Stephen Trask (born Stephen R. Schwartz; born August 29, 1966) is an American musician and composer who graduated from

Wesleyan University Wesleyan University ( ) is a private liberal arts university in Middletown, Connecticut. Founded in 1831 as a men's college under the auspices of the Methodist Episcopal Church and with the support of prominent residents of Middletown, the c ...

. He was the music director and house band member at the New York City club Squeezebox, where they performed with stars such as

Debbie Harry Deborah Ann Harry (born Angela Trimble; July 1, 1945) is an American singer, songwriter and actress, best known as the lead vocalist of the band Blondie. Four of her songs with the band reached on the US charts between 1979 and 1981. Born in ...

Lene Lovich Lene Lovich (; born Lili-Marlene Premilovich; March 30, 1949) is an English-American singer, songwriter and musician. She first gained attention in 1979 with the release of her hit single " Lucky Number", which peaked at number 3 on the UK Sing ...

and

Joey Ramone Jeffrey Ross Hyman (May 19, 1951 – April 15, 2001), known professionally as Joey Ramone, was an American musician, best known as the lead singer and a founding member of the punk rock band Ramones. His image, voice, and his tenure with the R ...

. Trask composed the music and lyrics for the stage musical ''

Hedwig and the Angry Inch Hedwig and the Angry Inch may refer to: * ''Hedwig and the Angry Inch'' (musical), 1998 ** ''Hedwig and the Angry Inch'' (soundtrack), 1999 * ''Hedwig and the Angry Inch'' (film), 2001 {{disambig ...

'' (also a 2001 film), about a struggling rock star named Hedwig. Trask's real-life band Cheater performed as Hedwig's band "The Angry Inch". He received an Obie Award for the play and a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pre ...

nomination for the movie. In 2014, the show saw its first Broadway incarnation, opening that April at the

Belasco Theatre The Belasco Theatre is a Broadway theater at 111 West 44th Street, between Seventh Avenue and Sixth Avenue, in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Originally known as the Stuyvesant Theatre, it was built in 1907 and d ...

and winning the year's Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical. The production closed on September 13, 2015. A national tour of the show began at San Francisco's Golden Gate Theatre on October 2, 2016. Trask has worked on five films with filmmaker Paul Weitz. He composed the score for 2004's '' In Good Company'' and 2006's ''

American Dreamz ''American Dreamz'' is a 2006 American comedy film directed by Paul Weitz. It satirizes both popular entertainment and American politics during the second Bush administration, called a "cultural satire" by Weitz. Reviews were mixed and the ...

,'' for which they also co-wrote the numerous songs the contestants sing, as well as the 2009 film '' Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant''. Trask also scored the 2003 films '' Camp'' and '' The Station Agent'', as well as ''

Dreamgirls ''Dreamgirls'' is a Broadway musical, with music by Henry Krieger and lyrics and book by Tom Eyen. Based on the show business aspirations and successes of R&B acts such as The Supremes, The Shirelles, James Brown, Jackie Wilson, and other ...

'' (2006), ''

In the Land of Women ''In the Land of Women'' is a 2007 American romantic comedy-drama film directed and written by Jon Kasdan. The film premiered in the United States on April 20, 2007. Plot Carter Webb is a young, soft-core writer living in Los Angeles whose young ...

'' (2007), '' The Savages'' (2007), and '' The Back-up Plan'' (2010), among other works. He scored the 2010 film '' Little Fockers'', a sequel to both ''

Meet the Parents ''Meet the Parents'' is a 2000 American comedy film written by Jim Herzfeld and John Hamburg and directed by Jay Roach. It chronicles a series of unfortunate events that befall a good-hearted but hapless nurse (Ben Stiller as Greg Focker) while v ...

'' (2000) and ''

Meet the Fockers ''Meet the Fockers'' is a 2004 American comedy film directed by Jay Roach and the sequel to the 2000 film '' Meet the Parents''. The film stars Robert De Niro (who was also one of the film's producers), Ben Stiller, Dustin Hoffman, Barbra Streisan ...

'' (2004). In 2013, Trask scored the films '' Lovelace'', directed by Rob Epstein and Jeffery Friedman, and '' Admission'', directed by Paul Weitz.

Personal life

Trask resides in

Lexington, Kentucky Lexington is a city in Kentucky, United States that is the county seat of Fayette County. By population, it is the second-largest city in Kentucky and 57th-largest city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 28th-largest ...

, with his husband Michael Trask, who is a professor at the University of Kentucky. They were married by their neighbor, former state senator Kathy Stein. Trask grew up in Connecticut, in a Jewish household. He also went to Hebrew school, had a Bar Mitzvah, and both his parents were involved in the synagoguehis father was head of the youth program there. His mother's maiden name is Rhodes. Trask announced he was non-binary in May 2021, and goes by he/him and they/them pronouns.

References

External links

* * Living people American film score composers American musical theatre composers Wesleyan University alumni American musical theatre directors American gay musicians 1967 births Lambda Literary Award for Drama winners 20th-century American Jews Hedwig and the Angry Inch LGBT Jews Non-binary musicians LGBT songwriters 20th-century LGBT people 21st-century LGBT people 21st-century American Jews LGBT people from Kentucky {{US-composer-20thC-stub