Richard Eldridge Maltby Jr. (born October 6, 1937) is an American

theatre director A theatre director or stage director is a professional in the theatre field who oversees and orchestrates the mounting of a theatre production such as a play, opera, dance, drama, musical theatre performance, etc. by unifying various endeavors a ...

and producer,

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 ...

, and

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 ...

. He conceived and directed the only two musical

revues A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance, and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own during ...

to win the

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 ...

for Best Musical: '' Ain't Misbehavin''' (1978: Tony, N.Y. Drama Critics, Outer Critics, Drama Desk Awards, also Tony Award for Best Director) and '' Fosse'' (1999: Tony, Outer Critics, Drama Desk Awards).

Life and career

Maltby was born in

Ripon, Wisconsin Ripon () is a city in Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 7,863 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The city is surrounded by the Ripon (town), Wisconsin, Town of Ripon. Ripon is home to the Little White S ...

, the son of Virginia (née Hosegood) and Richard Maltby, Sr., a well-known orchestra leader.Filmreference.com
/ref> Maltby and David Shire started working together as students at

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

(where he was a member of Manuscript Society); their first Broadway credit was in 1968, when their song "The Girl of the Minute" was used in the revue '' New Faces of 1968''. In 1977 the Manhattan Theatre Club produced a revue of their earlier songs, written for other works, finally titled '' Starting Here, Starting Now''. With composer Shire, Maltby was the director and lyricist for ''

Baby In common terminology, a baby is the very young offspring of adult human beings, while infant (from the Latin word ''infans'', meaning 'baby' or 'child') is a formal or specialised synonym. The terms may also be used to refer to Juvenile (orga ...

'', (1983, book by Sybille Pearson) and the lyricist for ''

Big Big or BIG may refer to: * Big, of great size or degree Film and television * Big (film), ''Big'' (film), a 1988 fantasy-comedy film starring Tom Hanks * ''Big'', a 2023 Taiwanese children's film starring Van Fan and Chie Tanaka * ''Big!'', a ...

'' (1996, book by John Weidman). Also with Shire, he conceived and wrote the lyrics for '' Take Flight'' (book by John Weidman), which had its world premiere in July 2007 at the Menier Chocolate Factory in London. He was director/co-lyricist for the American version of Andrew Lloyd Webber's '' Song and Dance'', (1986) starring Bernadette Peters. He was co-lyricist for ''

Miss Saigon ''Miss Saigon'' is a sung-through musical theatre, stage musical by Claude-Michel Schönberg and Alain Boublil, with lyrics by Boublil and Richard Maltby Jr. It is based on Giacomo Puccini's 1904 opera ''Madama Butterfly'', and similarly tells th ...

'' (Evening Standard Award 1990; Tony nomination: Best Score, 1991). He also conceived and directed ''

Ring of Fire The Ring of Fire (also known as the Pacific Ring of Fire, the Rim of Fire, the Girdle of Fire or the Circum-Pacific belt) is a tectonic belt of volcanoes and earthquakes. It is about long and up to about wide, and surrounds most of the Pa ...

'', a musical about Johnny Cash, which ran on Broadway in 2006. He is co-bookwriter/lyricist for '' The Pirate Queen'' (2007). He was most recently represented on Broadway as the director of the new, original musical '' The Story of My Life'' by composer/lyricist Neil Bartram and book writer Brian Hill. That musical had a brief run at the Booth Theatre in February 2009. and received a 2009

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 ...

nomination for outstanding production of a musical. Since 1976 he has constructed the monthly

cryptic crossword A cryptic crossword is a crossword, crossword puzzle in which each clue is a word puzzle. Cryptic crosswords are particularly popular in the United Kingdom, where they originated, as well as Ireland, the Netherlands, and in several Commonwealth ...

puzzles for ''

Harper's Magazine ''Harper's Magazine'' is a monthly magazine of literature, politics, culture, finance, and the arts. Launched in New York City in June 1850, it is the oldest continuously published monthly magazine in the United States. ''Harper's Magazine'' has ...

'', formerly in collaboration with E. R. Galli. He constructed cryptic crosswords for ''

New York Magazine ''New York'' is an American biweekly magazine concerned with life, culture, politics, and style generally, with a particular emphasis on New York City. Founded by Clay Felker and Milton Glaser in 1968 as a competitor to ''The New Yorker'' a ...

'' in the late 1960s.

Personal life

Maltby married twice: first to Barbara Black Sudler on June 5, 1965 (they had two children, Nicholas and David), and second, in 1987, to Janet Brenner (they had three children, Jordan, Emily, and Charlotte). He now has seven grandchildren: Liam, Owen, Matt, Aidan, Emma, Lionel, and Jesse Maltby.

Work

;Broadway *'' Ain't Misbehavin''', 1978 (Director/Co-lyricist) *''

'', 1983 (Director/Lyricist) *''

Blood Knot ''Blood Knot'' is an early play by South African playwright, actor, and director Athol Fugard. Its single-performance premier was in 1961 in Johannesburg, South Africa, with the playwright and Zakes Mokae playing the brothers Morris and Zacharia ...

'', 1985 (Producer) *'' Song and Dance'', 1986 (Director/Co-lyricist) *''

'', 1989 (Lyricist) *'' Nick & Nora'', 1991 (Lyricist) *''

'', 1996 (Lyricist) *'' Fosse'', 1999 (Director) *'' Bea Arthur on Broadway'', 2002 (Production Consultant) *''

'', 2006 (Creator/Director)Ibdb.com
/ref> *'' The Pirate Queen'', 2007 (Writer/Lyricist) *'' The Story of My Life'', 2009 (Director) ;Off-Broadway *'' Closer Than Ever'', (1989, two Outer Critics Circle Awards: Best Musical, Best Score) with David Shire *'' Starting Here, Starting Now'', director/lyricist (1977 Grammy nomination) with David Shire ;Regional *'' Love Match'', lyricist (1968, Ahmanson Theatre, Los Angeles) *'' The 60's Project'', director, (2006, Goodspeed Opera House) *''Waterfall'', book and lyrics; David Shire music (2015), Pasadena PlayhouseVirini, Bob
"L.A. Theater Review: ‘Waterfall’ with Thai Pop Star Bie Sukrit"
''Variety'', June 12, 2015 *'' Sousatzka'', lyricist (2017), Elgin Theatre, Toronto ;Film *'' Miss Potter'', (2007), Screenplay, starring

Renée Zellweger Renée Kathleen Zellweger ( ; born April 25, 1969) is an American actress. The recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Renée Zellweger, various accolades, including two Academy Awards, two British Academy Film Awards, and four ...

and

Ewan McGregor Ewan Gordon McGregor ( ; born 31 March 1971) is a Scottish actor. His accolades include a Golden Globe Award and a Primetime Emmy Award. In 2013, he was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for his services to drama and ...

(Christopher Award, best screenplay)

Awards and nominations

;Awards *1978 Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical – ''Ain't Misbehavin *1990

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 news ...

for Best Score – ''Closer Than Ever'' *2001

Laurence Olivier Award The Laurence Olivier Awards, or simply The Olivier Awards, are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognize excellence in West End theatre, professional theatre in London. The awards were originally known as the Society of We ...

– ''Fosse'' ;Nominations *1977

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

for Best Original Cast Recording – ''Starting Here, Starting Now'' *1984 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lyrics – ''Baby'' *1984 Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical – ''Baby'' *1984 Tony Award for Best Original Score – ''Baby'' *1986 Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical – ''Song and Dance'' *1986 Tony Award for Best Musical – ''Song and Dance'' *1986 Tony Award for Best Original Score – ''Song and Dance'' *1986 Tony Award for Best Play – ''Blood Knot'' *1990 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lyrics – ''Closer Than Ever'' *1991 Tony Award for Best Original Score – ''Miss Saigon'' *1992 Tony Award for Best Original Score – ''Nick & Nora'' *1996 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lyrics – ''Big'' *1996 Tony Award for Best Original Score – ''Big'' *1999 Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical (with Ann Reinking) – ''Fosse'' *1999

for Outstanding Director of a Musical – ''Fosse''

References

External links

* *
Richard Maltby Jr.
- ''Downstage Center'' interview at American Theatre Wing.org
MTI Shows biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maltby, Richard Jr. 1937 births Living people American lyricists American male screenwriters American theatre directors American theatre managers and producers Broadway composers and lyricists Broadway theatre directors Harper's Magazine people People from Ripon, Wisconsin Puzzle designers Screenwriters from New York (state) Screenwriters from Wisconsin Tony Award winners Yale University alumni