Steven Lutvak

{{Infobox person

| name = Steven Lutvak

| image =

| alt =

| caption =

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1959|07|18}}

| birth_place = New York City, U.S.

| death_date = {{Death date and age|2023|10|09|1959|07|18}}

| death_place = New York City, U.S.

| education = {{ubl|Binghamton University (BA)|New York University (MFA)}}

| occupation = {{hlist|Composer|singer-songwriter}}

| notable_works = A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder

| spouse = {{marriage|Michael McGowan|2015}}

| children = 1

| website = {{URL|stevenlutvak.com}}

}}

Steven Jaret Lutvak (July 18, 1959 – October 9, 2023) was an American composer who worked in musical theatre, film, and television. He was best known for writing the music and co-writing the lyrics for the musical A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder, which won the Tony Award for Best Musical in 2014.

Life and career

Steven Lutvak was born in The Bronx, New York, on July 18, 1959.{{cite magazine |last1=Tynam |first1=William |title=Steven Lutvak |url=https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,997244,00.html |magazine=TIME |date=June 19, 2000 |publisher=TIME, USA, LLC. |access-date=October 10, 2023}} He attended Binghamton University, earning a bachelor's degree in music in 1980. He went on to attend the first graduate program in musical theatre writing at the Tisch School of the Arts, graduating in 1983.{{cite news|url = https://www.nytimes.com/2023/10/18/theater/steven-lutvak-dead.html|title = Steven Lutvak, Whose Darkly Comic Show Won a Tony, Dies at 64|last = Sandomir|first = Richard|date = October 18, 2023|accessdate = October 18, 2023|newspaper = The New York Times|url-access = limited}}

Lutvak wrote a number of musicals which were performed Off-Off Broadway and in regional theatre, and frequently collaborated with Robert L. Freedman. For their musical Campaign of the Century, they won the California Musical Theater Competition from the Beverly Hills Theater Guild.{{Cite news |last=Hall |first=Margaret |date=October 10, 2023 |title=Steven Lutvak, Composer Behind the Tony-Winning Musical A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder, Dies at 64 |work=PLAYBILL |url=https://www.playbill.com/article/steven-lutvak-composer-behind-the-tony-winning-musical-a-gentlemans-guide-to-love-and-murder-dies-at-64 |access-date=October 10, 2023}} However, they were best known for A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder (2012). It ran for over two years on Broadway and won the Tony Award for Best Musical. For his work on the show, Lutvak was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Original Score.{{Cite web|url=http://www.playbill.com/person/steven-lutvak-vault-0000124342|title=Steven Lutvak|website=Playbill|access-date=October 18, 2017}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/steven-lutvak-494807|title=Steven Lutvak – Broadway Cast & Staff|website=Internet Broadway Database|access-date=October 18, 2017}}

Lutvak composed the title track to the documentary film Mad Hot Ballroom,{{Cite web|url=https://tisch.nyu.edu/about/directory/grad-musical-theater-writing/1285437322|title=Steven Lutvak|website=tisch.nyu.edu|access-date=January 24, 2022}} and wrote music for The Wayside Inn, Esmeralda, Almost September, and Campaign of the Century. He also released his own album, entitled The Time it Takes.{{Cite web|url=https://music.apple.com/us/album/the-time-it-takes/991824895|title=The Time It Takes by Steven Lutvak on iTunes|date=January 2002 |publisher=iTunes Store|access-date=October 18, 2017}}

Lutvak's musical Alfred Hitchcock Presents (based on the television series) will premiere posthumously in Bath in March 2025.

Personal life and death

Lutvak married Michael McGowan in 2015.{{cite news |title=Steven Lutvak, Michael McGowan |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/15/style/steven-lutvak-michael-mcgowan.html |access-date=October 10, 2023 |agency=New York Times |date=March 15, 2015}} They had a daughter. Lutvak died from a pulmonary embolism at his studio in Manhattan on October 9, 2023, at the age of 64.{{cite news |title=Tony-Nominated Composer Steven Lutvak Passes Away at 64 |url=https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Tony-Nominated-Composer-Steven-Lutvak-Passes-Away-at-64-20231010 |access-date=October 10, 2023 |publisher=Broadway World |date=October 10, 2023}}

Awards and recognition

In 2014, Lutvak and Freedman's A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lyrics, and was also nominated for Outstanding Music. The show was also nominated for an Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding New Score, and received a Tony Award nomination for Original Score.{{Cite web|url=https://www.playbill.com/productions/a-gentlemans-guide-to-love-and-murder-walter-kerr-theatre-vault-0000014016|title=A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder (Broadway, Walter Kerr Theatre, 2013)|website=Playbill|access-date=January 24, 2022}} In 2006, Lutvak received the Kleban Award for Lyric Writing for the Theater, as well as the Fred Ebb Award for Songwriting for the Theater alongside Robert L. Freedman.{{Cite web|url=http://americantheatrewing.org/recipients/steven-lutvak/|title=Steven Lutvak|website=The American Theatre Wing|access-date=October 18, 2017}} Lutvak was a 2005 recipient of the American Theatre Wing's Jonathan Larson Grant.{{Cite web|url=http://americantheatrewing.org/recipients/steven-lutvak/|title=America Theatre Wing|website=The American Theatre Wing|access-date=October 18, 2017}} Lutvak was associated with the Sundance Theatre Institute, won a Johnny Mercer Foundation Emerging American Songwriter Award, two Bistro Awards, and three MAC Awards, and was a multi-time recipient of an ASCAP Award.{{Cite web|url=http://stevenlutvak.com/pages/about.html|title=Steven Lutvak – About Steve|website=stevenlutvak.com|access-date=October 18, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171019111605/http://stevenlutvak.com/pages/about.html|archive-date=October 19, 2017}}

References

External links

Playbill: [https://www.playbill.com/article/a-chat-with-steven-lutvak-and-robert-l-freedman-the-gentlemen-behind-the-murder-com-211587 A Chat With Steven Lutvak and Robert L. Freedman, the Gentlemen Behind the Murder]
{{discogs artist|Steven Lutvak}}
{{imdb name|1276476}}

Category:1959 births

Category:2023 deaths

Category:20th-century American LGBTQ people

Category:20th-century American composers

Category:20th-century American male singers

Category:20th-century American singer-songwriters

Category:21st-century American LGBTQ people

Category:21st-century American male singers

Category:21st-century American singer-songwriters

Category:American LGBTQ composers

Category:American film score composers

Category:American male film score composers