Michael Friedman (composer)
Michael Friedman | |
---|---|
Birth name | John Michael Friedman |
Born | Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. | September 24, 1975
Died | September 9, 2017 Manhattan, New York, U.S. | (aged 41)
Genres | Musical theatre |
Occupations |
John Michael Friedman (September 24, 1975 – September 9, 2017) was an American composer and lyricist. He was a founding associate artist of The Civilians. He received a 2007 Obie award for sustained excellence.[1] His musical Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson opened on Broadway in October 2010. He died on September 9, 2017, aged 41, from complications related to HIV/AIDS.[2]
Background
Born in Boston, Friedman grew up in Philadelphia. He attended Germantown Friends School, after which he studied history and literature at Harvard College.[3] While at Harvard, he studied under Bernard Rands, Mario Davidovsky, and Elizabeth Swados.[4]
Career
Friedman wrote music and lyrics for Saved, In the Bubble, The Brand New Kid, God's Ear, The Blue Demon and This Beautiful City. His music has also been heard at the New York Shakespeare Festival, New York Theatre Workshop, Roundabout Theatre Company, Second Stage, Soho Repertory Theater, Signature Theatre, Theater for a New Audience, and The Acting Company. He wrote the music for Anne Washburn's Mr. Burns, a Post-Electric Play. Regionally, his work has been featured at Hartford Stage, The Humana Festival of New American Plays, ART, Berkeley Rep, Dallas Theatre Center, Williamstown Theatre Festival, Portland Center Stage, and internationally at London's Soho and Gate Theatres and the Edinburgh Festival.
He was the dramaturg for the 2004 Broadway revival of A Raisin in the Sun, directed by Kenny Leon.[5]
He worked with Itamar Moses on The Fortress of Solitude, an adaption based on the Jonathan Lethem book of the same name. It opened September 30, 2014 at The Public Theater.[6]
He was also writing a commissioned work on American history for the Oregon Shakespeare Festival and a musical about the adult film industry with Bess Wohl and The Civilians titled Pretty Filthy.[7]
The Civilians
With The Civilians, Friedman was the composer and lyricist for Canard, Canard, Goose?, Gone Missing, [I Am] Nobody's Lunch, This Beautiful City, The Great Immensity, and In the Footprint, and co-author of Paris Commune.[8] His work on Pretty Filthy can be seen in the theater company's premiere production of the new musical.[9]
In partnership with Ghostlight Recordings, the Civilians will be releasing cast recordings of nine shows that Friedman wrote or co-wrote. The first three, The Great Immensity, This Beautiful City, and The Abominables were released on October 18, 2019.[10]
Notable works
- Canard, Canard, Goose? (2002)
- Paris Commune (2004)
- (I Am) Nobody's Lunch (2006)
- Gone Missing (2007)
- This Beautiful City (2008)
- Saved (2008)
- Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson (2008)
- In the Footprint (2010)
- Mr. Burns, a Post-Electric Play (2012) (Incidental music)
- The Fortress of Solitude (2012)
- Love’s Labour’s Lost (2013)
- Pretty Filthy (2015)
- Rimbauld in New York (2016) (with many others)
- The Abominables (2017)
Awards and Nominations
Year | Award | Category | Work | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|
2008 | Lucille Lortel Award | Outstanding Musical | Saved | Nominated |
2010 | Drama Desk Award | Outstanding Music | Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson | Nominated |
Drama League Awards | Distinguished Production of a Musical | Nominated | ||
Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding New Off-Broadway Musical | Won | ||
Outstanding New Score (Broadway or Off-Broadway) | Nominated | |||
2014 | Drama Desk Award | Outstanding Musical | Love Labour's Lost | Nominated |
Outstanding Lyrics | Nominated | |||
Drama League Award | Outstanding Production of a Broadway or Off-Broadway Play | Mr. Burns, a Post-Electric Play | Nominated | |
2015 | Drama Desk Award | Outstanding Musical | Pretty Filthy | Nominated |
Outstanding Music | The Fortress of Solitude | Nominated | ||
Outstanding Lyrics | Nominated | |||
Outer Critic's Circle Award | Outstanding New Off-Broadway Musical | Nominated |
References
- ^ "2006–2007 Obie Award Winners - Page 1 - Theater - New York". Village Voice. 2007-05-15. Retrieved 2012-01-06.
- ^ Paulson, Michael (September 10, 2017). "Michael Friedman, Co-Creator of 'Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson,' Dies at 41". The New York Times. Retrieved September 10, 2017.
- ^ Grathwohl, Casper (2007-03-11). "Composing for Shakespeare While Listening to Timberlake". The New York Times.
- ^ "Songs with "Open Eyes"". Harvardmagazine.com. 15 October 2013. Retrieved 10 September 2017.
- ^ The Broadway League. "A Raisin in the Sun | IBDB: The official source for Broadway Information". IBDB. Retrieved 2012-01-06.
- ^ "2014-2015 Season". Publictheater.org. Retrieved 10 September 2017.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-02-08. Retrieved 2012-11-09.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "The Civilians / Artist: Michael Friedman". Thecivilians-artist.blogspot.com. 2009-12-29. Retrieved 2012-01-06.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-11-03. Retrieved 2012-11-21.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ Paulson, Michael (October 16, 2019). "Michael Friedman Died in 2017. Now 9 Albums of His Work Are Coming". New York Times. Retrieved November 20, 2019.