Michael Stewart (playwright)
{{short description|American dramatist (1924–1987)}}
{{Other people||Michael Stewart (disambiguation){{!}}Michael Stewart}}
{{Infobox writer
| name = Michael Stewart
| birth_name = Myron Rubin
| birth_date = {{birth date|1924|8|1}}
| birth_place = New York City, U.S.
| death_date = {{death date and age|1987|9|20|1924|8|1}}
| death_place = New York City, U.S.
| occupation = Playwright, librettist
| education = City University of New York, Queens {{small|(BA)}}
Yale University {{small|(MFA)}}
| period = 1955–1985
| genre = Musical theatre
| notableworks = {{Unbulleted list
| Bye Bye Birdie (1960)
| Carnival! (1961)
| Hello, Dolly! (1964)
| George M! (1968)
| Mack and Mabel (1974)
| Barnum (1980)
| 42nd Street (1980)}}
| relatives = Francine Pascal (sister)
John Pascal (brother-in-law)
| awards = {{Unbulleted list
| 1961 Bye Bye Birdie
| 1964 Hello, Dolly!
| 1964 Hello, Dolly!}}
}}
Michael Stewart (August 1, 1924 – September 20, 1987) was an American playwright and dramatist, librettist, lyricist, screenwriter and novelist.
Life and career
Born MyronMitchell Loebel, 1st cousin Stuart Rubin in Manhattan, Stewart attended Queens College, and graduated from the Yale School of Drama with a Master of Fine Arts in 1953.Gerard, Jeremy. [https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B0DE5DE163AF932A1575AC0A961948260 "Michael Stewart Is Dead 63; Author of Broadway Musicals"] The New York Times, September 21, 1987, Section B, p.16His name should be shown as "Myron Rubin" — edited by Mitchell Loebel, first cousin.
His early work was writing sketches for the revues The Shoestring Revue (1955),[http://broadwayworld.com/shows/backstage.php?showid=8218 The Shoestring Revue]. BroadWayWorld.com, accessed January 3, 2011 The Littlest Revue (1956),[http://broadwayworld.com/shows/backstage.php?showid=329064 The Littlest Revue]. BroadWayWorld.com, accessed January 3, 2011 and Shoestring '57 (1956, Barbizon-Plaza, New York).Funke, Lewis. "Theatre: 'Shoestring '57': New Revue Arrives at the Barbizon-Plaza", The New York Times, November 6, 1956, p.31 He then joined the staff writers of Sid Caesar's television program, Caesar's Hour.
He met Charles Strouse and Lee Adams in 1954, and several years after collaborated with them and Gower Champion on the 1960 Broadway musical Bye Bye Birdie. He worked again with Champion and Jerry Herman, with their musical Hello, Dolly! opening on Broadway in 1964.
Stewart died on September 20, 1987, in New York City. Jule Styne said of him: "He was an extremely talented and knowledgeable man of the theater. He was one of the great musical-theater writers, and his string of hits showed that." Stewart's sister was writer Francine Pascal and brother Burt Rubin.Burt Rubin, son of William and Kate Rubin and brother to Michael Stewart. "Michael Stewart Is Dead 63; Author of Broadway Musicals", The New York Times, September 21, 1987, Section B, p.16
Theatre credits
- Candide (1959) — operetta (revisions for London production)
- Bye Bye Birdie (1960) — musical — bookwriter — Tony Award for Best Musical
- Carnival! (1961) — musical — bookwriter — Tony Nomination for Best Musical, Tony Nomination for Best Author of a Musical
- Hello, Dolly! (1964) — musical — bookwriter — Tony Award for Best Author of a Musical
- Those That Play the Clowns (1966) — play — playwright
- George M! (1968) — musical — co-bookwriter with sister Francine Pascal and her husband John Pascal
- Mack and Mabel (1974) — musical — bookwriter — Tony Nomination for Best Book of a Musical
- I Love My Wife (1977) — musical — lyricist and bookwriter — Tony Nomination for Best Original Score, Tony Nomination for Best Book of a Musical
- The Grand Tour (1979) — musical — co-bookwriter
- Barnum (1980) — musical — lyricist — Tony Nomination for Best Original Score
- 42nd Street (1980) — musical — co-bookwriter — Tony Co-Nomination for Best Book of a Musical
- Bring Back Birdie (1981) — musical — bookwriter
- Pieces of Eight (1985) — music — co-bookwriter, Citadel Theatre in Edmonton, Canada and closed out of town.
- Harrigan 'n Hart (1985) — musical — bookwriter — Tony Nomination for Best Book of a MusicalRich, Frank.[http://theater.nytimes.com/mem/theater/treview.html?res=940DEFDD1F39F932A35751C0A963948260 "Stage:'Harrigan 'n Hart' Opens at the Longacre"] The New York Times, February 1, 1985
Notes
{{reflist}}
External links
- [https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/michael-stewart-7748 Internet Broadway Database]
- {{IMDb name|829661|Michael Stewart}}
- [http://www.nypl.org/archives/4684 Michael Stewart papers, 1948-1987], held by the Billy Rose Theatre Division, New York Public Library for the Performing Arts
{{Navboxes
| title = Awards for Michael Stewart
| list =
{{TonyAward Author}}
{{TonyAward MusicalBook 1950–1975}}
}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Stewart, Michael}}
Category:American musical theatre librettists
Category:American musical theatre lyricists
Category:American male screenwriters
Category:Broadway composers and lyricists
Category:David Geffen School of Drama at Yale University alumni
Category:20th-century American dramatists and playwrights
Category:American male dramatists and playwrights
Category:20th-century American male writers