Glenn Slater (born January 28, 1968) is an American lyricist for musical theatre. He has collaborated with Alan Menken, Christopher Lennertz, Andrew Lloyd Webber, among other composers. He was nominated for three Tony Awards for Best Original Score for the Broadway version of The Little Mermaid at the 62nd Tony Awards in 2008, Sister Act at the 65th Tony Awards in 2011, and School of Rock at the 70th Tony Awards in 2016.
Glenn Slater | |
|---|---|
| Born | January 28, 1968 |
| Alma mater | Harvard University (1990) |
| Occupation | Lyricist |
| Spouse | Wendy Leigh Wilf |
| Children | 2 |
Early life edit
Slater was born in Brooklyn, New York. He is Jewish.[1] Raised in East Brunswick, New Jersey, he graduated from East Brunswick High School as part of the class of 1986; he became interested in drama while at high school after an unsuccessful effort as a songwriter with a band.[2] In 1990, he graduated from Harvard University where he composed Hasty Pudding Theatricals' 141st production, Whiskey Business. He has received the ASCAP Foundation's Richard Rodgers New Horizon Award with composer Stephen Weiner.
Career edit
Slater wrote the lyrics for the Off-Broadway stage revue Newyorkers produced by the Manhattan Theatre Club in 2001.[3] He has written lyrics for six editions of Ringling Brothers & Barnum and Bailey Circus.
His first work with Alan Menken was writing the lyrics for the film Home on the Range in 2004 and the stage production Sister Act the Musical (2006).[4]
He wrote the lyrics for the stage adaptation of Disney's The Little Mermaid (2008), replacing the animated film's original lyricist Howard Ashman, who died in 1991.[5] He also worked with Menken on the new musical version of Leap of Faith.[6]
Slater and his wife, Wendy Leigh Wilf, wrote the book, music and lyrics to a new musical Beatsville that received a production at the 2008 NAMT Festival of New Musicals, in New York. It is based on the 1959 Roger Corman film A Bucket of Blood.[7]
He has also composed the lyrics and co-wrote the book for the major Andrew Lloyd Webber musical Love Never Dies, which is a sequel to Lloyd Webber's 1986 musical The Phantom of the Opera. The show premiered in the West End in March 2010.[8]
Adding to his career as a lyricist, Slater wrote the lyrics for the songs in Disney's 50th animated feature Tangled. In 2015 he worked again with Andrew Lloyd Webber for the Broadway musical School of Rock and continued his working relationship with Alan Menken writing lyrics for the songs of Galavant on ABC.[9]
Slater attended the BMI Musical Theatre Workshop and was a resident writer with Musical Theatreworks.[3]
Awards and honors edit
Slater has received the Kleban Award for Lyrics, the ASCAP Foundation Richard Rodgers New Horizons Award and the Jonathan Larson Award.[10]
He was nominated for the 2008 Tony Award for Best Original Score for The Little Mermaid and received his second nomination for this award in 2011 for Sister Act.[11]
He won a Grammy Award at the 2012 Grammy Awards (held on 12 February 2012), in the Best Song Written for Visual Media category for the song "I See The Light" from the animation movie Tangled. In July 2020, Slater won a Daytime Emmy Award for Original Song in a Children's, Young Adult or Animated Program for the song "Waiting in the Wings" from Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure.[12]
Personal life edit
Slater lives in New York City with his wife, Wendy Leigh Wilf, and two sons, Benjamin and Daniel.[10] He is a supporter of the Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur.
References edit
- ^ Jones, Kenneth (2011-05-28). "PLAYBILL.COM'S BRIEF ENCOUNTER With Sister Act Lyricist Glenn Slater". Playbill. Retrieved 2019-05-26.
- ^ Keller, Ilana. "Glenn Slater: The man behind the music", Asbury Park Press, April 7, 2016. Accessed August 4, 2017. "Thirty years ago, Glenn Slater wandered the halls of East Brunswick High School — these days, you'll find him at School of Rock.... 'I owe quite a bit of where I am to East Brunswick,' said Slater, whose Class of 1986 is holding its 30th reunion next week."
- ^ a b Jones, Kenneth."New Revue, Newyorkers, Premieres at MTC Feb. 27; Opens March 20" Archived 2011-06-04 at the Wayback Machine, playbill.com, February 27, 2001
- ^ Hernandez, Ernio.Sister Act Musical Opens Run at Atlanta's Alliance Jan. 24" Archived 2011-06-04 at the Wayback Machine playbill.com, January 24, 2007
- ^ Gans, Andrew."Disney's The Little Mermaid to Premiere in Denver in 2007" Archived 2011-06-04 at the Wayback Machine playbill.com, September 6, 2006
- ^ Gans, Andrew."Tony Nominees Menken and Slater Have Full Plate with Mermaid, Faith and Sister Act" Archived 2011-06-04 at the Wayback Machine, playbill.com, June 13, 2008
- ^ Hetrick, Adam.New Music: "NAMT Announces Selections for 2008 Festival of New Musicals" Archived 2010-03-01 at the Wayback Machine playbill.com, July 17, 2008
- ^ Gans, Andrew and Shenton, Mark."Lloyd Webber's Love Never Dies to Premiere in London in March 2010; New York, Australia to Follow" Archived 2010-09-03 at the Wayback Machine, playbill.com, October 8, 2009
- ^ "Andrew Lloyd Webber's 'School of Rock' Musical Coming to Broadway in November". The New York Times. 18 December 2014. Retrieved 1 January 2015.
- ^ a b Slater credits Archived 2010-02-10 at the Wayback Machine playbill.com, accessed February 1, 2010
- ^ "2011 Tony Nominations Announced! THE BOOK OF MORMON Leads with 14!".
- ^ Nordyke, Kimberly (26 July 2020). "Daytime Emmy Awards Winners List: Amazon, HBO And Netflix Top Children's, Lifestyle, And Animation Honorees; Alan Menken Achieves EGOT Status". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 27 July 2020.