Edward “Ed” Kleban (April 30, 1939 - December 28, 1987) was an American musical theatre composer and lyricist.
A graduate of New York's High School of Music & Art and Columbia University, Kleban wrote the lyrics for the Broadway hit A Chorus Line. He and composer Marvin Hamlisch won the 1976 Tony Award for Best Original Score. The one-woman Phyllis Newman show, The Madwoman of Central Park West (1979), featured a few tunes with his lyrics.
He was a teacher for many years at the B.M.I. Musical Theater Workshop.[1]
In 2000, Lonny Price co-wrote with Linda Kline, directed, and starred in A Class Act, a musical biography of Kleban with a score consisting of songs he had written for numerous unproduced musicals. After a two-month run at the Manhattan Theatre Club, it transferred to the Ambassador Theatre, where it closed after three months. 14 years after his death, Kleban earned a Tony Award nomination for Best Original Score and Drama Desk nominations for Outstanding Music and Outstanding Lyrics.
Kleban created the Kleban Foundation in his will. The annual awards, each in the amount of $100,000 over two years, are given to the most promising librettist and lyricist in American musical theatre.[2][3]
He died from from throat cancer.[1]
References
- ^ a b "Edward Kleban, 48, Chorus Line Lyricist,"The New York Times, December 30, 1987
- ^ Kleban Awardsbmi.com, June 6, 2001
- ^ Gans, Andrew."Lindsay-Abaire Snags Kleban Award for Lyrics; Harrington, Solly and Ward Also Honored,"playbill.com, May 1, 2008
External links
| Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Charlie Smalls for The Wiz |
Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Music and Lyrics 1975-1976 for A Chorus Line |
Succeeded by - |
|
||||||||
This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)
