Martin Charnin
Martin Charnin created the role of Big Deal in the original Broadway company of West Side Story in 1957, the only acting job he ever had. He began writing during West Side Story and his first collaborator was Mary Rodgers.
He was subsequently the director, lyricist, composer, librettist, producer or a combination of the aforementioned, for over 140 theatrical productions, including Annie, Annie Warbucks, the Rock Opera version of Joan of Arc, Mata Hari, Loose Lips, Star-Crossed, Sid Caesar and Company, Carnal Knowledge, In Persons starring Eli Wallach and Anne Jackson, The Flowering Peach, Winchell, the revised Can Can by Cole Porter (for which he wrote a new libretto), Cafe Crown, Mike, Laughing Matters, The No Frills Revue, The First, On the Swing Shift, A Little Family Business, Upstairs at O'Neals, The National Lampoon Show, Lena Horne on Broadway, I Remember Mama, Hot Spot, Zenda, Put It In Writing, Fallout, Kaleidoscope, Ballad For A Firing Squad, La Strada, Nash at Nine, Music Music, Two by Two, And in London, Bar Mitzvah Boy, Bless the Bride, The 9 1/2 Quid Revue, and internationally and regionally, 17 productions of Annie.
In the 60's and 70's he turned to Television and created 7 specials that garnered over 15 Emmy Awards, and the Peabody Award for Broadcasting.
His collaborators included Peter Allen, Harold Arlen, Vernon Duke, Keith Levenson, Michael Danziker, Peter Sipos, Mary Rodgers, Marvin Hamlisch, Richard Rodgers, and Charles Strouse.
He wrote for and directed among others, Fred Astaire, Jack Lemmon, Anne Bancroft, Lena Horne, Danny Kaye, Angela Lansbury, Johnny Mathis, Bill Murray,Jon Stewart, Bebe Neuwirth, Bernadette Peters, Sarah Jessica Parker, Gilda Radner, Molly Ringwald, Chita Rivera, Lou Reed, Susan Sarandon, Tim Robbins, Joan Rivers, Chuck D., Phoebe Snow, Shirley MacLaine, Marlo Thomas, Julianne Moore, Martha Plimpton, and Barbra Streisand.
Charnin was the artistic director of Seattle's Showtunes for 7 years, before moving back to New York for the 4th incarnation of Annie on Broadway. He also created a one woman theatrical entertainment for his wife, Broadway and television star Shelly Burch.
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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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