Richard Maltby Jr.
Richard Eldridge Maltby Jr.[1] (born October 6, 1937) is an American theatre director and producer, lyricist, and screenwriter. He is also well known as a constructor of cryptic crossword puzzles. He has done this for Harper's Magazine, sometimes in collaboration with E. R. Galli (prior to 1995), since the January 1976 issue, and in New York Magazine in the early 1970s.
Life and career
Maltby was born in Ripon, Wisconsin, the son of Virginia (née Hosegood) and Richard Maltby, Sr., a well-known orchestra leader.[1] He has conceived and directed the only two musical revues to ever win the Tony Award for Best Musical: Ain't Misbehavin' (1978: Tony, N.Y. Drama Critics, Outer Critics, Drama Desk Awards, also Tony Award for Best Director) and Fosse (1999: Tony, Outer Critics, Drama Desk Awards).
He was director/co-lyricist for the American version of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Song and Dance, (1986) starring Bernadette Peters. He was co-lyricist for Miss Saigon (Evening Standard Award 1990; Tony nomination: Best Score, 1991).
Maltby and David Shire started working together as students at Yale University (where he was a member of Manuscript Society); their first Broadway credit was in 1968, when their song "The Girl of the Minute" was used in the revue New Faces of 1968. In 1977 the Manhattan Theatre Club produced a revue of their earlier songs, written for other works, finally titled Starting Here, Starting Now.[2] With composer Shire, Maltby was the director and lyricist for Baby, (1983, book by Sybille Pearson) and the lyricist for Big, (1996, book by John Weidman). Also with Shire, he conceived and wrote the lyrics for Take Flight (book by John Weidman), which had its world premiere in July 2007 at the Menier Chocolate Factory in London.[3]
He also conceived and directed Ring of Fire, a musical about Johnny Cash, which ran on Broadway in 2006. He is co-bookwriter/lyricist for The Pirate Queen (2007).[4] He was most recently represented on Broadway as the director of the new, original musical The Story of My Life by composer/lyricist Neil Bartram and book writer Brian Hill. That musical had a brief run at the Booth Theatre in February 2009.[5] and received a 2009 Drama Desk Award nomination for outstanding production of a musical.
Maltby married twice: first to Barbara Black Sudler on June 5, 1965 (they had two children, Nicholas and David), and second, in 1987, to Janet Brenner (they had three children, Jordan Maltby, Emily and Charlotte).
Work
- Broadway
- The Story of My Life, 2009 (Director)[6]
- The Pirate Queen, 2007 (Writer/Lyricist)[7]
- Ring of Fire, 2006 (Creator/Director)[8]
- Bea Arthur on Broadway, 2002 (Production Consultant)[9]
- Fosse, 1999 (Director)[10]
- Big, 1996 (Lyricist)
- Nick & Nora, 1991 (Lyricist)
- Miss Saigon, 1989 (Lyricist)
- Song and Dance, 1986 (Director/Co-lyricist)
- Blood Knot, 1985 (Producer)
- Baby, 1983 (Director/Lyricist)
- Off-Broadway
- Starting Here, Starting Now, director/lyricist (1977 Grammy nomination) with David Shire[11]
- Closer Than Ever, (1989, two Outer Critics Circle Awards: Best Musical, Best Score) with David Shire
- Regional
- Love Match, lyricist (1968, Ahmanson Theatre, Los Angeles)
- The 60's Project, director, (2006, Goodspeed Opera House)[12]
- Waterfall, book and lyrics; David Shire music (2015), Pasadena Playhouse, Pasadena, CA[13]
- Film
- Miss Potter, (2007), Screenplay, starring Renée Zellweger and Ewan McGregor (Christopher Award, best screenplay)
Awards and nominations
- Awards
- 1978 Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical - Ain't Misbehavin
- 1990 Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Score - Closer Than Ever
- 2001 Laurence Olivier Award - Fosse
- Nominations
- 1977 Grammy Award for Best Original Cast Recording - Starting Here, Starting Now
- 1984 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lyrics - Baby
- 1984 Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical - Baby
- 1984 Tony Award for Best Original Score - Baby
- 1986 Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical - Song and Dance
- 1986 Tony Award for Best Musical - Song and Dance
- 1986 Tony Award for Best Original Score - Song and Dance
- 1986 Tony Award for Best Play - Blood Knot
- 1990 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lyrics - Closer Than Ever
- 1991 Tony Award for Best Original Score - Miss Saigon
- 1992 Tony Award for Best Original Score - Nick & Nora
- 1996 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lyrics - Big
- 1996 Tony Award for Best Original Score - Big
- 1999 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Director of a Musical - Fosse
- 1999 Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical - Fosse
References
- 1 2 http://www.filmreference.com/film/16/Richard-Eldridge-Maltby-Jr.html
- ↑ Theatre Alliance, January 22, 2008
- ↑ "Take Flight Takes Off at London's Menier Chocolate Factory July 13" playbill.com, JUly 13, 2007
- ↑ "Pirate Queen Unfurls Her Sails on Broadway March 6" playbill.com, March 6, 2007
- ↑ "The Story of My Life, With Gets and Chase, Aims for Broadway in February 2009" playbill.com, November 12, 2008
- ↑ http://www.ibdb.com/production.php?id=481923
- ↑ http://www.ibdb.com/production.php?id=426183
- ↑ http://www.ibdb.com/production.php?id=426183
- ↑ New York Times review, February 18, 2002
- ↑ http://www.ibdb.com/production.php?id=5798
- ↑ NODANW listing
- ↑ playbill article, Aug. 10, 206, Flashback: Maltby Directs The 60's Project, a Musical Tale of a Generation
- ↑ Virini, Bob. "L.A. Theater Review: ‘Waterfall’ with Thai Pop Star Bie Sukrit", Variety, June 12, 2015
External links
- Richard Maltby Jr. at the Internet Broadway Database
- Richard Maltby Jr. at the Internet Movie Database
- Richard Maltby Jr. - Downstage Center interview at American Theatre Wing.org
- MTI Shows biography