Andrew Lippa
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Andrew Lippa is an American composer, lyricist, book writer, performer, and producer, and the resident artist at the Ars Nova Theater in New York City. He went to Oak Park High School in Oak Park , MI. He was born on December 22, 1964 in Leeds, England.
A graduate of the University of Michigan, Lippa began work in New York in 1987 as a middle school teacher and administrator at Columbia Grammar and Preparatory School. He then went on to a successful music career.
In 1998, Lippa was commissioned by the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver to create an anthem for a concert celebrating Israel's 50th birthday, to be sung by 350 singers and conducted by Sergiu Comissiona of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra.
In 1999, Lippa contributed three new songs to the Broadway version of You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown (including My New Philosophy for Tony Award winner Kristin Chenoweth), and created all new arrangements. He wrote the music and co-wrote the book (with Tom Greenwald) for John & Jen, which played in New York City in 1995 at the Lamb's Theater.
Lippa wrote the book, music and lyrics for The Wild Party, which was given its world premiere in 2000 at the Manhattan Theater Club in New York City.
The Wild Party won the Outer Critics Circle Award for best Off-Broadway musical of the season and Lippa won the 2000 Drama Desk Award for best music. The show was nominated for 13 Drama Desk Awards including best new musical.
The summer of 2004 saw the premiere of Lippa's A Little Princess (book and lyrics by Brian Crawley) at TheatreWorks in Palo Alto, CA.
As a singer, Lippa has performed at Carnegie Hall, Town Hall, The Rainbow Room, and The Supper Club. His vocal arrangements and singing voice can be heard on the songs of Stephen Schwartz in the animated feature, The Prince of Egypt. He has acted as Kristin Chenoweth's music director since 2000 and has conducted the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra and at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Disney Hall in LA, and in January of 2007, The Metropolitan Opera House in NYC.
Lippa worked with the American Music Theatre Project at Northwestern University to produce his new musical "Asphalt Beach". Amanda Dehnert is the director and Tom Smith and Peter Spears wrote the book. The show's run lasted from October 27th to November 12th.
His current project is "The Man In The Ceiling" being produced by Disney Theatrical. Original book author and Pulitzer Prize-winner Jules Feiffer is writing the book for the musical.
[edit] Other awards
- A Grammy nomination for You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown
- Gilman/Gonzalez-Falla Theater Foundation Award
- ASCAP's Richard Rodgers New Horizons Award
- Robert and Adele S. Blank Jewish Arts Award
- Drama Desk
- Outer Critics Circle
- Second place for the Alice B. Deucey Award for all-round outstanding fifth-grader (losing to Cynthia Fink).
