Susan Birkenhead is an American lyricist.
Susan Birkenhead | |
|---|---|
| Origin | United States |
| Occupation | Lyricist |
| Years active | 1978–present |
Birkenhead made her Broadway debut as one of a team of songwriters contributing to Working (1978), for which she received her first Tony Award nomination.[1] Her second was earned for Jelly's Last Jam (1992), which won her the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lyrics[2] and a Grammy Award nomination. Additional Broadway credits include Triumph of Love (Drama Desk nomination) and additional lyrics for the Cole Porter tunes in the 1998 revival of High Society.[3]
Birkenhead's Off-Broadway and regional theatre credits include What About Luv?, a musical adaptation of the Murray Schisgal play Luv, for which she won the Outer Critics Circle Award; Pieces of Eight with Jule Styne and Michael Stewart; Fanny Hackabout Jones with Erica Jong and Lucy Simon; The Night They Raided Minsky's with Charles Strouse and Evan Hunter, the new musical Minsky's based on the same; and, in collaboration with Henry Krieger, two potentially Broadway-bound projects based on hit films, The Flamingo Kid and Moonstruck (with a book by screenwriter John Patrick Shanley).
Birkenhead is one of several lyricists who contributed to Hats!, a musical inspired by the Red Hat Society, which is enjoying an open-ended run at Harrah's New Orleans, after premiering at the New Denver Civic Theatre.[4] The musical had a limited engagement at the Royal George Theatre in Chicago starting in April 2007.[5][6]
Radio Girl, a musical based on Kate Douglas Wiggin's Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, premiered at the Goodspeed Musicals' Norma Terrace Theatre with music by Henry Krieger, lyrics by Birkenhead, and a book by Daniel Goldfarb. The show ran in 2010 from July 29 to August 22.[7]
She also wrote the lyrics for the musical version of Sue Monk Kidd's The Secret Life of Bees, with music by Duncan Sheik and a book by Lynn Nottage. It premiered at the Off-Broadway Atlantic Theater Company on May 12, 2019, which was followed by a London production in 2023.
Awards and nominations
edit| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | Tony Award | Best Original Score | Working | Nominated |
| 1992 | Jelly's Last Jam | Nominated | ||
| Drama Desk Award | Outstanding Lyrics | Nominated | ||
| 1998 | Triumph of Love | Nominated |
References
edit- ^ Working Playbill (vault), accessed March 28, 2016
- ^ Jelly's Last Jam Playbill (vault), accessed March 28, 2016
- ^ High Society Playbill (vault), accessed March 28, 2016
- ^ Dodge, Marcia Milgrom; Dodge, Anthony; Bartlett, Rob. "Introduction" Hats!: The Musical, Samuel French, Inc., 2009, ISBN 0573696721, p. 4
- ^ Oxman, Steven. "Review: ‘Hats!’" Variety, April 30, 2007
- ^ "HATS! The Red Hat Society Musical". Archived from the original on 2007-04-29. Retrieved 2007-03-19.
- ^ Jones, Kenneth. "Goodspeed's 'Radio Girl', New Musical by Henry Krieger and Susan Birkenhead, Begins July 29" Playbill, July 29, 2010
External links
edit- Susan Birkenhead at the Internet Broadway Database
- Susan Birkenhead at the Dramatists Guild
- Susan Birkenhead at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
