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FROM JOSEPH BROOKS, THE OSCAR AND GRAMMY- WINNING COMPOSER OF “YOU LIGHT UP MY LIFE,” COMES A NEW MUSICAL
IN MY LIFE
OPENED THURSDAY, OCTOBER 20
AT BROADWAY’S MUSIC BOX THEATRE
In My Life, a new musical written and directed by Joseph Brooks, the Oscar and Grammy-winning composer of “You Light Up My Life,” began performances at Broadway’s Music Box Theatre on Tuesday, September 27 at 8:00pm. Opening night was Thursday, October 20.
In the new musical In My Life, a musician with Tourette’s syndrome and a journalist with obsessive compulsive disorder meet cute at a grocery store—with some help from above— and begin an unlikely romance that proves that life’s greatest affliction is the one they share—true love.
Joseph Brooks is the recipient of the Academy Award for Best Song for “You Light Up My Life,” from the film of the same title which he wrote, directed, and produced for Columbia Pictures. It is the most successful independent film of all time, returning investors more than forty times their initial investment. He also wrote and arranged the score of the movie. According to Billboard “You Light Up My Life” was the most successful single record in the history of recorded music, selling more than seven million copies and staying at number one in the county for more than three months. The total record sales of albums and singles exceed 15 million. In addition to the Oscar, Mr. Brooks also received Grammy, Golden Globe, American Music, and People’s Choice awards for the song. Mr. Brooks also has numerous platinum and gold albums and singles; 21 Clio Awards (advertising’s highest honor); the Golden Palm Award given at The Cannes Film Festival; 75 other advertising awards, and multiple ASCAP awards for pop and country music. His other film work includes the scores for the Oscar-winning films The Garden of the Finzi-Continis and Marjoe, which won the Best Foreign Film and Best Documentary, respectively, and serving as composer, lyricist and arranger for The Lords of Flatbush. He directed and scored the BBC film, Invitation to the Wedding, which co-starred John Gielgud and Ralph Richardson. He has produced and written music for Whitney Huston, LeAnn Rimes, Roberta Flack, Debby Boone, Ray Charles, and many others.
Mr. Brooks’s career in advertising as a composer, lyricist, and music producer for over 400 campaigns includes some of the most successful music in the industry. He has worked on campaigns for Pepsi, Coke, American Airlines, Maxwell House, Dial, Metropolitan Life, Diet Pepsi, Dr. Pepper, RCA, Polaroid, Gulf Oil Corporation, TWA, Canada Dry, American Express, Chevrolet, Pillsbury, Volkswagen, and many others. His work has been selected by The Smithsonian Institution.
Mr. Brooks has conducted the New York Philharmonic, The London Philharmonic and the Royal Philharmonic orchestras and he composed original music for and conducted the St. Paul’s Boys Choir in London.
He composed and co-wrote the
lyrics for Metropolis: The Musical,
which was presented at London’s
Picadilly Theatre. The show has enjoyed
enormous success in regional theatres across
America and is
now being readied for a New York premiere next spring to be directed by Richard Foreman, a close colleague of Mr.
Brooks whom he credits as a theatre mentor.
The set design for In
My Life is by Allen Moyer; the costume design is by 2005 Tony Award
winner Catherine Zuber; the lighting design is by 2005 Tony Award winner
Christopher Akerlind; the choreographer is Richard Stafford.
Allen Moyer’s Broadway credits include Twelve Angry Men, Reckless, The Man Who Had All the Luck, and A Thousand Clowns. Off-Broadway includes A Picasso (MTC), Lisa Kron’s Well and 2.5 Minute Ride (Public Theater), the premiere of John Guare’s A Few Stout Individuals (Signature), The Dazzle (Roundabout), Lobby Hero (Playwrights Horizons), This Is Our Youth (New Group/Second Stage), The Dying Gaul (Vineyard) and numerous productions for the Drama Dept., including As Bees in Honey Drown. Other recent work: Nixon in China (Opera Theatre of St. Louis), Agrippina (sets and costumes) and Così fan Tutte (Santa Fe Opera), The Mother of Us All (San Francisco Opera), Il Trittico and La Bohème for New York City Opera, productions for the Scottish Opera, the Gate Theatre (Dublin), Seattle Opera, Spoleto Festival, Steppenwolf, Houston Grand, the Williamstown Theatre Festival (most recently The Cherry Orchard) and the ballet Sylvia for Mark Morris with the San Francisco Ballet.
Catherine Zuber’s credits include
the Lincoln Center Theater productions of The Light in the Piazza (Tony Award,
Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Award nominations), Dinner at Eight, Twelfth Night (Tony and Drama Desk
nominations), and Ivanov. Broadway credits include Little Women; Doubt; Frozen; Dracula; The Sound of Music; Triumph of Love; London Assurance; The Rose Tattoo; Philadelphia, Here I Come!; The Red Shoes. Ms. Zuber’s off-Broadway credits include Intimate Apparel, Engaged, Beard of Avon, Far Away, and many others. She is the recipient of the 2003 and 2004
Henry Hewes Award for Design; 2004 Lucille Lortel Award; 2004 Ovation Award; and
1997 Obie Award for Sustained Achievement.
Her work regionally has appeared at Center Stage, Goodman Theater,
Shakespeare Theater, Kennedy Center, Guthrie Theater, Hartford Stage Company,
Seattle Rep.,
Christopher Akerlind designed the
lighting for The Light in the Piazza
(Tony and Drama Desk Awards, Outer Critics Circle Award nomination), Belle Epoque, and The Lights (Drama Desk nom.), all at
Lincoln Center Theater. Broadway credits
include Reckless; The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife; Seven Guitars (Tony nom.); Philadelphia, Here I Come!; and The Piano Lesson. Mr. Akerlind’s recent work includes Intimations For Saxophone (Arena Stage);
Oedipus (Guthrie); Oedipus (ART), Homebody/Kabul (BAM); Well (Public); Pericles, Don Juan and Cymbeline (TFANA); Nicholas and Alexandra (L.A. Opera); A Midsummer Night’s Dream, La Dispute, Score, and Room (SITI); Giulio Cesare (Houston Grand Opera); The Tale of Genji (Nissei Opera); Boris Godunov (Hamburgische Staatsoper).
Awards: Obie Award for Sustained Excellence in Lighting Design, the Michael
Merritt Award for Design and Collaboration and numerous nominations for the
Drama Desk, Lucille Lortel, Outer Critics Circle and Tony awards.
In My
Life will play at Broadway’s Music Box
Theatre, Tuesday through Saturday at 8:00pm,
Wednesday and Saturday at 2:00pm, and
Sunday at 3:00pm. Tickets are $26.25-$101.25 and may be
purchased by phoning 212 239 6200 or 800 432 7250.