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The Authors of The Addams Family Musical

24.1.2023

Tarina Addamsin perheestä yltää 1930-luvulle saakka yhdysvaltalaisen Charles Addamsin (1912–1988) luomaan sarjakuvaan, jossa hän kehitteli hulvattomia ja karrikoituja hahmojaan. Televisiosarjana tarinaa esitettiin 1960-luvulla. Sittemmin Addamseista on tehty kolme Hollywood-elokuvaa (1991, 1993 ja 1998).

Musikaalina The Addams Family kantaesitettiin 2010 Broadwaylla. Sen käsikirjoittivat Marshall Brickman ja Rick Elice ja sävelsi Andrew Lippa eli nämä englanniksi esiteltävät herrat: 

Marshall Brickman.

Marshall Brickman, born in Brazil of American parents, attended New York public schools and the University of Wisconsin, where he received a double baccalaureate in both science and music.
He entered show business first as a member of the folk group The Tarriers and then, along with John and Michelle Phillips, as one of The New Journeymen, a precursor of The Mamas and the Papas, whose flamboyant life-style and eccentric harmonies defined the post-folk era of tuning up, turning on and cashing in.
Trading in his Gibson Mastertone 5-string banjo for an IBM Selectric, he secured a position as writer/director on Candid Camera, America’s original reality show, a wildly successful early experiment in monetizing public humiliation, for which he hereby apologizes.
Fleeing Candid Camera, Brickman found solace as head writer for Johnny Carson, whose late-night show on NBC emanated from ironically named Radio City in midtown Manhattan, a stroke of luck that allowed him to stay as far from Los Angles as possible while still retaining U.S. citizenship. In 1970 he left NBC to become producer/head writer of Dick Cavett’s late-night show on ABC. Among the many ground-breaking events that Cavett introduced into the late-night formula was the night presidential hopeful George McGovern was interviewed by last-minute guest host Bill Russell of the Boston Celtics. The result was fascinating, not unlike watching a python ingesting a small cow.
In the meantime he had started a collaboration with Woody Allen, a young comic who opened for the Tarriers at Fred Weintraub’s Bitter End, the legendary Bleeker Street coffee house that provided exposure to upcoming talent in music and comedy. They worked at odd hours on screenplays and material for Allen’s early TV appearances, an experience like no other. Brickman watched Mr. Allen negotiate both the creative and practical issues confronting an artist working in a commercial environment; he learned things that can’t be taught and never laughed as hard as the time spent roaming the city with a certified genius discussing art, politics, women, the state of the business, and why Durwood Kirby was considered funny, even by people with college degrees.

Mr. Brickman’s film work as author (or co-author with Woody Allen) includes Sleeper, Annie Hall (Academy Award), Manhattan, (AA nomination) and Manhattan Murder Mystery. As film writer/director): Simon, Lovesick, The Manhattan Project, Sister Mary Explains it All. In television: The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson (head writer, 1967-’70); The Dick Cavett Show (head writer/co-producer, 1970-’72).
Brickman’s recording (with ex-Tarrier Eric Weissberg) of the soundtrack of Deliverance, released in 1970, contained the surprise hit “Dueling Banjos,” achieved platinum status, and remains a healthy seller over 40 years later.
His first foray into musical theater resulted in Jersey Boys, which won the Tony, Olivier, Helpmann, Grammy and many other awards worldwide, is in its twelfth year on Broadway, has been seen by twenty
million people worldwide and is currently the 10th-longest running show in the history of Broadway. The film version of the show was directed by Clint Eastwood.
Mr. Brickman’s other theatrical efforts include “Turn of the Century,” which played to capacity houses in Chicago, and “The Addams Family,” starring Nathan Lane and Bebe Neuwirth, which ran for two years on Broadway and to date has had over four thousand first and second tier productions internationally.
In addition to his work in film and theater, Mr. Brickman has published in The New York Times, The New Yorker, Playboy and other periodicals. He is the 2006 recipient of the Writers’ Guild of America Ian McClellan Hunter Award for Lifetime Achievement.
His current project is a stage musical celebrating the life of western star Roy Rogers, scheduled to premiere late in 2017.
After over 40 years in the business, trying to balance talent with opportunity and watching the careers of colleagues, both successful and less so, he can reduce what he’s learned into one succinct bit of wisdom: above all, it’s important to be lucky.

Rick Elice.

Rick Elice (Book) co-wrote Jersey Boys (winner 2006 Tony Award, 2007 Grammy Award and 2009 Olivier Award for Best Musical) with Marshall Brickman. His play, Peter and the Starcatcher, received nine 2012 Tony Award nominations (including two for Rick) and won five, more than any play of the season. It’s currently playing in New York and on tour across North America. Also on Broadway, Elice wrote The Addams Family (with Marshall Brickman, music and lyrics by Andrew Lippa), currently touring North America, with productions in Europe and South America. In 2014, the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego presented the world premiere of his new musical, Dog and Pony (music and lyrics by Michael Patrick Walker). Rick is currently writing a musical for Disney Theatricals with Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, based on the film Make Believe, and Super Fly (co-written with Seth Zvi Rosenfeld), directed and choreographed by modern dance legend, Bill T. Jones. Heartfelt thanks to those whose work in the theatre makes him grateful for the day he was born: Sondheim, Stoppard, Bennett, Prince, Fosse, Robbins, Nichols, Tune, Nunn, Laurents, Stone, Kushner, Taymor, Papp, Schumacher, Schneider, Coyne, Brickman, Timbers and Rees. Rick thinks about them a lot. He never thought about Jersey much. He does now.

Andrew Lippa.

Andrew Lippa’s new epic choral work “Unbreakable” had its world premiere with The San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus on June 22nd and 23rd, 2018 in San Francisco with 300 artists onstage including Mr. Lippa. Ten more choruses across the country will present this new work in the next year and the original cast recording, produced by legendary producer Leslie Ann Jones, will be released by Ghostlight Records in November, 2018. He conducted the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in a new production of his “A Little Princess” in concert in London at the Royal Festival Hall in May, 2018 to a sold-out crowd of nearly 3,000 people.
His hit song “Evil Like Me” appears in Disney’s “Descendants”. Written for Kristin Chenoweth that soundtrack hit #1 on the “Billboard 200” album chart, #1 on the iTunes and Billboard soundtrack charts, has been viewed over 70 million times on YouTube and “Evil Like Me” was certified gold in 2017. On Feb. 1st, 2017, Lippa opened the new season of The American Songbook Series at Lincoln Center with his sold out concert of “Andrew Lippa and Friends.” In 2016, he composed and conducted a world premiere piece for the international piano virtuoso Lang Lang and the Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra in Guangzhou, China. This new work, a 32-minute, 5-movement piece called “Rising Tide”, was reprised later in 2016 and recorded in China. Lippa’s epic Concept Opera “I am Anne Hutchinson/I Am Harvey Milk” had its world premiere at The Music Center at Strathmore in April of 2016 starring Kristin Chenoweth as Anne Hutchinson and Mr. Lippa as Harvey Milk. Summer 2016 saw the US premiere of “Life of the Party” – a musical compendium of Mr. Lippa’s career – produced by Theatreworks in Mountain View, CA and starring Mr. Lippa. Summer of 2017, Bay Street Theater in Sag Harbor, NY, presented the world premiere of The Man in the Ceiling. Based on Jules Feiffer’s award-winning novel, this musical features a book by Mr. Feiffer and music and lyrics by Mr. Lippa. Directed by Jeffrey Seller (Tony-winning producer of “Hamilton”) Mr. Lippa played the role of Uncle Lester in this production.
Broadway credits include: Music and lyrics for Big Fish directed and choreographed by Susan Stroman; the Tony-nominated music and lyrics for the Broadway musical The Addams Family (directed by Jerry Zaks) as well as the music for Aaron Sorkin’s Broadway play The Farnsworth Invention (directed by Des McAnuff). Other musicals include the Drama Desk award winning musical The Wild Party (book/music/lyrics); A Little Princess (music); john & jen (music/book); Asphalt Beach (music and lyrics); and You’re A Good Man, Charlie Brown (additional music/lyrics and arrangements). His epic oratorio for men’s chorus, orchestra and soloists, I Am Harvey Milk has seen over 30 productions including Disney Hall and Lincoln Center. Awards: Tony and Grammy nominations; shared Emmy for Nickelodeon’s “The Wonder Pets”; SFGMC Vanguard Award; The Gilman/Gonzalez-Falla Theater Foundation Award; ASCAP’s Richard Rodgers/New Horizons Award; The Drama Desk Award; The Outer Critics Circle Award. A graduate of the University of Michigan, Mr. Lippa serves as president of the board of The Dramatists Guild Foundation (dgf.org). He was born in Leeds, England, grew up in suburban Detroit and is an ordained Interfaith minister. andrewlippa.com