MARC SHAIMAN: NEVER MIND THE HAPPY

New York Times best-selling author Marc Shaiman is a renowned American composer, lyricist, arranger, and music producer known for his work across film, television, and theater. Shaiman began his career as a musical director and arranger for Bette Midler before expanding into film scoring. He gained prominence with his work on films such as When Harry Met Sally, The Addams Family, Sister Act, City Slickers, A Few Good Men, Sleepless in Seattle, The American President,and South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut, on television with SNL, and on recordings with Harry Connick Jr. and Mariah Carey.

Shaiman earned widespread acclaim for co-writing the Broadway musical Hairspray alongside his longtime co-lyricist Scott Wittman. The duo has also co-created the musicals Catch Me If You Can, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Some Like It Hot, and Smash. He has been nominated for multiple Academy Awards and has won a Tony, two Emmys, and two Grammys. Marc Shaiman is celebrated for his versatile, emotionally resonant music and his ability to blend classic musical theatre sensibilities with modern storytelling. Born and raised in New Jersey, he currently lives in New York with his husband, Lieutenant Commander (ret.) Lou Mirabal. 

For more information, visit marcshaiman.com.

Photo: Robert Trachtenberg

 

A five-time Tony Award winning director and choreographer most known for Crazy For You, Contact, The Scottsboro Boys, and The Producers. Her work has been honored with Olivier, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, Lucille Lortel and a record six Astaire Awards.

She directed and choreographed The Producers, winner of a record-making 12 Tony Awards including Best Direction and Best Choreography.

She co-created, directed and choreographed the Tony Award winning musical Contact for Lincoln Center Theater, which was honored with a 2003 Emmy Award for “Live from Lincoln Center”.

She directed and choreographed the critically acclaimed musical The Scottsboro Boys on Broadway and in the West End, where it was honored with the 2014 Evening Standard Award for Best Musical.

Other Broadway credits include Oklahoma!, Show Boat, Prince of Broadway, Bullets Over Broadway, Big Fish, Young Frankenstein, Thou Shalt Not, The Music Man, The Frogs, Big, Steel Pier, Picnic, and Crazy for You.

Off-Broadway credits include: The Beast in the Jungle, Dot, Flora the Red Menace, And the World Goes ’Round, Happiness and The Last Two People on Earth: An Apocalyptic Vaudeville starring Mandy Patinkin and Taylor Mac.

For ten years she choreographed Madison Square Garden’s annual spectacular A Christmas Carol. She made her Metropolitan Opera debut directing and choreographing The Merry Widow, starring Renée Fleming.

Her London West End productions include Crazy For You, Oklahoma!, Show Boat, Contact, The Producers, and Young Frankenstein.

For New York City Ballet, she created Double Feature, a full-length ballet featuring the music of Irving Berlin and Walter Donaldson, and For the Love of Duke, featuring the music of Duke Ellington. 

Other ballet credits include But Not For Me for the Martha Graham Company and Take Five…More or Less for Pacific Northwest Ballet. Her choreography received an Emmy Award nomination for the HBO presentation Liza – Live from Radio City Music Hall, starring Liza Minnelli. She received the American Choreography Award for her work in Columbia Pictures feature film Center Stage. She directed and choreographed The Producers: The Movie Musical, nominated for 4 Golden Globes. 

She directed and choreographed the Broadway bound Ahrens/Flaherty musical Marie for The 5th Avenue Theater in Seattle. In collaboration with the Williamstown Theatre Festival, she directed the play Photograph 51 for Audible. 

She is an Associate Director for Lincoln Center Theater and a member of the Board of Directors for the Ronald O. Perelman Center for the Performing Arts located at the World Trade Center.

She is the recipient of the George Abbott Award for Lifetime Achievement in the American Theater and an inductee of the Theater Hall of Fame in New York City.

Learn more at susanstroman.com

Robyn Hurder, a Tony and Drama League Award–nominated actress, is widely celebrated as one of Broadway’s most dynamic leading ladies. She most recently appeared as Velma Kelly in the Broadway company of Chicago, following her acclaimed portrayal of Ivy Lynn and Marilyn Monroe in Smash, where she had the privilege of collaborating with the incomparable Marc Shaiman.

Her Tony-nominated turn as Nini in the original Broadway cast of Moulin Rouge! The Musical remains a defining performance, alongside her beloved Cassie in the 75th Anniversary New York City Center Gala production of A Chorus Line. Additional Broadway credits include A Beautiful Noise (as Marcia Murphey, Drama Desk Award nomination, Chita Award winner), Nice Work If You Can Get It (Jeanie Muldoon), Grease (Marty), and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (Violet).

South Fork Performing Arts strives to bring quality arts education to local youths by utilizing area professional artists and teachers in the subjects of theatre and music. At SFPA we believe in teaching more than just subject material to students. By utilizing their strengths and learning styles as individuals and as a cohort we can educate the whole student and ensemble. By building strong relationships with our students in small class settings and through private instruction, we feel students can learn in a safe and supportive environment that aids them in their learning process and sets them up for success. Knowing that the arts often attracts individuals who may be sensitive or feel they don’t “fit in” with their peers, we hope to provide an environment in which they feel they can succeed with support from their peers and educators alike. Through ensemble building and course study, we strive to prepare our students for arts disciplines and the world at large.