Marcy Heisler

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Marcy Heisler is a musical theater writer who was born in Deerfield, Illinois. As a performer, she has performed at Carnegie Hall, Birdland, and numerous other venues throughout the United States and Canada.

With composer Zina Goldrich — whom she first met at a musical theater workshop in 1992 —[1] The writing partners were voted "Best Knocking on Broadway's Door Songwriting Team" in the Village Voice Best of NYC edition, won the 2000 Backstage Bistro award for "Songwriters of the Year,"[2] and were the 2002 recipients of ASCAP's Richard Rodgers New Horizons Theatre Award.[3] Heisler and Goldrich also have received four MAC Awards, two for Song of the Year and two for Special Material, for their works "The Alto's Lament",[4] "Welcome The Rain," "The Music Of Your Life," and "The Morning After (Leave)."[5] They were nominated in 1998 for their song "Out of Love."[6]

Working again with composer Goldrich, Heisler created the musical Adventures in Love — book by Shari Simpson and Charlie Shanian — which premiered in St. Paul, Minnesota, in 2000.[1] Later that year, the two women were chosen to be among the first 12 participants in a program from Musical Theater Works designed to support new musical theater talent while they developed new works for the organization to produce, with participants receiving $20,000 and medical insurance for up to three years during the development process.[7]

Heisler wrote book and lyrics, with Goldrich composing, for Junie B. Jones, a musical version of the popular character created by author Barbara Park, produced by TheatreWorks USA, receiving a 2005 Lucille Lortel Award nomination for Outstanding Musical.[8] An expanded version of the musical was staged in late 2005 at the Lucille Lortel theater; both the original and expanded productions received favorable reviews in The New York Times.[9][10]

In July 2006, the Rattlestick Playwrights Theater produced Dear Edwina, with book and lyrics by Heisler and music by Goldrich, as a special benefit for three performances, directed by Jen Bender and featuring an all-star cast with Broadway actress Kate Wetherhead as Edwina.[11].

Among the many contemporary standards by Heisler and Goldrich is "Taylor the Latte Boy," which became a song associated with Kristin Chenoweth — who sang "Taylor" on The Rosie O'Donnell Show and The Late Late Show as well as the radio program A Prairie Home Companion — but which has been performed by many other singers including Susan Egan, Linda Foster, Marty Thomas, and John Tartaglia. The comedy song tells the story of the singer's flirtation with a barista at Starbucks and was inspired by Heisler's and Goldrich's meeting a barista named Taylor in real life while mildly intoxicated.[5]

Heisler has worked occasionally with other composers, as when she teamed with John Kavanaugh to write "Joseph's Lullaby," which was recorded by Michael Crawford in 1998 for On Eagle's Wings, his album of inspirational music.[12]

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ a b Dominic Papatola. "Theater: Getting a musical onstage is biggest adventure of all," St. Paul Pioneer Press (MN), April 7, 2000, page 1E.
  2. ^ Eleanor Charles. "The guide," The New York Times, April 23, 2000, page 7.
  3. ^ Bio at MTI Shows
  4. ^ Bill Ervolino. "Recognizing the cream of cabaret's crop," The Record (New Jersey), April 3, 1997, page Y12.
  5. ^ a b Jonathan Frank. Cabaret Interview with Zina Goldrich & Marcy Heisler, Talkin' Broadway.com (undated)
  6. ^ Bill Ervolino. "Cabaret's honor roll — handing out the MAC awards," The Record, April 2, 1999, page 25.
  7. ^ Barry Singer. "Theater: An ample offer of help, with strings attached," The New York Times, August 27, 2000, Arts & Leisure section, page 4.
  8. ^ Heisler & Goldrich's Junie B. Jones Returns to NY, Nov. 9-Dec. 3, Broadway World News Desk, October 4, 2005
  9. ^ Lawrence Van Gelder. Theater in Review: Adventures of a First Grader With Music as Sassy as She (review), The New York Times, July 27, 2004
  10. ^ Lawrence Van Gelder. Irrepressible, Bespectacled Girl Tackles First Grade (review), The New York Times, November 12, 2005
  11. ^ Dear Edwina at Rattlestick
  12. ^ Deborah Evans Price (Billboard). "Crawford plays the choirboy again," Rocky Mountain News (CO), February 3, 1998, page 11D.

[edit] External links