William Finn

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Biography

William Alan Finn (b. February 28, 1952, Boston, Massachusetts ) is an United States|American composer and lyricist of musical theater|musicals . His musical Falsettos received the 1992 Tony Award s for Best Music and Lyrics and for Best Book.

Biography

Finn, who is Jewish,Friedman, Jonathan C. Rainbow Jews:Jewish and Gay Identity in the Performing Arts , Lexington Books, 2007, ISBN 0739114484, p.74 grew up in Natick, Massachusetts with his parents and siblings, Michael and Nancy. He majored in music at Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts. When he graduated, he received the Hutchinson Fellowship (a musical composition award).Ruhlmann, William. new.music.yahoo.com, accessed August 22, 2011 He is also Adjunct Faculty Composer/Lyricist at New York University . New York University , accessed February 15, 2011

Personal life

He lives with his life partner in New York CityGuthmann, Edward. sfgate.com, February 18, 2006 and Pittsfield, Massachusetts, where he is a composer and writer.

Work

Finn is a heavily autobiography|autobiographical writer; he always writes his own lyrics. His topics have included the gay and Jew ish experiences in contemporary America, and also family, belonging, sickness, healing, and loss. According to a 2006 article, " The Washington Post called him 'the composer laureate of loss.'"

Finn is especially noted for his work on what was to become a trilogy of short musicals Off-Broadway . In Trousers , March of the Falsettos , and Falsettoland all chronicle the lives of the character Marvin, his ex-wife Trina, his boyfriend, Whizzer, his psychiatrist , Mendel, and his son, Jason.Henry, William A. Time Magazine , May 11, 1992 Falsettos , the combination of the latter two parts of his Marvin Trilogy ( March of the Falsettos and Falsettoland ), opened on Broadway theatre|Broadway at the John Golden Theater on April 29, 1992, and ran for 486 performances. It won the 1992 Tony Award s for Best Music and Lyrics and for Best Book, the latter shared with James Lapine .

With Lapine, Finn penned a musical loosely based on his near-death experience following brain surgery, exploring the role of music in his life and recovery. The musical's main character is a man who has what may be terminal brain cancer. That musical, A New Brain , starred Malcolm Gets , Kristin Chenoweth and Chip Zien , and premiered Off-Broadway at the Lincoln Center Theater in 1998.Brantley, Ben. The New York Times (requires registration), June 19, 1998 The musical won the 1999 Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Off-Broadway Musical. The UK premiere was at the 2005 Edinburgh Festival Fringe .

At the 2006 Elliot Norton Awards Ceremony, Finn brought his High School drama teacher, Gerry Dyer, onstage with him to present an award. Finn said of Dyer that he "imbued us with a ridiculous sense of our own self-worth."MacDonald, Sandy. theatermania.com, May 23, 2006 Another student of Gerald Dyer, Alison Fraser , found fame on Broadway, collaborating with Finn in the original casts of In Trousers and March of the Falsettos .

Finn had another Broadway success with The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee , for which he wrote both music and lyrics. The show won two Tony Awards in 2005-one for Best Book of a Musical, and another for the Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Musical. It ran Off-Broadway, then on Broadway in 2005Isherwood, Charles. The New York Times , May 3, 2005 and toured the United States in 2006. The show was first workshopped and produced at Barrington Stage Company (BSC) in Pittsfield, MA, where Finn later created The Musical Theatre Lab (MTL) with BSC Artistic Director Julianne Boyd . The MTL is an annual summer lab where emerging musical theatre artists are supported and new musical works are created, fine-tuned and produced under the curatorship of Finn and Boyd. Barrington Stage Company , accessed August 22, 2011

Three musical revues or song suites of Finn's music have been produced:

Infinite Joy , in which the composer played the piano and sang along with an all-star cast, contained several songs from shows that were unfinished, and some that were cut from previous shows.

Elegies (William Finn)|Elegies: A Song Cycle (2003) is a series of songs the composer wrote in memoriam of loved ones now gone, and in response to the September 11, 2001 attacks .Holden, Stephen. The New York Times (requires registration), March 28, 2003

Make Me a Song , conceived and directed by Rob Ruggiero, premiered at Hartford's Theaterworks in the summer of 2006, opened Off-Broadway in November 2007, and closed in December 2007 after 54 performances.Midgette, Anne. The New York Times , November 21, 2007 A live recording of Make Me a Song was released by Sh-K-Boom Records on April 29, 2008.

His long-in-development show, The Royal Family of Broadway , with a book by Richard Greenberg , was based on the play by George S. Kaufman and Edna Ferber , which tells the story of a girl from a family of great Broadway actors who contemplates leaving show business and getting married. It has apparently been shelved, according to William Finn's personal notes for Make Me A Song , Playbill magazine and an article from 2006.Jones, Kenneth. playbill.com, November 12, 2007

His next project, the musical comedy Little Miss Sunshine (musical)|Little Miss Sunshine , premiered at the La Jolla Playhouse , California, from February 15, 2011 through March 27, 2011. James Lapine wrote the book and is the director, set design by David Korins, staging by Lapine and Christopher Gattelli . The opening night cast featured Hunter Foster (Richard), Malcolm Gets (Frank), Dick Latessa (Grandpa), Taylor Trensch (Dwayne), Georgi James (Olive), and Jennifer Laura Thompson (Sheryl).Jones, Kenneth. playbill.com, February 15, 2011Irwin, Jay. broadwayworld.com, March 26, 2010 The ensemble, who Jay Irwin wrote "...took the small parts they were given and ran with them, almost right out of the theater as each of them brilliantly played the comedic relief to the family's "straight man"", starred Bradley Dean , Carmen Ruby Floyd, Eliseo Roman, Andrew Samonsky, Sally Wilfert, and Zakiya Young.

Finn's songs were featured exclusively on Lisa Howard's album Songs of Innocence and Experience , released on April 12, 2011.Cerasaro, Pat. broadwayworld.com, April 13, 2011

Finn's frequent collaborators include librettist James Lapine , theatre director|director Graciela Daniele and singers/actors Stephen Bogardus , Carolee Carmello , Stephen DeRosa , Alison Fraser , Keith Byron Kirk , Norm Lewis , Michael Rupert , Mary Testa , and Chip Zien .

Writing credits

In Trousers (1979, revised 1987) – Off Broadway musical – composer, lyricist

March of the Falsettos (1981) – Off Broadway musical – composer, lyricist

America Kicks Up Its Heels (1983) – Off Broadway musical – composer, lyricist

Dangerous Games (musical)|Dangerous Games (1989) – Broadway theatre|Broadway musical – lyricist; music by Ástor Piazzolla

Romance in Hard Times (1989) – Off Broadway musical – composer, lyricist

Falsettoland (1990) – Off Broadway musical – composer, lyricist, co-writer with James Lapine

Falsettos (1992) – Broadway theatre|Broadway musical – composer, lyricist, co-writer with James Lapine ; includes March of the Falsettos and Falsettoland

The Sisters Rosensweig (1993) – Broadway theatre|Broadway play – composer and lyricist for the song "Scarlet Pimpernel"

A New Brain (1998) – Off Broadway musical – composer, lyricist, co-writer with James Lapine

'' Love's Fire (1998) – playwright, composer and lyricist for the song "Painting"

Elegies (William Finn)|Elegies: A Song Cycle (2003) – Off Broadway revue – composer, lyricist

The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (2004) – 2005 Off Broadway musical transferred to Broadway theatre|Broadway – composer, lyricist

Make Me a Song (2007) – Off Broadway revue – composer, lyricist

Little Miss Sunshine (2011) – La Jolla Playhouse musical – composer, lyricist

Notable Songs:

"Anytime (I Am There)"

"The Baseball Game"

"Change"

"Four Jews in a Room Bitching"

"Goodbye"

"Gordo's Law of Genetics"

"Heart and Music"

"I'd Rather Be Sailing"

"I Have Found"

"Infinite Joy"

"Song of Innocence and Experience"

"When the Earth Stopped Turning"

Awards

1991 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lyrics Winner ( Falsettoland )

1991 Drama Desk Award Nominee – Outstanding Music ( Falsettoland )

1999 Drama Desk Award Nominee – Outstanding Lyrics ( A New Brain )

1999 Drama Desk Award Nominee – Outstanding Music ( A New Brain )

1999 Drama Desk Award Nominee – Outstanding Book of a Musical ( A New Brain )

2005 Drama Desk Award Nominee – Outstanding Lyrics ( The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee )

2005 Drama Desk Award Nominee – Outstanding Music ( The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee )

1992 Tony Award Winner – Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical|Best Book of a Musical ( Falsettos )

1992 Tony Award Winner – Tony Award for Best Original Score|Best Original Score ( Falsettos )

2005 Tony Award Nominee – Tony Award for Best Original Score|Best Original Score ( The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee )

Copyright Citations

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1. Jason Robert Brown 2. Kristin Chenoweth 3. Andrew Lippa

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William Finn

Biography

Biography

Personal life

Work

Writing credits

Awards

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