Scott David Frankel (born May 6, 1963) is an American

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 ...

Career

Early life

Frankel began his music education taking piano lessons with Betty Belkin in Cleveland, Ohio. He attended Interlochen Arts Camp,

Hawken School Hawken School is an independent, coeducational, college preparatory day school in Northeast Ohio. Hawken currently has two main campuses, the Lower and Middle Schools in Lyndhurst and the Upper School in Chester Township, plus a third, an ur ...

(‘81) and graduated from

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 ...

in 1985, when he was inducted into the

Skull and Bones Skull and Bones (also known as The Order, Order 322 or The Brotherhood of Death) is an undergraduate senior Secret society#Colleges and universities, secret student society at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. The oldest senior-class ...

secret society. While at Yale he met playwright Doug Wright.

Work

Frankel worked as a music director, conductor and pianist, on Broadway shows including ''

Into the Woods ''Into the Woods'' is a 1986 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 ...

'', ''

Les Misérables ''Les Misérables'' (, ) is a 19th-century French literature, French Epic (genre), epic historical fiction, historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published on 31 March 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. '' ...

'', '' Jerome Robbins' Broadway'',"Scott Frankel Credits"
playbill.com, accessed May 26, 2022 '' Rags'' (1986, rehearsal pianist) and ''

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 ...

'', and also Off-Broadway on '' Putting It Together'' starring Julie Andrews. He accompanied

Shirley MacLaine Shirley MacLaine (born Shirley MacLean Beaty; April 24, 1934) is an American actress and author. With a career spanning over 70 years, she has received List of awards and nominations received by Shirley MacLaine, numerous accolades, including a ...

and

Meryl Streep Mary Louise "Meryl" Streep (born June 22, 1949) is an American actress. Known for her versatility and adept accent work, she has been described as "the best actress of her generation". She has received numerous accolades throughout her career ...

in the film ''

Postcards from the Edge ''Postcards from the Edge'' is the debut novel by the American actress and writer Carrie Fisher, first published in 1987. Based on Fisher's own experiences of fame and substance abuse, the semi-autobiographical novel was later adapted by Fisher ...

'' party scene. He then became a musical theatre composer, notably through collaborations with lyricist/librettist

Michael Korie Michael Korie (born April 1, 1955) is an American Libretto, librettist and lyricist whose writing for musical theater and opera includes the musicals ''Grey Gardens (musical), Grey Gardens'' and ''Far from Heaven (musical), Far From Heaven'', and ...

. Their musical ''Doll'' was workshopped at the University of Houston as part of Stuart Ostrow's Musical Theatre Lab in 1995. A professional production premiered in

Ravinia Festival Ravinia Festival is a primarily outdoor music venue in Highland Park, Illinois. It hosts a series of outdoor concerts and performances every summer from June to September in a wide variety of musical genres from classical to pop. The first orche ...

in a staged reading in 2003, and was further developed at the Sundance Institute Theatre Lab, White Oak, Florida in December 2005. Their musical '' Grey Gardens'' premiered Off-Broadway in 2006, and transferred to Broadway. For ''Grey Gardens'', Frankel received a

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 ...

nomination, as well as the ASCAP Richard Rodgers New Horizons Award and The Frederick Loewe Award for Dramatic Composition. Their musical ''Happiness'' opened Off-Broadway in March 2009 Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater at

Lincoln Center Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 ...

, with a book by John Weidman, direction and choreography by

Susan Stroman Susan P. Stroman (born October 17, 1954) is an American theatre director, choreographer, and performer. Her notable theater productions include ''Oklahoma!'', ''The Music Man'', ''Crazy for You (musical), Crazy for You'', ''Contact (musical), Co ...

. In 2012, their musical ''

Far from Heaven ''Far from Heaven'' is a 2002 historical romantic drama film written and directed by Todd Haynes and starring Julianne Moore, Dennis Quaid, Dennis Haysbert and Patricia Clarkson. It premiered at the Venice Film Festival, where Moore won the ...

'', starring Kelli O’Hara, premiered at the Williamstown Theatre Festival. The show, adapted from the film by

Todd Haynes Todd Haynes (; born January 2, 1961) is an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. His films span four decades with themes examining the personalities of well-known musicians, dysfunctional and dystopian societies, and blurred gender ...

, subsequently received a production at

Playwrights Horizons Playwrights Horizons is a not-for-profit American Off-Broadway theater located in New York City dedicated to the support and development of contemporary American playwrights, composers, and lyricists, and to the production of their new work. ...

in 2013. More recently, Frankel and Korie wrote the music and lyrics, respectively, for the musical '' War Paint'', about

Helena Rubinstein Helena Rubinstein (born Chaja Rubinstein; December 25, 1872 – April 1, 1965) was a Polish and American businesswoman, art collector, and philanthropist. A cosmetics entrepreneur, she was the founder and eponym of Helena Rubinstein Incorporate ...

and

Elizabeth Arden Elizabeth Arden (December 31, 1881 – October 18, 1966), also known as Elizabeth N. Graham, was a Canadian-American businesswoman who founded what is now Elizabeth Arden, Inc., and built a cosmetics empire in the United States. Backg ...

. The musical, with the book by Doug Wright and directed by Michael Greif, premiered at the

Goodman Theatre Goodman Theatre is a professional theater company located in Chicago's Loop. A major part of the Chicago theatre scene, it is the city's oldest currently active nonprofit theater organization. Part of its present theater complex occupies the ...

, Chicago, in the summer of 2016 with stars Patti LuPone as Helena Rubinstein and

Christine Ebersole Christine Ebersole (born February 21, 1953) is an American actress, singer and comedian. She has appeared in film, television, and on stage (theatre), stage. She has received two Tony Awards, and a Drama Desk Award as well as a nomination for a ...

as Elizabeth Arden. The musical is based on the 2003 book by Lindy Woodhead and on the 2007 documentary ''The Powder and the Glory'' by Ann Carol Grossman and Arnie Reisman. The production transferred to Broadway and opened on April 6, 2017.

Personal life

Frankel currently resides 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 ...

. He and his partner, the architect Jim Joseph, restored Forth House in the Hudson Valley (New York).

Awards

MacDowell Fellowship, 1999, 2004, 2011 ASCAP New Horizons Richard Rodgers Award; Frederick Loewe Award

Works

*''Doll'' - 2003 - Lyrics/Libretto by

*'' Grey Gardens'' - 2006 - Lyrics by Michael Korie, Book by Doug Wright *''Happiness'' - 2009 - Lyrics by Michael Korie, Book by John Weidman *''Meet Mister Future'' - 2006 - Lyrics/Libretto by Michael Korie *''

'' - 2013 - Lyrics by Michael Korie; book by

Richard Greenberg Richard Greenberg (born February 22, 1958) is an American playwright and television writer known for his subversively humorous depictions of middle-class American life. He has had more than 25 plays premiere on and Off-Broadway in New York City ...

*'' War Paint'' - 2016/2017 - Lyrics by Michael Korie, Book by Doug Wright

References

External links

* * *
Production: Grey Gardens
Working in the Theatre by the

American Theatre Wing The American Theatre Wing (the Wing for short) is a New York City–based non-profit organization "dedicated to supporting excellence and education in theatre", according to its mission statement. Originally known as the Stage Women's War Relief ...

, November 2006 {{DEFAULTSORT:Frankel, Scott 1963 births Living people American musical theatre composers American male musical theatre composers Broadway composers and lyricists