Amanda Green

Amanda Green
Born 1965 (age 49–50)
New York City, New York, United States
Alma mater Brown University
Circle in the Square Theatre School
Occupation Actress, singer and songwriter
Spouse(s) Jeffrey Kaplan
Parent(s) Phyllis Newman and Adolph Green
Website
greenpiecemusic.com

Amanda Green (born 1965) is an American actress, singer and songwriter.

Early life

Born in New York City, New York, Green was raised on the Upper West Side with brother Adam by parents Phyllis Newman, an actress and singer, and Adolph Green, a lyricist and playwright.[1]

From an early age she was exposed to major talents of Broadway musical theatre, including Leonard Bernstein, Jule Styne, and Cy Coleman, all of whom were regular guests in the household.

At the age of nine, she starred as Maria in her summer camp's production of West Side Story, and decided to focus on performing.[2]

After graduating from Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island,[1] Green attended an actors' training program at the Circle in the Square Theatre School in New York City and then spent two seasons at the Williamstown Theatre Festival in Williamstown, Massachusetts. She began writing songs and performing in Manhattan cabarets like Joe's Pub.[2]

Career

In the mid-1990s, inspired by Lyle Lovett's writing, she moved to Nashville, Tennessee, to write country music.[1]

In Los Angeles, California, Green wrote the lyrics for two musicals, Once Upon a Primetime (2002)[3] and Up the Week Without a Paddle (2000),[4]which earned her a nomination from the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle.

In New York City, a concert of Green's original revue Put a Little Love in Your Mouth!, was performed at off-Broadway's Second Stage Theatre in March 2003, and featured Julia Murney, Mario Cantone and Billy Stritch.[5] A recording of a live performance was released on compact disc.[2]

She also wrote the lyrics for and co-starred with Nancy Opel in For the Love of Tiffany: A Wifetime Original Musical, which enjoyed a sold-out run at The Wings Theater as part of the New York International Fringe Festival in August 2003.[6]

In July 2004, Green and her mother co-hosted a concert titled Bernstein, Comden and Green: A Musical Celebration at the Venetian Theatre at the Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts in Katonah, New York, with performers Sylvia McNair, Judy Kaye, Jason Graae and Hugh Russell.[7]

In 2009, Green appeared in concert at Feinstein's at the Loews Regency, in New York City, with performers Jenn Colella, Ann Harada and Norm Lewis.[8]

Green enrolled in the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop, where she met Tom Kitt, who suggested the two collaborate on a musical stage adaptation of the comedy-drama film High Fidelity (2000). In a move reminiscent of the days when Broadway musicals routinely tested the waters out-of-town first, the show had a one-month run at Boston's Colonial Theatre before heading to New York City. After eighteen previews, the production opened on December 7, 2006, at the Imperial Theatre in New York City where, hampered by poor reviews,[9] it closed after fourteen performances.

Green and Kitt are writing original songs for a movie musical version of Debbie Does Dallas.

The musical Bring It On: The Musical, with music and lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda, Tom Kitt and Green and book by Jeff Whitty, premiered at the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia, on January 16, 2011.[10][11]

Green has written a number of songs with Phish leader Trey Anastasio, one of which ("Burn That Bridge") was performed live by Anastasio in May 2010.

Green and Anastasio wrote the music, with lyrics by Green and the book by Doug Wright, for Hands on a Hardbody, which is a stage musical version of the documentary film Hands on a Hard Body: The Documentary (1997). The musical had its world premiere at the La Jolla Playhouse in San Diego, California, in April 2012, and ran on Broadway in April 2013.[12] Green and Anastasio received a nomination for the Tony Award for Best Original Score.

She is the recipient of a 2004 Jonathan Larson Award and grant for excellence in songwriting, and a contributing writer to Playboy magazine.

Personal life

She and husband, Jeffrey Kaplan, an orthopedic surgeon, live in Manhattan.[2]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Reifer, Jodi (October 15, 2009). "Lyricist Amanda Green to Perform at Lorenzo's Cabaret" silive.com.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Kaufman, Joanne (December 3, 2006). "Broadway Lyrics: The Family Business". The New York Times.
  3. ↑ "Once Upon a Primetime listing". powerhousetheatre.com. Retrieved April 2, 2010.
  4. ↑ Manus, Willard (August 8, 2000). "Neurotic Young Urbanites Premiere Paddle at L.A.'s Celebration". Playbill.
  5. ↑ Gans, Andrew (February 20, 2003). "Murney, Butz, Testa Plus Mom Newman Celebrate Amanda Green's New CD at March 17 Concert". Playbill.
  6. ↑ Gans, Andrew (July 18, 2003). "Nancy Opel to Star in Amanda Green Musical, For the Love of Tiffany". Playbill.
  7. ↑ Gans, Andrew (June 14, 2004). "Newman and Green to Premiere Bernstein, Comden and Green July 3". Playbill.
  8. ↑ BWW News Desk. "Amanda Green Plays Feinstein's, 11/1". broadwayworld.com, October 21, 2009.
  9. ↑ Review. The New York Times.
  10. ↑ "Bring It On" listing. alliancetheatre.org. Retrieved April 3, 2010.
  11. ↑ Jones, Kenneth; Hetrick, Adam (January 16, 2011). "Something to Cheer About: Bring It On: The Musical Begins Atlanta Run Jan. 16 After Ice Delay". Playbill
  12. ↑ Gioia, Michael; Jones, Kenneth (April 8, 2013). "Hands on a Hardbody Will Close April 13". Playbill.

External links