American musical theatre lyricist
David Joel Zippel (born May 17, 1954) is an American musical theatre lyricist , director, and producer.
Early life and education
Zippel was born and raised in Easton, Pennsylvania in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania . Falling in love with theater as a child, Zippel first articulated his life's ambition to become a lyricist and director in junior high school.
He attended the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia , where he contributed lyrics to an equity production of "a bizarre political musical" called Rotunda , which had a brief run in Washington, D.C. before he graduated with a B.A. in 1976. In 1979, Zippel obtained a J.D. degree from Harvard Law School . At Harvard Law School, Zippel continued to pursue his ambition of writing several pop songs with singer Pamala Stanley , which appeared on her 1979 debut album, This Is Hot , and collaborating on three songs with Wally Harper , Barbara Cook 's musical director, whose performance of the songs at Carnegie Hall in 1980 marked Zippel's New York City theatrical debut.[ 1]
Career
Theatre
As lyricist and writer
City of Angels (1989), an original musical with book by Larry Gelbart and music by Cy Coleman . Tony Award for Best Musical, Best Score, Best Book, Best Actor (James Naughton ) Best Featured Actress (Randy Graff ), and Best Set Design (Robin Wagner ); Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lyrics ; Olivier Awards for Best New Musical (1994), Best Musical Revival (2015) ; The Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Musical (1993)
The Goodbye Girl (1993), a musical based on Neil Simon 's 1977 screenplay , with music by Marvin Hamlisch . Nominated for five Tony Awards including Best Musical; Drama Desk Award nomination for Outstanding Lyrics.[ 1]
The Woman in White (2004), an adaptation of the novel by Wilkie Collins , with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber , book by Charlotte Jones. The music and lyrics received a Tony Award nomination for Best Original Score. The show was nominated for five Laurence Olivier Awards , including Best Musical.
Liza's at the Palace (2009), script co-written with Liza Minnelli , special lyrics with music by John Kander and Billy Stritch ; Tony Award for Best Special Theatrical Event (2009)
Cinderella (2020), a new adaptation of the classic story , with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber , based on the book by Emerald Fennell
As conceiver and director
Princesses (2004), loosely inspired by A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnett . Zippel conceived and directed; book by Bill and Cheri Steinkellner, music by Matthew Wilder . The musical was produced at the 5th Avenue Theatre , Seattle , Washington, in August 2005, after a "developmental" production at Goodspeed Musicals ' Norma Terris Theatre in fall 2004.[ 2]
The Best Is Yet To Come: The Music of Cy Coleman ,[ 3] Indy Award for Best Direction (2010);[ 4] Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Revue (2012)
They're Playing His Songs: The Music of Marvin Hamlisch (2013)[ 5]
The Importance of Being Earnest (In New York) (2015)[ 6]
As producer
Film and television
Films
Also in 2008, Pamela's First Musical , written with Coleman and Wendy Wasserstein , based on Wasserstein's children's book, received its world premiere in a concert at Town Hall in New York City on May 18, 2008.[ 8] [ 9]
Television
References
^ a b "David Zippel" . Masterworks Broadway . Retrieved 2014-07-04 .
^ Jones, Kenneth (August 17, 2005). "Princesses , the Broadway-Aimed New Musical by Zippel & Company, Opens in Seattle Aug. 17" . Playbill .
^ Spindle, Les (July 20, 2009). "The Best Is Yet to Come: The Music of Cy Coleman" . Backstage .
^ Donelan, Charles (May 27, 2010). "2010 Indy Awards" . The Santa Barbara Independent . Retrieved January 8, 2022 .
^ Jones, Kenneth (January 23, 2013). "They're Playing His Songs: The Music of Marvin Hamlisch" . Playbill .
^ Green, David (November 25, 2015). "BWW Review: Coyote Stageworks' Zippel-Directed BEING EARNEST IN NEW YORK a Triumph at the Annenberg" . BroadwayWorld .
^ "Spamilton: An American Parody" . spamilton.com .
^ Blank, Matthew (May 19, 2008). "PHOTO CALL: Pamela's First Musical Premieres at Town Hall" . Playbill . Retrieved January 8, 2022 .
^ David, Cara Joy (July 17, 2014). "A Playwright's Well-Traveled Valentine to Broadway" . The New York Times .
^ Jones, Kenneth (June 15, 2011). "Alan Menken and David Zippel Pen Song for 'Captain America' Movie" . Playbill . Retrieved January 8, 2022 .
^ Newman, Melinda (July 21, 2008). "Interview: Oscar-winning composer Alan Menken talks 'Captain America' " . HitFix . Retrieved January 8, 2022 .
External links
Awards for David Zippel
Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz (1995)
Randy Newman (1996)
Randy Newman (1997)
Matthew Wilder , David Zippel and Jerry Goldsmith (1998)
Michael Kamen (1999)
Randy Newman (2000)
John Powell and Harry Gregson-Williams (2001)
Joe Hisaishi (2002)
Thomas Newman (2003)
Michael Giacchino (2004)
Julian Nott (2005)
Randy Newman (2006)
Michael Giacchino (2007)
Hans Zimmer and John Powell (2008)
Bruno Coulais (2009)
John Powell (2010)
John Williams (2011)
Henry Jackman , Skrillex , Adam Young , Matthew Thiessen , Jamie Houston and Yasushi Akimoto (2012)
Kristen Anderson-Lopez , Robert Lopez and Christophe Beck (2013)
John Powell and Jónsi (2014)
Michael Giacchino (2015)
Hans Zimmer , Richard Harvey , and Camille (2016)
Kristen Anderson-Lopez , Robert Lopez , Germaine Franco , Adrian Molina and Michael Giacchino (2017)
Michael Giacchino (2018)
Dan Levy (2019)
Trent Reznor , Atticus Ross and Jon Batiste (2020)
Germaine Franco and Lin-Manuel Miranda (2021)
Alexandre Desplat , Roeban Katz, Guillermo del Toro and Patrick McHale (2022)
Daniel Pemberton and Metro Boomin (2023)
1947–1975 1976–2000 2001–present
International National Artists Other