Michael Starobin (born January 25, 1956) is an American

orchestrator Orchestration is the study or practice of writing music for an orchestra (or, more loosely, for any musical ensemble, such as a concert band) or of adapting music composed for another medium for an orchestra. Also called "instrumentation", orch ...

, conductor,

composer A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and def ...

arranger In music, an arrangement is a musical adaptation of an existing composition. Differences from the original composition may include reharmonization, melodic paraphrasing, orchestration, or formal development. Arranging differs from orchestrat ...

, and musical director, primarily for the stage, film and television. He won

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 ...

s for the orchestrations of '' Assassins'' (2004) and ''

Next to Normal ''Next to Normal'' is a 2008 American rock musical with book and lyrics by Brian Yorkey and music by Tom Kitt. The story centers on a mother who struggles with worsening bipolar disorder and the effects that managing her illness has on her fam ...

'' (2009 with Tom Kitt).

Career

The first Broadway musical that Starobin provided the orchestrations for was ''

Sunday in the Park with George ''Sunday in the Park with George'' is a 1984 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 G ...

'' in 1984, for which he won the 1984

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 Orchestration. He has provided the orchestrations for 21 Broadway musicals, 2 special concerts, including the benefit concert of ''Sunday in the Park with George'', and was the musical director for '' The Mystery of Edwin Drood'' (1985). He has also provided orchestrations, or been the musical director, for many

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 ...

musicals. He wrote the orchestrations for several works by Lynn Ahrens and

Stephen Flaherty Stephen Flaherty (born September 18, 1960) is an American composer of musical theatre and film. He works most often in collaboration with the lyricist/book writer Lynn Ahrens. They are best known for writing the Broadway musicals ''Ragtime'', wh ...

, such as '' Once on This Island'' (1990), as well as

William Finn William Alan Finn (February 28, 1952 – April 7, 2025) was an American composer and lyricist. He was best known for his musicals, which include ''Falsettos'', for which he won the 1992 Tony Awards for Tony Award for Best Original Score, Best O ...

, including '' In Trousers'' (1985), '' Falsettoland'' (1990) (musical director), 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, with a book written by Rachel Sheinkin, created by Rebecca Feldman with additional material by Jay Reiss. The show centers on a fictional ...

'' (2005)."Michael Starobin Off-Broadway"
lortel.org, retrieved October 26, 2017 He did the orchestrations for ''

'' (2009), for which he won the Tony Award for Best Orchestrations (with Tom Kitt). Starobin provided orchestrations for the television movie musicals ''

Once Upon a Mattress ''Once Upon a Mattress'' is a musical theater, musical comedy with music by Mary Rodgers, lyrics by Marshall Barer, and book by Jay Thompson, Dean Fuller, and Marshall Barer. It opened off-Broadway in May 1959, and then moved to Broadway theat ...

'' (2005) and ''

A Christmas Carol ''A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas'', commonly known as ''A Christmas Carol'', is a novella by Charles Dickens, first published in London by Chapman & Hall in 1843 and illustrated by John Leech. It recounts the ...

'' (2004), among others. He has been collaborating with Mary Testa as her musical director, in performances and recordings. He plays piano and a little tuba.

Work (selected)

Sources: Playbill;"Michael Starobin Broadway"
Playbill, retrieved October 26, 2017 Lortel.org ;Stage *''

'' (1984) - Drama Desk Award Outstanding Orchestrations (winner), Pulitzer Prize *''La Boheme'', Public Theatre, (1984) - 1985 Drama Desk Award Outstanding Orchestration (nominee) *''3 Guys Naked From the Waist Down'' (1985) - 1985 Drama Desk Award Outstanding Orchestration (nominee) *'' The Mystery of Edwin Drood'' (1985, music director) (Tony Award: Best Musical) *'' Rags'' (1986) - Drama Desk Award Outstanding Orchestration (nominee) *'' Birds of Paradise'' (1987) - Drama Desk Award Outstanding Orchestration (nominee) *''The Knife'' (1987, Music Direction) *''Romance, Romance'' (1988) *''Annie 2'' (D.C., 1988) *''Legs Diamond'' (1988) *'' Carrie'' (1988) *'' Once On This Island'' (1990) *'' Guys & Dolls'' (1992) (Tony Award: Best Musical) *''

Falsettos ''Falsettos'' is a sung-through musical theatre, 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 installment ...

'' (1992) (Tony Award: Best Score) *'' My Favorite Year'' (1992) - Drama Desk Award Outstanding Orchestrations (nominee) *'' Hello Again'' (1994) *''A Christmas Carol'' (1994–2001, Madison Square Garden) *'' A New Brain'' (1999) - Drama Desk Award Outstanding Orchestrations (nominee) *'' Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus'' (1999, 2000, 2003, 2005, Composer) - original score and songs with Glenn Slater *''The Adventures of Tom Sawyer'' (2001) - Drama Desk Award Outstanding Orchestrations (nominee) *'' Assassins'' - Tony Award Best Orchestrations (winner); Drama Desk Award Outstanding Orchestrations (nominee) *''

'' (2005) *''How The Grinch Stole Christmas'' (2006–) *''The House of Bernarda Alba'' (LCT, 2006) *''The Glorious Ones'' (2007) - Drama Desk Award Outstanding Orchestrations (nominee) *''

'' (2009) - Tony Award Best Orchestrations (winner), Drama Desk Award Outstanding Orchestrations (winner), Pulitzer Prize *'' Sondheim on Sondheim'' (2010) *'' Queen of the Mist'' ( Transport Group, 2011), Drama Desk Award Outstanding Orchestration (nominee) *'' The People in the Picture'' (2011) *''

Leap of Faith In philosophy, a leap of faith is the act of belief, believing in or accepting something not on the basis of reason. The phrase is commonly associated with Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard. Idiomatic usage As an idiom, ''leap of faith'' ca ...

'' (2012) *''

Dogfight A dogfight, or dog fight, is an air combat manoeuvring, aerial battle between fighter aircraft that is conducted at close range. Modern terminology for air-to-air combat is air combat manoeuvring (ACM), which refers to tactical situations requir ...

'' (Second Stage, 2012) *''Annie'' (2012) *''

If/Then ''If/Then'' is a musical with a libretto by Brian Yorkey and a theatrical score by Tom Kitt, directed by Michael Greif. It tells the story of a 38-year-old woman named Elizabeth who moves back to New York City for a fresh start. ''If/Then ...

'' (2014) - Drama Desk Award Outstanding Orchestrations (nominee) *'' First Daughter Suite'' (2015) *'' Charlie and the Chocolate Factory'' (2017) *'' Once on This Island'' (2018) (Revival) - Tony Award Best Orchestrations (nominee) *'' Flying Over Sunset'' (2021) *'' Suffs'' (2024) - Drama Desk Award Outstanding Orchestrations (nominee) ;Television *''

Cinderella "Cinderella", or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a Folklore, folk tale with thousands of variants that are told throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsin Press, 1988. The protagonist is a you ...

'' (1997), song arranger *'' Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas'' (1997), additional orchestrator *'' South Pacific'' (2001) song orchestrator *'' Smash'' (2013) orchestrator for the song "A Letter from Cecile" *'' Galavant'' (2015–2016) orchestrator''Galavant''
abc.go.com, January 3, 2016 ;Film *''

The Little Mermaid "The Little Mermaid" (), sometimes translated in English as "The Little Sea Maid", is a fairy tale written by Danish author Hans Christian Andersen. Originally published in 1837 as part of a collection of fairy tales for children, the story foll ...

'' (1989), additional orchestrator *''

Beauty and the Beast "Beauty and the Beast" is a fairy tale written by the French novelist Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve and published in 1740 in (''The Young American and Marine Tales''). Villeneuve's lengthy version was abridged, rewritten, and publish ...

'' (1991), additional orchestrator *''

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 ...

'' (1992), additional orchestrator *''

Pocahontas Pocahontas (, ; born Amonute, also known as Matoaka and Rebecca Rolfe; 1596 – March 1617) was a Native American woman belonging to the Powhatan people, notable for her association with the colonial settlement at Jamestown, Virginia. S ...

'' (1995), additional orchestrator *'' The Hunchback of Notre Dame'' (1996), score and songs orchestrator, conductor *''

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), additional orchestrator *''

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 ...

'' (2002), additional orchestrator *'' Home on the Range'' (2004), score and songs orchestrator *''

Tangled ''Tangled'' is a 2010 American animated musical film, musical Adventure film, adventure fantasy comedy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. Loosely based on the German fairy tale "Rapunzel" in th ...

'' (2010), songs orchestrator

References

External links

* *
Internet Off-Broadway Database listingOfficial Site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Starobin, Michael 1956 births American male composers American music arrangers Living people Tony Award winners