Don Black
Don Black started out as a standup comedian and blames himself entirely for the death of Variety. He made his West End debut as a theatre lyricist with composer John Barry on the musical Billy, starring Michael Crawford at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, London.
Don received two Broadway Tony Awards for best book and lyrics of a musical for his work on Sunset Boulevard. This marked his third theatrical collaboration with Andrew Lloyd Webber. They first joined forces to write the song cycle Tell Me On A Sunday, which was developed to form the basis of the stage show Song and Dance. They were reunited for Aspects of Love. Don has also added songs to Andrew’s stage shows Starlight Express and Whistle Down The Wind. He also wrote lyrics for the Andrew Lloyd Webber produced musical Bombay Dreams.
In a career that has won him many glittering prizes (an Oscar for his song Born Free, five Academy Award noninations, two Tony Awards plus three Tony nominations, Five Ivor Novello Awards, a Golden Globe and many platinum, gold and silver discs) he has worked with some of the world’s leading composers: Jule Styne, Henry Mancini, Quincy Jones, Elmer Bernstein, Marvin Hamlisch, Charles Aznavour, etc.
Don has written over a hundred songs for motion picture including The Italian Job, The Pink Panther Strikes Again, True Grit, Dances With Wolves, Out of Africa and a quintet of James Bond theme songs – Thunderball, Diamonds Are Forever, The Man With The Golden Gun, Surrender from Tomorrow Never Dies and The World is Not Enough.
Among his many popular songs are Michael Jackson’s Ben and Lulu’s To Sir With Love, both U.S. number one hits.
He is currently working on a musical to be produced in Shanghai and is also re-working the musical of Bar Mitzvah Boy, a musical he wrote with Jule Styne. He has just completed a musical version of The Count of Monte Cristo with French composer Michel Legrand which is scheduled to open in London later this year.
Don was awarded an OBE in the Queens Birthday Honours list and has just been awarded the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Arts by the City of London University. However, he says it is being inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame that has outshone any previous accolade.
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Gift packs and awards all ready for tonights Schools on Stage presented by City of Casey (VIC). Wishing all participating schools the very best. How special to gather together in person once more to celebrate the joy of making theatre! #cityofcasey #schoolsonstage #theatreeducation #joyoftheatre #studentsrock
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The Red Velvet Cake War by Jones Hope Wooten In this riotously funny Southern-fried comedy, the three Verdeen cousins - Gaynelle, Peaches, and Jimmie Wyvette - could not have picked a worse time to throw their family reunion. Their outrageous antics have set tongues wagging in the small town of Sweetgum (just down the road from Fayro) and the eyes of Texas are upon them, as their self-righteous Aunt LaMerle is quick to point out. Having "accidentally" crashed her minivan through the bedroom wall of her husband's girlfriend's doublewide, Gaynelle is one frazzled nerve away from a spectacular meltdown. Peaches, the saucy number one mortuarial cosmetologist in the tri-county area, is struggling to decide if it's time to have her long-absent trucker husband declared dead. And Jimmie Wyvette, the roughhewn store manager of Whatley's Western Wear, is resorting to extreme measures to outmaneuver a priss-pot neighbor for the affections of Sweetgum's newest widower. But the cousins can't back out of the reunion now. It's on and Gaynelle's hosting it; Peaches and Jimmie Wyvette have decided its success is the perfect way to prove Gaynelle's sanity to a skeptical court-appointed psychologist. Unfortunately, they face an uphill battle as a parade of wildly eccentric Verdeens gathers on the hottest day of July, smack-dab in the middle of Texas tornado season. Things spin hilariously out of control when a neighbor's pet devours everything edible, a one-eyed suitor shows up to declare his love and a shocking high-stakes wager is made on who bakes the best red velvet cake. As this fast-paced uproarious romp barrels toward its surprising climax, you'll wish your own family reunion was this much fun! License today! #joneshopewooten #dramatistplayservice
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