Lyric Opera 2022-2023 Issue 3- Fiddler #2

Lyric Opera of Chicago | 24 Artist profiles JOSEPH STEIN | BOOK Lyric debut Stein started his career in television and was one of a noted group of writers on Your Show of Shows and The Sid Caesar Show . His first work for the theatre was as co-author of Plain And Fancy , the hit musical about the adventures of a pair of sophisticated New Yorkers living among the Amish in Pennsylvania. His next showwas Mr. Wonderful , starring Sammy Davis, Jr. He created the libretto for the Bock and Harnick musical The Body Beautiful . His next librettos were for Take Me Along , based on Eugene O’Neill’s Ah, Wilderness! , and Juno , with score by Marc Blitzstein. He then wrote the adaptation for the hit stage comedy Enter Laughing . Fiddler on the Roof was his next show, for which he won the Tony as well as the Drama Critics’ Circle Award. He was also nominated for a Tony for his next show, Zorba , with score by Kander and Ebb. His other productions include King of Hearts , Irene , Rags (for which he also was nominated for a Tony), and The Baker’s Wife , which was produced in London and was nominated for the Laurence Olivier Award. Mr. Stein is also the author of the screenplays for Enter Laughing and Fiddler on the Roof . JERRY BOCK | MUSIC Lyric debut Bock was born in NewHaven, Connecticut, on November 23rd, 1928. That was his first out-of- town tryout. Thirty years later, he and Sheldon Harnick gave birth to The Body Beautiful in Philadelphia. That was his fourth out-of-town tryout. In betweenwas Catch a Star , a fleeting revue that, according to criticWalter Kerr, posed the question: “What do you call something between a flop and a smash?” Kerr’s answer? “A flash.” Next, Jule Styne and Tommy Valanomidwifed Bock, Larry Holofcener, and GeorgeWeiss into birthing Mr. Wonderful starring Sammy Davis Jr. The title song and “Too Close For Comfort” are still active offsprings. Bock and Harnick’s celebrated collaboration yielded five scores in seven years: The Body Beautiful ; Fiorello! (winner of Broadway’s triple crown: The Tony Award, The NewYork Critics’ Circle Award and The Pulitzer Prize in drama, the fourthmusical to do so); Tenderloin ; She Loves Me (winner of Variety ’s poll of critics as best musical, citing Bock and Harnick as best composer and lyricist); Fiddler on the Roof (nine Tonys, notably the citation for best musical of the year); The Apple Tree; and The Rothschilds . In addition to the 1989 silver anniversary production of Fiddler (fromwhich a major excerpt was featured in Jerome Robbins’ Broadway), a highly esteemed revival of The Rothschilds enjoyed a successful run off-Broadway the following year. Since then, Bock and Harnick were triply honored by being inducted into the Theater Hall of Fame, receiving the JohnnyMercer Award from the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Spirit of American Creativity Award from the Foundation for a Creative America. SHELDON HARNICK | LYRICS Lyric debut Harnick’s career began in the 1950s with songs in revues (e.g., “The Boston Beguine,” “TheMerry LittleMinuet”). With Jerry Bock he created a number of memorable musicals, including Fiorello! (Tony Award, Pulitzer Prize), Tenderloin , She Loves Me (Grammy), Fiddler on the Roof (Tony), The Apple Tree , and The Rothschilds (subsequently revised as Rothschild & Sons ). Other collaborations: Rex (Richard Rodgers), AChristmas Carol (Michel Legrand), AWonderful Life (Joe Raposo), The PhantomTollbooth (Arnold Black, Norton Juster), and The Audition (Marvin Hamlisch). He has written three musicals himself: Dragons , ADoctor in Spite of Himself , and MalpracticeMakes Perfect . JEROME ROBBINS | DIRECTOR AND CHOREOGRAPHER Lyric debut Robbins is world renowned for his work as a choreographer of ballets as well as his work as a director and choreographer in theater, movies, and television. Although he began as a modern dancer, his start on Broadway was as a chorus dancer before joining the corps de ballet of American Ballet Theatre in 1939, where he went on to dance principal roles in the works of Fokine, Tudor, Massine, Balanchine, Lichine, and de Mille. His first ballet, Fancy Free (1944) for ABT, still in many repertoires, celebrated its 50th birthday on April 18, 1994. While embarking on his career in the theater, Mr. Robbins simultaneously created ballets for New York City Ballet, which he joined in 1949, and became an Associate Artistic Director with George Balanchine. Mr. Robbins directed for television and film as well, with his co-direction and choreography of West Side Story winning him two Academy Awards. After his Broadway triumph with Fiddler On the Roof in 1964, Robbins continued creating ballets for New York City Ballet. He shared the position of Ballet-Master-in-Chief with Peter Martins until 1989. He has created more than 60 ballets, including Afternoon of a Faun ( 1953), The Concert (1956), Les Noces (1965), Dances At a Gathering (1969), In the Night (1970), In GMajor (1975), Other Dances (1976), Glass Pieces (1983) and Ives Songs (1989) which are in the repertories of the New York City Ballet, the Ballet de l’Opera de Paris, and major dance companies throughout the world. His most recent ballets include A Suite of Dances with Mikhail Baryshnikov (1994), 2 & 3 Part Inventions (1994), West Side Story Suite (1995) and Brandenburg (1996), all of which premiered at New York City Ballet. In addition to his two Academy Awards, Robbins’s awards and citations include four Tony Awards, five Donaldson Awards, two Emmy Awards, the Screen Directors’ Guild Award, and the New York Drama Critics Circle Award. Mr. Robbins is a 1981 Kennedy Center Honors Recipient, was awarded the Commandeur de L’Order des Arts et des Lettres, is an honorary member of the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters, and was awarded a National Medal of Arts as well as the Governor’s Arts Awards by the New York State Council on the Arts. Some of his Broadway shows include On the Town , Billion Dollar Baby , High Button Shoes , West Side Story , The King and I , Gypsy , Peter Pan , Miss Liberty , and Call Me Madam . In 1989, Jerome Robbins’s Broadway won six Tony Awards including Best Musical and Best Director. He was awarded the French Chevalier dans l’Ordre National de la Legion d’Honneur. Robbins passed away in 1998. CREATORS