Thomas Meehan (writer)
| Thomas Meehan | |
|---|---|
 Meehan in 2006 |
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| Born | August 14, 1929 [1][2] Ossining, New York, U.S. |
| Occupation | Writer |
| Nationality | United States |
| Alma mater | Hamilton College |
| Information | |
| Notable work(s) | Annie The Producers Hairspray |
| Works with | Mel Brooks |
| Awards | Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Book of a Musical |
Thomas Edward Meehan (born August 14, 1929) is an American writer, best known for Annie, The Producers and Hairspray.
Life and career [edit]
Meehan grew up in Suffern, New York, and graduated from Hamilton College.[3] He moved to New York at age 24, and worked at The New Yorker's "Talk of the Town".[4]
He has received the Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical three times: Annie (1977), his Broadway debut; The Producers (2001); and subsequently shared the 2003 award with Mark O'Donnell for Hairspray.[5]
Additional credits include Ain't Broadway Grand; Oh, Kay!; Bombay Dreams, a musical adaptation of I Remember Mama; and Annie 2: Miss Hannigan's Revenge, which was subsequently reworked and re-staged Off-Broadway as Annie Warbucks.[6] He also wrote the libretto to the opera 1984.[5]
In addition, Meehan is a long-time contributor of humor to The New Yorker; an Emmy Award-winning writer of television comedy; and a collaborator on a number of screenplays, including Mel Brooks' Spaceballs; a remake of To Be or Not to Be, the film adaptation of The Producers; and One Magic Christmas.
Meehan wrote the book for the musical Young Frankenstein, a 2007 musical stage adaptation of the 1974 film of the same name and Cry-Baby. He co-wrote the book, with Bob Martin, for Elf the Musical.[5][7] He co-wrote the book for the production of the musical Limelight: The Story of Charlie Chaplin which ran at the La Jolla Playhouse in 2010.[8] This musical is expected to premiere on Broadway in 2012. In 2011 he revised the book originally written by Peter Stone for the Off-Broadway musical Death Takes a Holiday with music and lyrics by Maury Yeston.[9]
References [edit]
- ^ Date information sourced from Library of Congress Authorities data, via corresponding WorldCat Identities linked authority file (LAF) .
- ^ Some other sources state 1932 and 1934 as a year of birth. The U.S. copyright office entry under his name lists 1929.
- ^ "Thomas Meehan bio" cityfile.com, accessed March 12, 2011. according to this biography, Meehan was born in 1929)
- ^ Gurley, George and Larocca, Amy. "Thomas Meehan, Writer - Horst of Fifth Avenue", The New York Observer, November 14, 1999
- ^ a b c "Thomas Meehan". Who's Who, playbill.com, Retrieved 30 January 2011.
- ^ Rothstein, Mervyn. "Troubled 'Annie 2' Closing Out of Town; Revisions Planned". The New York Times, January 16, 1990
- ^ Hetrick, Adam."Beth Leavel, Mark Jacoby and George Wendt to Star in Elf – The Musical on Broadway" playbill.com, August 11, 2010
- ^ Jones, Kenneth."Limelight Musical, Starring Robert McClure and Ashley Brown, Opens at La Jolla Sept. 19" playbill.com, September 19, 2010
- ^ Suskin, Steven. "On the Record. Maury Yeston's 'Death Takes a Holiday' and the London Album of Styne, Comden and Green's 'Do Re Mi'", Playbill.com, October 20, 2011
External links [edit]
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- 1929 births
- Living people
- Hamilton College (New York) alumni
- Drama Desk Award winners
- Emmy Award winners
- Tony Award winners
- American dramatists and playwrights
- American musical theatre librettists
- The New Yorker people
- American screenwriters
- People from Ossining, New York
- American opera librettists
- Writers from New York
