David Hyde Pierce as Anton Gruber. Ravinia Festival.
Michael Cerveris as Oskar Kokoschka. Ravinia Festival.
Michael Cerveris and Judy Blazer as Oskar and Alma. Ravinia Festival.
"Wake up... to the 20th Century." Ravinia Festival.
Alma and the doll. Ravinia Festival.
Lonny Price directs a rehearsal at the Sundance Institute.
Brent Barret, Malcolm Gets, Mary Testa, Alicia Irving. Sundance Institute.
Music by Scott Frankel
Book & Lyrics by Michael Korie
Ravinia Festival, Chicago, 2003
Directed by Lonny Price
Musical direction by Scott Frankel
With Judith Blazer, Michael Cerveris,
David Hyde Pierce, Mary Testa
Sundance Institute, 2005
Directed by Lonny Price
Musical Direction by Brad Haak
With Malcolm Gets, Mary Testa,
Brent Barret, Alicia Irving
Lincoln Center Theater, 2002
Reading directed by Graciela Daniele
Musical Direction by David Evans
With Patti LuPone, Roger Bart,
Jeff McCarthy, Mary Testa
Hunter Foster as Stanley, conductor of a metaphysical subway car. Photo: Paul Kolnik
Sebastian Arcelus as Zack. Photo: Paul Kolnik
Ken Page as Maurice. Photo: Paul Kolnik
Phyllis Somerville as Helen. Photo: Paul Kolnik
Fred Applegate, Alexander Scheitinger, James Moye. Photo: Paul Kolnik
Phyllis Somerville and Miguel Cervantes. Photo: Paul Kolnik
Joanna Gleason and Robb Sapp. Photo: Paul Kolnik
Pearl Sun and Robert Petkoff as Neil and Cindy. Photo: Paul Kolnik
Robb Sapp and Jenny Powers. Photo: Paul Kolnik
Trapped on the subway. Photo: Paul Kolnik
Sebastian Arcelus and Hunter Foster. Photo: Paul Kolnik
Susan Stroman directs a rehearsal.
Lincoln Center Theater, 2009
Book by John Weidman
Music Scott Frankel
Lyrics by Michael Korie
Direction & Choreography:
Susan Stroman
Scenic Design by Tom Lynch
Costume Design by William Ivey Long
Lighting Design by Donald Holder
Sound Design by Scott Lehrer
Orchestrations by Bruce Coughlin
Music Direction by Eric Stern
With Anna Maria Andrican,
Fred Applegate, Sebastian Arcelus,
Miguel Cervantes, Patrick Cummings,
Hunter Foster, Alan H. Green,
Joanna Gleason, James Moye,
Alessa Neeck, Ken Page,
Robert Petkoff, Jenny Powers, Robb Sapp,
Phyllis Somerville, Pearl Sun,
Alexander Scheitinger, Idara Victor
PRESS
“…110 minutes of flawless, nonstop entertainment. It amazes. It is the work of sometime Sondheim librettist John Weidman, with music and lyrics by Grey Gardens creators Scott Frankel and Michael Korie and direction and choreography by the eminent Susan Stroman, which adds up to as good a pedigree as one could hope for in a new musical.”
–John Simon, Bloomberg.com, March 30, 2009
“Happiness has a jazzy score and clever lyrics, thanks to composer Scott Frankel and lyricist Michael Korie, who also did Grey Gardens. They have a gift for understanding the subtle contradictions in people and exposing the vulnerability beneath a polished exterior.”
–Fern Seigel, The Huffington Post, May 11, 2009
“..this highly imaginative production moves seamlessly, reeling in its audience in the first five minutes and never letting it off the hook for the hour and 50-minute length of the intermission-less free show. A cast of 24 talented actors, some of them taking multiple roles, help make Happiness one of the unexpected delights of the waning theatrical season.”
–Frederick M. Winship, United Press International, April 1, 2009
“…chock-full of wonderful, original, thought-provoking characters, ideas and songs. It’s one of the best musicals of the last 10 years to not get recorded. If a musical plays in the forest but nobody makes an original cast recording, did it really play? (In all seriousness, a Happiness cast recording must happen.)”
–Jennifer Ashley Tepper, “They Only Ran a Minute! 10 Forgotten Musicals Due For a Revival,” Playbill.com, May 3, 2015
MEDIA
Doctor Zhivago
Tam Mutu as doctor and poet Yurii Zhivago. Broadway production. Photo: Matthew Murphy
Jonah Halperin as Young Yurii at his father's funeral. Broadway production. Photo: Matthew Murphy
The wedding of Tonia Gromeko to Yurii Zhivago. Broadway production. Photo: Matthew Murphy
Kelli Barrett as Lara Guishar, about to shoot Viktor Komarovsky. Photo: Matthew Murphy
Tom Hewitt as the lawyer Viktor Komarovsky. Broadway production. Photo: Matthew Murphy
Lara's wedding night confession to Pasha Antipov, Photo: Matthew Murphy
Lora Lee Gayer as Tonia Zhivago as Yurii departs for war. Photo: Matthew Murphy
Tam Mutu as Doctor Zhivago returning home from war to Moscow. Photo: Matthew Murphy
World War I, the Russian German front. Photo: Matthew Murphy
Pasha Antipov becomes the feared revolutionary, Strelnikov. Photo: Matthew Murphy
Kelli Barrett as Lara, Tam Mutu as Zhivago. Photo: Matthew Murphy
Kelli Barrett as Lara and Sophia Gennusa as Katerina read Zhivago's poem. Photo: Matthew Murphy
Company. Helsinki. Photo: Charlotte Estman-Wennström
Antti Timonen, Anna-Maija Tuokko. Helsinki. Photo: Charlotte Estman-Wennström
"Blood on the Snow." Helsinki. Photo: Charlotte Estman-Wennström
Tuukka Leppänen as Doctor Zhivago. Helsinki. Photo: Charlotte Estman-Wennström
Lars Humble, Åsa Fång, Christopher Wollter. Malmo Opera. Photo: Malin Arnesson
Zhivago writes a poem. Helsinki. Photo: Charlotte Estman-Wennström
National Theater of Hungary, 2016
National Theater of Hungary, 2016
Sanna Nielsen as Lara Guishar in the Malmö Opera production.
Lucy Maunder as Lara, Anthony Warlow as Zhivago. Australia. Photo: Kurt Sneddon
Jo Seung-woo as Yurii Zhivago and the company in the Korean production.
Graham Rowat, La Jolla Playhouse Production.
Michael Korie, Michael Weller, Lucy Simon, Amy Powers
Book by Michael Weller
Music by Lucy Simon
Lyrics by Michael Korie & Amy Powers
Based on Boris Pasternak’s novel
The Broadway Theatre
New York, 2015
Directed by Des McAnuff
Music Direction by Ron Melrose
Choreography by Kelly Devine
Scenic Design by Michael Scott-Mitchell
Costume Design by Paul Tazewell
Lighting Design by Howell Binkley
Orchestrations by Danny Troob
With Tam Mutu, Kelli Barrett,
Tom Hewitt, Paul Alexander Nolan,
Lora Lee Gayer, Jamie Jackson,
Jacqueline Antaramian, Jonah Halperin,
Sophia Gennusa, Ava-Riley Miles
National Theater of Hungary, 2016-2017
Budapest Summer Festival 2017 Directed by Forgács Péter
Conducted by Silló István & Köteles Géza
Malmö Opera, Sweden, 2014 Directed by Ronny Danielsson Conducted by Joakim Halli
With Christopher Wollter, Sanna Nielsen
Helsingin Kaupungin Teatteri , Finland, 2013 Directed by Hans Berndtsson Conducted by Markku Luuppala With Tuukka Leppänen
Charlotte Theater, Seoul, Korea, 2012 With Jo Seung-woo as Yurii Zhivago
Lyric Theatre, Sydney, Australia, 2011 Her Majesty’s Theatre, Melbourne, 2011 Lyric Theatre, Brisbane, 2011
With Anthony Warlow, Lucy Maunder
La Jolla Playhouse, San Diego, 2006
Directed by Des MacAnuff
Music Direction by Eric Stern
With Ivan Hernandez and Jessica Burrows
Press
“Doctor Zhivago is an earnest romance with an epic, operatic scope…..true to the spirit of its age (it) presents unabashed emotion too rarely seen on the contemporary stage. With a concise book by Michael Weller, eloquent lyrics by Michael Korie and Amy Powers and heartfelt music by Lucy Simon of The Secret Garden, the story of a doctor and poet and a smart, beautiful woman – both promised to others – is given estimable treatment. Simon gives them surging melodies with bold colors, and the score is filled with Russian-style grandeur. Des McAnuff directs a thoughtful production.”
–Ronni Reich, TheStar Ledger
“Doctor Zhivago…has survived its long journey from samizdat to Broadway, under Des McAnuff’s direction, with surprisingly respectable results. Lucy Simon’s lovely, lush score isn’t overshadowed by the appearance of “Somewhere My Love”…a duet between Zhivago’s wife, Tonia and his great love, Lara, is unexpectedly touching.”
—The New Yorker, May 4, 2015
“Lucy Simon’s music is lush and makes solid impressions. Yes, you’ll walk out of Doctor Zhivago humming a song.”
–Frank Scheck, The Hollywood Reporter
“The score by composer Lucy Simon and lyricists Michael Korie and Amy Powers resonates.”
–Joe Dziemianowicz, Daily News
“A strong musical score by Lucy Simon and poignant lyrics by Michael Korie and Amy Powers are beautifully performed by all the cast…To transform and abridge such an epic novel into musical theater, to create the right mix of heightened drama without overstepping the boundaries and entering into melodrama, is an amazing feat…a musical that delivers on all accounts a deeply moving interpretation of Pasternak’s saga.”
—Kelli Rogers, Australian Stage, July 10, 2011
“Doctor Zhivago is an epic Russian romance that captivates the audience from its first Moscow moments to its final affirmation of love’s ability to triumph over politics and convention… But it’s really Lucy Simon’s score that really makes the musical, an evocative powerful score you’ll be humming for days afterwards.”
Full-Length Concert Work for
New York City Gay Men’s Chorus
Carnegie Hall, June 2000
Conducted by Barry Oliver
Directed by Christopher Ashley
Choreography by Brett Oberman
Vocal Arrangements by Nina Gilbert
With Joel Grey, John McMartin
Joyce Castle, Theodora Middleton
Press
“Michael Korie, a lyricist, has nothing against the plaque in Greenwich Village marking the site of the Stonewall Inn where gay men battled police in June 1969 and began the modern movement for lesbian and gay rights. But when Mr. Korie walks the streets of New York, he sees many other places where gay New Yorkers gathered in the decades before the now-legendary rebellion. There is no plaque on Columbus Circle to commemorate a Childs Restaurant where gay men created a “cafeteria society” in the 1920s and 30s. No engraved words mark the Bowery’s turn of the century “fairy resorts.” In fact, few New Yorkers realize such places ever existed. A new work with lyrics by Korie and music by Larry Grossman will try to do what the history books could not — a collection of songs that traces the evolution of lesbian and gay culture in New York during the first half of the century.”
–Marcia Biederman, The New York Times
“Composer Larry Grossman’s rags, waltzes, and ballads are lilting, instantly hummable, and true to the melodic period. Barry Oliver briskly moves the chorus the program, and the recording has a crisp concert hall sound. ”
–Gerald Bartell, New York Blade
“An endearing and historic valentine. The New York City Gay Men’s Chorus couldn’t have chosen a better celebration of its 20th anniversary than commissioning this winning work.”
–Andrew Velez, HX Magazine
“This Songbook is musically strong. “We Have a Boston Marriage,” “Nothing is as Open as the Road,” and “The Old Hall” are lovely, “Lavender” a real beauty.”
–Ken Mandlebaum, On Stage!
“One of the most satisfying and astute aspects of the Songbook’s progression is its movement between celebration and terror, between the hilarity of our grandparents’ generation finding secret societies of comrades, and the proximity to exposure, ridicule and jail. The power of Grossman and Korie’s achievement leaves no doubt that this historic premiere will have been the precursor to an historic success.”
–Christopher Millis, In Newsweekly
“A rich gay life in New York going back more than a century. Both fun and sad.”
–Andrea Bernstein, National Public Radio
“We can identify with men whose struggle to survive in situations we can see. Heartbreakingly lovely. “
Positions 1956 is a 90-minute chamber opera in three acts. Each act is based on 1950s instructional manuals. In “Act One: Marriage Manual,” a newlywed couple grapples with the positions in marriage how-to books. In “Act Two: Physique,” the husband and trainer practice fitness positions from muscle magazines. In “Act Three: Social Dancing,” the couple works on marriage through dances from Arthur Murray manuals. Act One premiered in 1988 at PS 122 in New York. The full opera premiered in 2012 at Washington D.C.’s Urban Arias company, directed by Noah Himmelstein, conducted by Robert Wood, featuring Jesse Blumberg, Amedee Moore and Vale Rideout.
Press
“Positions 1956 showcases two mature professionals at the top of their game, completely at ease in the world of new opera, with a work that is funny, musically accessible, and emotionally stirring… Korie kicks into a new gear in his writing, as he moves from clever risque into crafting wonderful riffs in his rhyming that work on several levels. He plays with bigger social and political themes and makes us recognize certain American traits of character… I left with a feeling that I had seen something very special indeed. This is what theatre and certainly opera should be but rarely is.”
— Susan Galbraith, DC Theatre Scene.com, April 17, 2012
“This is very much a libretto-driven opera…The lyrics by Korie are masterful. There are moments of great poignancy and also some hilarious touches. Positions 1956 is a good work that deserves more performances in coming years.
–Scott Pender, MyBigGayEars.com, April 21, 2012
“It is an amusing piece given substance by some tender and some keen, rueful moments… The imagery often proved potent.”
