night's Dream ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' is a comedy written by William Shakespeare 1595 or 1596. The play is set in Athens, and consists of several subplots that revolve around the marriage of Theseus and Hippolyta. One subplot involves a conflict a ...

'' (1982) - written by

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

*''

'' (1984) - composed by

*'' Merrily We Roll Along'' (1985, La Jolla Playhouse) - composed by Stephen Sondheim *''

'' (1987; 1997; 2002) - composed by Stephen Sondheim *''

The Winter's Tale ''The Winter's Tale'' is a play by William Shakespeare originally published in the First Folio of 1623. Although it was grouped among the comedies, many modern editors have relabelled the play as one of Shakespeare's late romances. Some cri ...

'' (1989) - written by William Shakespeare *'' Falsettoland'' (1990) - composed by William Finn *'' Falsettos'' (1992; 2016) - composed by William Finn *'' Passion'' (1994) - composed by Stephen Sondheim *''Luck, Pluck, and Virtue'' (1995) - La Jolla Playhouse and Atlantic Theatre CompanyCanby, Vincent
"Theater Review: A Morality Tale About Everybody's Fall Guy"
''The New York Times'', April 5, 1995 *'' Golden Child'' (1996; 1998) - written by

David Henry Hwang David Henry Hwang (born August 11, 1957) is an American playwright, librettist, screenwriter, and theater professor at Columbia University in New York City. He has won three Obie Awards for his plays '' FOB'', '' Golden Child'', and '' Yel ...

*''

The Diary of Anne Frank ''The Diary of a Young Girl'', also known as ''The Diary of Anne Frank'', is a book of the writings from the Dutch-language diary kept by Anne Frank while she was in hiding for two years with her family during the Nazi occupation of the Netherl ...

'' (1997) - written by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett *'' Der Glöckner von Notre Dame'' (1999, original Berlin version) - composed by

Alan Menken Alan Irwin Menken (born July 22, 1949) is an American composer, best known for his scores and songs for films produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios. His scores and songs for '' The Little Mermaid'' (1989), '' Beauty and the Beast'' (1991), ' ...

and Stephen Schwartz *'' Dirty Blonde'' (2000) - written by Claudia Shear *'' Amour'' (2002) - composed by Michel Legrand *''Fran's Bed'' (2003; 2005) -

Long Wharf Theatre Long Wharf Theatre is a nonprofit institution in New Haven, Connecticut, a pioneer in the not-for-profit regional theatre movement, the originator of several prominent plays, and a venue where many internationally known actors have appeared. Fo ...

;Klein, Alvin
"Theater Review: She's Taken to Her Bed, But No One's Sure Why"
''The New York Times'', November 9, 2003 Playwrights Horizons"'Fran's Bed' Listing, 2005"
InternetOff-BroadwayDatabase.com, accessed March 10, 2011 *''Modern Orthodox'' (2004) *'' The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee'' (2005) - composed by William Finn *''

King Lear ''King Lear'' is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare. It is based on the mythological Leir of Britain. King Lear, in preparation for his old age, divides his power and land between two of his daughters. He becomes destitute and insane a ...

'' (2007) - written by William Shakespeare *'' Sondheim on Sondheim'' (2010) - musical revue of Stephen Sondheim work *''

'' (2011, La Jolla Playhouse; 2013) - composed by William Finn *'' Annie'' (2012) - Music by Charles Strouse, lyrics by Martin Charnin, and book by Thomas Meehan *'' Act One'' (2014) - Broadway, Lincoln Center *''Mrs. Miller Does Her Thing'' (2016) - Signature Theatre (Virginia)"Mrs Miller Does Her Thing' media gallery, cast, and creative team, 2016"
Sigtheatre.org, accessed March 6, 2016 *''

'' (2021) ;Writer, musicals He has written the libretti for the following musicals: *''

'' - 1984 *''

'' - 1987 *'' Falsettoland'' - 1990 *'' Falsettos'' - 1992 *'' Passion'' - 1994 *'' Der Glöckner von Notre Dame'' - 1999 (original

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitu ...

version) *''

'' (

) - 1999 *''

'' - 2011 *''

'' - 2021 ;Writer, plays *''Table Settings'' - 1979 and 1980 at Playwrights Horizons *'' Twelve Dreams'' - 1978; 1981

*''Luck, Pluck, and Virtue'' - 1995, La Jolla Playhouse and Atlantic Theatre Company, both starring

Neil Patrick Harris Neil Patrick Harris (born June 15, 1973) is an American actor, singer, writer, producer, and television host. Primarily known for his comedic television roles and dramatic and musical stage roles, he has received multiple accolades throughout ...

*''The Moment When'' - 2000, Playwrights Horizons, featuring

Mark Ruffalo Mark Alan Ruffalo (; born November 22, 1967) is an American actor and producer best known for playing Bruce Banner / Hulk since 2012 in the superhero franchise of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and in the television series '' She-Hulk: Attorne ...

and Phyllis NewmanWeber, Bruce
As Life Fatefully Unspools at a Yada-Yada Cocktail Party"
''The New York Times'', March 22, 2000 *''Fran's Bed'' - 2003,

, starring

Mia Farrow Maria de Lourdes Villiers "Mia" Farrow ( ; born February 9, 1945) is an American actress. She first gained notice for her role as Allison MacKenzie in the television soap opera '' Peyton Place'' and gained further recognition for her subsequent ...

; 2005 Playwrights Horizons *'' Act One'' - 2014, Broadway, Lincoln Center *''Mrs. Miller Does Her Thing'' - 2016, Signature Theatre (Virginia), featuring Debra Monk

Film

Published works

*''Putting It Together: How Stephen Sondheim and I Created Sunday in the Park with George'' (2021)

Awards and nominations

Notes

References

* Haagensen, Erik J. (1994). "The Passion of James Lapine". ''Showmusic: The Musical Theatre Magazine''. pp. 11-16. * Secrest, Meryle (1999). ''Stephen Sondheim: A Life'', Random House.

External links

* * *
TonyAwards.com Interview with James LapineOfficial Site of James Lapine
* James Lapine Papers. Yale Collection of American Literature, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library. {{DEFAULTSORT:Lapine, James 1949 births 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American dramatists and playwrights 21st-century American male writers American male dramatists and playwrights American male screenwriters American musical theatre directors American musical theatre librettists Broadway theatre directors California Institute of the Arts alumni Drama Desk Award winners Franklin & Marshall College alumni Living people People from Mansfield, Ohio Pulitzer Prize for Drama winners Screenwriters from Connecticut Screenwriters from New York (state) Screenwriters from Ohio Tony Award winners Yale University faculty