Chad Beguelin (born September 24, 1969) is an American

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes play (theatre), plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between Character (arts), characters and is intended for Theatre, theatrical performance rather than just Readin ...

and

lyricist A lyricist is a writer 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 derives ...

. He wrote the lyrics and co-wrote the book for '' The Prom''. He also wrote the book for Disney's ''

Aladdin Aladdin ( ; , , ATU 561, 'Aladdin') is a Middle-Eastern folk tale. It is one of the best-known tales associated with '' One Thousand and One Nights'' (often known in English as ''The Arabian Nights''), despite not being part of the original ...

'', as well as additional lyrics for the score. He was nominated for Best Original Book and Best Original Score for ''Aladdin''. He is also known for his collaborations with composer

Matthew Sklar Matthew Sklar (born October 7, 1973) is an American composer for musical theatre, television, and film. His works have appeared on Broadway theatre, Broadway, the West End theatre, West End, and theatres worldwide. Sklar has written primarily wi ...

, having written the

lyrics Lyrics are words that make up a song, usually consisting of verses and choruses. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist. The words to an extended musical composition such as an opera are, however, usually known as a "libretto" and their writer, ...

and co-written the book for the Broadway

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...

The Wedding Singer ''The Wedding Singer'' is a 1998 American romantic comedy film directed by Frank Coraci, written by Tim Herlihy, and produced by Robert Simonds and Jack Giarraputo. The film stars Adam Sandler, Drew Barrymore, and Christine Taylor, and tells th ...

'' and the lyrics for the Broadway musical '' Elf the Musical''. Beguelin was nominated for two

Tony Awards The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual cere ...

for his work on ''The Wedding Singer'', as well as a

Drama Desk Award The Drama Desk Awards are among the most esteemed honors in New York theater, recognizing outstanding achievements across Broadway, Off-Broadway, and Off-Off-Broadway productions within the same categories. The awards are considered a signific ...

for Outstanding Lyrics.

Biography

Beguelin, a native of

Centralia, Illinois Centralia is a city in Clinton, Jefferson, Marion, and Washington counties in the U.S. state of Illinois with the largest portion in Marion County. The city is the largest in three counties, Clinton, Marion, and Washington, but it is not a ...

, received an MFA from the graduate writing program at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

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, as the School of the Arts at New York University, Tisch ...

. Beguelin wrote the book and lyrics for ''The Rhythm Club'' which was produced at the Signature Theatre,

Arlington, Virginia Arlington County, or simply Arlington, is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Virginia. The county is located in Northern Virginia on the southwestern bank of the Potomac River directly across from Washington, D.C., the nati ...

in 2000 and was nominated for a

Helen Hayes Helen Hayes MacArthur (; October 10, 1900 – March 17, 1993) was an American actress. Often referred to as the "First Lady of American Theatre", she was the second person and first woman to win EGOT, the EGOT (an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, and ...

Award. He wrote the book and lyrics for ''Wicked City'', which was produced at the American Stage Company and the Mason Street Warehouse, Saugatuck, Michigan, in 2004. He wrote the books for

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

's ''

'' and '' On the Record''. As a

screenwriter A screenwriter (also called scriptwriter, scribe, or scenarist) is a person who practices the craft of writing for visual mass media, known as screenwriting. These can include short films, feature-length films, television programs, television ...

, Beguelin sold a script to Grammnet Productions and also worked as a staff writer for

's live action film department in

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. Casey Nicholaw directed and choreographed the stage musical ''

'' which ran at the 5th Avenue Theatre,

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

, Washington, July 7–31, 2011. The musical uses songs from the 1992 film ''

'', with a new book by Beguelin and new lyrics by Beguelin and

Alan Menken Alan Irwin Menken (born July 22, 1949) is an American composer and conductor. Over his career he has received List of awards and nominations received by Alan Menken, numerous accolades including winning eight Academy Awards, a Tony Awards, Tony ...

. The musical opened on Broadway on March 20, 2014, at the

New Amsterdam Theatre The New Amsterdam Theatre is a Broadway theatre, Broadway theater at 214 West 42nd Street (Manhattan), 42nd Street, at the southern end of Times Square, in the Theater District, Manhattan, Theater District of Manhattan in New York City, New Yor ...

. Beguelin made his

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 ...

playwrighting debut with ''Harbor'', directed by

Mark Lamos Mark Lamos (born March 10, 1946) is an American theatre and opera director, producer and actor. Under his direction, Hartford Stage won the 1989 Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre and he has been nominated for two other Tonys. For mor ...

, presented by Primary Stages, from August 6, 2013, to September 8, 2013. ''Harbor'' had its world premiere at the

Westport Country Playhouse Westport Country Playhouse is a not-for-profit regional theater in Westport, Connecticut, Westport, Connecticut. It was founded in 1931 by Lawrence Langner, a New York theater producer. Langner remodeled an 1830s tannery with a Broadway-quality ...

, Westport, Connecticut, from August 2012 to September 15, 2012, directed by Mark Lamos. Beguelin and Bob Martin wrote the book for a new musical based on the film '' Gotta Dance'', titled ''Half Time'', with music by

and lyrics by Nell Benjamin, with additional music by

Marvin Hamlisch Marvin Frederick Hamlisch (June 2, 1944 – August 6, 2012) was an American composer and conductor. He is one of a handful of people to win Emmy Awards, Emmy, Grammy Awards, Grammy, Academy Awards, Oscar, and Tony Awards, Tony awards, a feat ...

. Directed and choreographed by Jerry Mitchell, the musical premiered at the Bank of America Theatre in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

on December 13, 2015, running through January 17, 2016. It had originally been expected to open on Broadway in the Fall of 2016, and then for the Spring of 2017. The musical instead opened at the

Paper Mill Playhouse Paper Mill Playhouse is a regional theater containing approximately 1,200 seats located in Millburn, within Essex County, New Jersey, United States, on the banks of the Rahway River. Due to its relative proximity to Manhattan, the theater draw ...

, Millburn, New Jersey on May 31, 2018. The cast stars

André De Shields André Robin De Shields (born January 12, 1946) is an American actor, singer, dancer, director, and choreographer. He has received numerous accolades including an Emmy Award, Grammy Award, and Tony Award. De Shields has appeared in the original ...

, Georgia Engel, Donna McKechnie, and Lillias White. He wrote the book with Bob Martin and lyrics for a new musical '' The Prom'', with music by Matthew Sklar based on an original concept by Jack Viertel. The musical premiered at the Alliance Theatre, Atlanta, Georgia on August 18, 2016, in previews, directed by Casey Nicholaw. The musical opened on Broadway at the

Longacre Theatre The Longacre Theatre is a Broadway theater at 220 West 48th Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, New York, U.S. Opened in 1913, it was designed by Henry B. Herts and is named for Longacre Square, the former ...

on November 15, 2018, with previews starting on October 23, 2018.

Awards and honors

He has received six

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ce ...

nominations: 2019 Best Book of a Musical and Best Original Score for ''The Prom''; 2014 Best Book of a Musical and Best Original Score Written for the Theatre for ''Aladdin''; 2006 Best Book of a Musical and Best Original Score for ''The Wedding Singer''."Beguelin Awards"
ibdb.com, accessed July 15, 2016 He received three

nominations: 2014 Outstanding Book of a Musical and Outstanding Lyrics for ''Aladdin''; 2006 Drama Desk Award Outstanding Lyrics for ''The Wedding Singer''. Beguelin has received the

Jonathan Larson Jonathan David Larson (February 4, 1960 – January 25, 1996) was an American composer, lyricist and playwright, most famous for writing the musicals ''Rent (musical), Rent'' and ''Tick, Tick... Boom!'', which explored the social issues of mult ...

Performing Arts Foundation Award, the Gilman & Gonzalez-Falla Theatre Foundation Award, and the Edward Kleban Award for Outstanding Lyric Writing. He was named to the Centralia High School Distinguished Alumni Hall of Fame in November 2016.

Personal life

Beguelin currently lives in

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

and Bridgehampton with his husband Tom and their dog Tucker.Beguelin, Chad
Official website for Chad Beguelin
Retrieved March 2009.

References

External links

* *
The Wedding Singer's Homepage
*
Interview and Rehearsal Video from Broadway.com
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Beguelin, Chad 1969 births Living people 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights American male screenwriters Tisch School of the Arts alumni Writers from New York City American LGBTQ songwriters Place of birth missing (living people) American LGBTQ dramatists and playwrights LGBTQ people from Illinois American LGBTQ screenwriters American male dramatists and playwrights American musical theatre lyricists Broadway composers and lyricists Screenwriters from New York (state) Songwriters from New York (state) 20th-century American male writers