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Stephen Flaherty

STEPHEN FLAHERTY

  (1960 - )
Nationality:    USA
email:    n/a     Website:    Click here

Literary Agent:    William Morris Endeavor Entertainment, LLC  represented by John Buzzetti

STEPHEN FLAHERTY is the composer of the Broadway musicals Rocky, Ragtime (Tony, Drama Desk, OCC Awards, two Grammy nominations), Seussical (Grammy, Drama Desk nominations) and Once on This Island (Tony nomination, Olivier Award, Best Musical.) Additional Broadway includes Chita Rivera: The Dancer's Life (original songs) and Neil Simon's Proposals (incidental music). Stephen has also written four musicals at Lincoln Center Theatre: The Glorious Ones (OCC, Drama Desk nominations), Dessa Rose (OCC, Drama Desk nominations), A Man of No Importance (OCC, Best Musical, Drama Desk nomination) and My Favorite Year. Other theater includes Lucky Stiff, Loving Repeating: A Musical of Gertrude Stein (Chicago's Jefferson Award, Best New Musical) and In Your Arms, a new dance theater piece with director-choreographer Christopher Gattelli and ten noted playwrights. Film includes Anastasia (two Academy Award and two Golden Globe nominations), the documentary After The Storm and the upcoming Lucky Stiff. This year celebrates Stephen's 30-year collaboration with lyricist-librettist Lynn Ahrens. A double live CD commemorating their body of work titled Nice Fighting You has just been released by Broadway Records. Upcoming: Little Dancer at the Kennedy Center, Fall 2014, directed and choreographed by Susan Stroman, and the stage adaptation of Anastasia, currently in development. Mr. Flaherty's concert music has premiered at the Hollywood Bowl, Boston's Symphony Hall, Carnegie Hall, the Guggenheim Museum and Symphony Space. Stephen and Lynn are members of the Dramatists Guild Council and cofounders of the Dramatists Guild Fellows Program.

Research:    Member of the Dramatists Guild of America (as at 2015)

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below is a list of Stephen Flaherty's plays - click on a Play Title for more information

         Chita Rivera: the Dancer's Life         Dessa Rose         Emperor's New Clothes, The         Glorious Ones, The         In Your Arms         Loving Repeating: A Musical Of Gertrude Stein         Lucky Stiff         Man Of No Importance, A         My Favorite Year         Once On This Island         Ragtime         Rocky         Suessical         Twice Upon A Time: Dr Seuss' the Lorax

Chita Rivera: the Dancer's Life

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
Written by Terrence McNally; Original Songs by: Lynn Ahrens And Stephen Flaherty. Featuring songs with lyrics by Milton Leeds, James Taylor, Irving Berlin, Lawrence Holofcener, Sheldon Harnick, Cole Porter, Stephen Sondheim, Lee Adams, Fred ebb, Dorothy Fields, edward eliscu, StElla Unger And Jerry Bock; Featuring songs by Victor Young, Alberto Domingues, James Taylor, Irving Berlin, Jerry Bock, Sheldon Harnick, Cole Porter, Leonard Bernstein, Charles Strouse, John Kander, Cy Coleman, Astor Piazzolla, Billy Rose And Lawrence Holofcener.

1st Produced:
Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre,    11 Dec 2005

Organisations:
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1st Published:
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Music:
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Genre:
Musical

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Dessa Rose

Dessa Rose
Dessa Rose is a slave. the plantation owner murders the Father of her unborn baby. Dessa and some of the other slaves are sold as they are being sent away they revolt and kill some of their guards. Dessa is captured and sentenced to hang - after she has given birth - as the baby is a valuable piece of property. Dessa Rose manages to escape with the help of Nathan and some other friends. She is taken to a remote plantation run by Ruth a white woman. Ruth allows runaways to work on her plantation while she looks after them before they can escape to the North. Dessa Rose and Ruth fall in love

Notes:
Music by Stephen Flaherty. Lyrics by Lynn Ahrens

1st Produced:
Mitz E Newhouse Theater, New York    21 Mar 2005

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
Original cast recording: Jay (1392)

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If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

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Genre:
Musical. - - Gay/Lesbian musical

Parts:
Male:  6            Female:  5            Other:  doubling

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Emperor's New Clothes, The

Synopsis:
emperor Marcus III wonders how to run an empire when he's only 14. He's reading "How to be a Better emperor," but he's still flattered into an historic state of self-deception!"

Notes:
Lyrics by Lynn Ahrens And composed by Stephen Flaherty. Under the title Twice Upon A Time, the world premiere double bill offers the Lorax And the emperor's New Clothes, inspired by stories by Dr. Seuss And Hans Christian Andersen, respectively

1st Produced:

Organisations:
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1st Published:
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Music:
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Genre:
One act Musical

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Glorious Ones, The

Synopsis:
Set in 17th-century Italy, the Glorious Ones concerns a theatre group in the world of commedia dell'arte and theatre of the Italian Renaissance. It's a sung valentine to the actor's life, with its joys, hardships and sorrows, set during a period when the comic theatre was beginning to shed its vulgar roots and evolve toward a greater refinement. the Glorious Ones travel the length and breadth of Italy, playing commedia dell'arte in the streets and palaces with equal vigour. Founded by the ingenious madman Flaminia Scala, the small company of players endures passionate affairs, riots, disgrace - all manner of triumph and hardship. Pantalone the miser, sunny armanda the dwarf and gossip loving Columbina view their myriad shared adventures through markedly different eyes. Yet not one of them is prepared for the strange twisting of the road brought about by the mysterious arrival of IsabElla andreini, who is about to change their wayward troupe. . ..

Notes:
Based on the novel by Francine Prose, book And lyrics by Lynn Ahrens, music by Stephen Flaherty

1st Produced:

Organisations:
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1st Published:
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Music:
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If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

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Genre:
musical

Parts:
Male:  4            Female:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:

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In Your Arms

Synopsis:
A company that has amassed an astounding 18 Tony Awards, 4 Pulitzer Prizes, 6 Pulitzer finalist distinctions, 3 Emmys, and 2 Academy Awards joins forces at the Globe for an exuberant world premiere dance-theatre musical! Ten of Americas best theatrical storytellers (the minds behind such hits as The Full Monty, Driving Miss Daisy, M. Butterfly, and Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike) join director-choreographer Christopher Gattelli (Newsies, The King and I) and composer Stephen Flaherty (Ragtime) to create a ravishing evening that glides, leaps, and twirls through the giddy extremes of romantic love. This unique event ranges across eras and cultures and tells its stories through the universal language of dance, from classical ballet to swing to tap to ballroom to jazz to flamenco and more. In Your Arms is as intoxicating as a sunset cocktail and as exhilarating as a first kiss.

Notes:
Music by Stephen Flaherty; Vignettes by Douglas Carter Beane, Nilo Cruz, Christopher Durang, Carrie Fisher, David Henry Hwang, Rajiv Joseph, Terrence McNally, Marsha Norman, Lynn Nottage, and Alfred UhryDirection and Choreography by Christopher Gattelli; Lyrics by Lynn Ahrens; Conceived by Christopher Gattelli and Jennifer Manocherian

1st Produced:

Organisations:
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1st Published:
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Music:
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If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

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Genre:
dance theatre

Parts:
Male:  11            Female:  12            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Loving Repeating: A Musical Of Gertrude Stein

Synopsis:
Based on the words of Gertrude Stein, this musical weaves her philosophy on writing and her friendship with Alice B Tokias into a tale told through movement and music.

Notes:
Chicagos Jefferson Award, Best New Musical

1st Produced:
-    -

Organisations:
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1st Published:
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Music:
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To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

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Genre:
musical

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Lucky Stiff

Lucky Stiff
Harry inherits six million dollars from his Uncle Anthony. there is a condition in the will - that Harry take his dead Uncle and a heart shaped box to Monte Carlo.

Notes:
Music by Stephen Flaherty; lyrics by Lynn Ahrens; book by Lynn Ahrens. Based on "the Man Who Broke the Bank At Monte Carlo" by Michael Butterworth

1st Produced:
Playwrights Horizons, New York    25 Apr 1988

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
Original cast recording Varese (5461) 1993

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If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

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Genre:
Musical

Parts:
Male:  5            Female:  5            Other:  doubling

Further Reference:

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Man Of No Importance, A

Man Of No Importance, A
Alfie is a bus conductor who idolises Oscar Wilde. He reads Wilde's works to his passengers. When he finally drums up courage to look for love he dresses up as Oscar - hair parted in the middle, green carnation and so on.

Notes:
Book by Terrence McNally; Music by Stephen Flaherty; Lyrics by Lynn Ahrens

1st Produced:
-    2002

Organisations:
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1st Published:
-   -

Music:
Original cast recording: Jay (CDJay 1369) 2002 2002

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

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Genre:
Musical. - - Gay/Lesbian, musical

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  large cast

Further Reference:

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My Favorite Year

My Favorite Year
My Favorite Year takes place in 1954, the favorite year of Benjy Stone. Benjy has just made the jump from smart-ass kid from the deli, pushing a joke with every cruller, to a freshman writer on TV's hottest comedy variety show
- http://www.theatermania.com/new-york/shows/my-favorite-year_21349/

Notes:
Music by Stephen Flaherty; lyrics by Lynn Ahrens; book by Joseph Docherty

1st Produced:
Vivien Beaumont Theatre, New York    33948

Organisations:
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1st Published:
-   -

Music:
Original cast recording: RCa (61617) 1992

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

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Genre:
Musical

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:

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Once On This Island

Synopsis:
an island is divided on one half live the black peasants; on the other the light brown landowners. the peasants tell a frightened child the story of Ti Moune. She is a peasant and one day sees Daniel a landowner and she asks the Gods to let her have a romance with him . they agree and arrange a car accident that she rescues him from. She nurses him and then follows him home as she is now in love with him. But Daniel has a fiancee and says he will marry her. Ti Moune is distraught to ease her pain the Gods turn her into a tree. Many years later Daniel's son passes the tree and sees a young peasant girl sitting in its branches.

Notes:
Music by Stephen Flaherty. Lyrics by Lynn Ahrens. Based on the novel "My Love, My Love" by Rosa Guy

1st Produced:
Booth Theater, New York    18 Oct 1990

Organisations:
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1st Published:
-   -

Music:
Original cast recording: RCa (60595)

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

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Genre:
Musical

Parts:
Male:  5            Female:  6            Other:  -

Further Reference:

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Ragtime

Synopsis:
the musical is based on e.L. Doctorow's novel about life in America in the early 20th century, and features colorful characters such as Houdini, Emma Goldman, and Henry Ford, along with three archetypal (fictional) families whose destinies intertwine in unexpected ways.

Notes:
Book by Terrence McNally, Lyrics by Lynn Ahrens, music by Stephen Flaherty. From e L Doctorow Novel

1st Produced:
Ford Center For The Performing Arts, NY    18 Jan 1998

Organisations:
Sonia Friedman Productions

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
Original cast recording: RCa Victor (09026631672)

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

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Genre:
Musical

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  Large Cast

Further Reference:

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Rocky

Rocky
Set in Philadelphia, the musical tells the tale of a down-and-out fighter who takes one last shot at achieving his dreams and finding love. It's timeless story of perseverance and overcoming the odds is now turned into a high-adrenaline theatre experience! - See more at: http://www.newyorkcitytheatre.com/theaters/wintergardentheater/rocky-the-musical.php#sthash.9r65Zbw9.dpuf

Notes:
Book by Thomas Meehan and Sylvester Stallone; Music by Stephen Flaherty; Lyrics by Lynn Ahrens; Based on the Motion Picture by MGM and United Artists

1st Produced:
Operettenhaus, Hamburg    18 Nov 2012

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
Original Broadway cast recording: Universal Music Enterprises 2014

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

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Genre:
Musical

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Suessical

Suessical
the story of an elephant called Horton whose adventure to preserve the life he finds floating on a speck of dust is weaved into a touching musical - Mark Shenton, Sunday express

Notes:
Music by Stephen Flaherty; lyrics by Lynn Ahrens; book by Lynn Ahrens; Stephen Flaherty. Based on the books by Doctor Suess

1st Produced:
Richard Rodgers Theatre, New York    30 Nov 2000

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
Original cast recording: Decca (012 159 792-2) 2000

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

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Genre:
Musical

Parts:
Male:  6            Female:  6            Other:  -

Further Reference:

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Twice Upon A Time: Dr Seuss' the Lorax

Synopsis:
the story of Onceler (Bobby Smith) who begins cutting down all the trees in the land and the Lorax, who speaks for them, will not have it!

Notes:
Lyrics by Lynn Ahrens And composed by Stephen Flaherty. Under the title Twice Upon A Time, the world premiere double bill offers the Lorax And the emperor's New Clothes, inspired by stories by Dr. Seuss And Hans Christian Andersen, respectively

1st Produced:

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
One act Musical

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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