Mitch Leigh (born January 30, 1928 in Brooklyn, New York) is an American musical theatre composer and theatrical producer best known for the show Man Of La Mancha.
Born Irwin Michnick and graduating from Yale (1951 Bachelor of Music, 1952 Master of Music) [1] under Paul Hindemith, he began as a jazz musician and writing commercials for radio and television. In 1965 he teamed up with lyricist Joe Darion and writer Dale Wasserman to write a musical based on Wasserman's 1959 television play, I, Don Quixote. The resulting show, Man Of La Mancha opened on Broadway and ran for 2,328 performances.
Leigh's next show was Chu Chem. This show followed Man of La Mancha by exactly one year. It closed on the road. It was revived in 1989.
Cry For Us All, which was based on the play, "Hogan's Goat", opened on Broadway in 1970.
Home Sweet Somer, Starring Yul Brynner, opened in 1975.
Leigh's latest show is 1993's Ain't Broadway Grand!
He also composed the jingle: "Nobody Doesn't Like Sara Lee".
His wife is American painter Abby Leigh. He has three children, including the director Eve Leigh.
Awards
Leigh won a Tony Award for composing the music for Man Of La Mancha. He was also nominated for a Tony Award as the director of the revival of The King and I starring Yul Brynner.
References
External links
- Mitch Leigh at the Internet Movie Database
- Mitch Leigh at the Internet Broadway Database
- Mitch Leigh at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
- (Italian) Mitch Leigh: The Impossible Dream listen to Magazzini-Sonori
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