Kirsten J. Childs is an American playwright,

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 ...

, and former actress.

Early life and performing career

Childs was born in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. Her parents were schoolteachers. Her younger brother is the jazz musician

Billy Childs William Edward Childs (born March 8, 1957) is an award-winning American composer, jazz pianist, arranger and conductor from Los Angeles, California, United States. Early life When he was sixteen he attended the Community School of the Performing ...

. She began her theatrical career in the late 1970s as a

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 ...

performer. In 1977

Bob Fosse Robert Louis Fosse (; June 23, 1927 – September 23, 1987) was an American actor, choreographer, dancer, and film and stage director. He directed and choreographed musical works on stage and screen, including the stage musicals ''The Pajam ...

cast her in the lead role of Velma Kelly in the first national tour of ''

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

''. She went on to appear in productions of ''

Dancin' ''Dancin'' is a musical revue created, directed, and choreographed by Bob Fosse and originally produced on Broadway in 1978. The plotless, dance-driven revue is a tribute to the art of dance, and the music is a collection of mostly American song ...

'', ''

Jerry's Girls ''Jerry's Girls'' is a musical revue based on the songs of composer/ lyricist Jerry Herman. Production history Created by Herman and Larry Alford in 1981, the show originated as a modest presentation at Onstage, a nightclub located in the Theater ...

'', and ''

Sweet Charity ''Sweet Charity'' is a musical with music by Cy Coleman, lyrics by Dorothy Fields and book by Neil Simon. It was directed and choreographed for Broadway by Bob Fosse starring his wife and muse Gwen Verdon alongside John McMartin. It is based on ...

'' in the 1980s. Primarily a stage actress, her one major film role was the 1989 comedy '' See No Evil, Hear No Evil'', in which she played the long-suffering sister of

Richard Pryor Richard Franklin Lennox Thomas Pryor Sr. (December 1, 1940 – December 10, 2005) was an American stand-up comedian and actor. He reached a broad audience with his trenchant observations and storytelling style, and is widely regarded as on ...

's character.

Later writing career

Childs subsequently turned to writing her own theatrical productions, beginning with the semi-autobiographical work ''The Bubbly Black Girl Sheds Her Chameleon Skin'' (2000), an

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 which received an

Obie Award The Obie Awards or Off-Broadway Theater Awards are annual awards originally given by ''The Village Voice'' newspaper to theatre artists and groups in New York City. In September 2014, the awards were jointly presented and administered with the A ...

. Her other musicals include ''Miracle Brothers'' (2005), ''Funked Up Fairy Tales'' (2007), and '' Bella: An American Tall Tale'' (2016), a winner of the

Weston Playhouse Weston Theater Company (formerly known as Weston Playhouse Theatre Company) is a theater company in Weston, Vermont, United States of America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or ...

New Musical Award. Childs has also served as an assistant professor in

New York University 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 ar ...

' Graduate Musical Theatre Writing program.

References

External links

New York University Tisch School of the Arts
– Profile
Broadway World
– Profile * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Childs, Kirsten Living people American women dramatists and playwrights 21st-century American dramatists and playwrights 20th-century American actresses African-American dramatists and playwrights African-American actresses Actresses from Los Angeles Writers from Los Angeles American stage actresses American film actresses Tisch School of the Arts faculty Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century American actresses