The official Stephen Cole website

bio

STEPHEN COLE (Librettist-Lyricist-Author)

is an award-winning musical theatre writer whose shows have been recorded, published, and produced from New York City to London to the Middle East and Australia. His off-Broadway musical AFTER THE FAIR (music by Matthew Ward; winner of 5 Dallas Theatre Awards for it's world premiere including Best New Play or Musical) was nominated for the Outer Critic's Circle Award for Best Musical and was subsequently produced in London to great acclaim. The original cast CD featuring Tony winner Michele Pawk won several awards. THE NIGHT OF THE HUNTER (music by Claibe Richardson) won the presigious Edward Kleban Award and was produced in San Francisco where it was nominated for several Bay Area Theatre Awards. The musical has subsequently been produced in NYC as part of the New York Musical Theatre Festival in 2006 and in October 2010 at Lyric Stage in Dallas featuring Davis Gaines, Julie Johnson and a 24 piece orchestra. Hunter was given a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts and the CD has received rave reviews from the press including Billboard Magazine, who called it "the best CD of a new musical ever!" The CD also won the prize as best new musical on CD from the German music critics. The award winning concept CD features Ron Raines and Dorothy Loudon and was the recipient of a German music critics Award.. SATURDAY NIGHT AT GROSSINGER'S (music by Claibe Richardson) has had successful runs in Dallas (Starring Gavin MacLeod), LA and Florida. Broadway legend Chita Rivera toured in his show CASPER (music by Matthew Ward...this also played Australia) and Hal Linden and Dee Hoty starred in the world premiere of his musical adaptation of DODSWORTH (music by Jeffrey Saver). Stephen has been represented off Broadway with the hilarious PIANO BAR at the Triad. In 2005 Stephen and composer David Krane were commissioned to write the first American musical to premiere in the Middle East and the result was ASPIRE, which was produced in Qatar. Their amazing and hilarious cross-cultural experiences resulted in yet another musical about the creation of the show entitled THE ROAD TO QATAR which was produced to rave reviews at the Lyric Stage winning Best New Play or Musical from the Dallas-Ft. Worth Drama Critics Forum. THE ROAD TO QATAR! begins performances at the York Theatre Company Off Broadway on January 25, 2010. Krane and Cole also wrote a short movie musical entitled THE WHEEL GOES ROUND that was accepted and shown at five International Film Festivals including The Big Apple Film Festival in NYC. Saver and Cole's new musical TIME AFTER TIME had its world premiere in Feb. 2010 at the Pittsburgh Playhouse under the direction of Gabriel Barre. Other produced shows include MERLIN'S APPRENTICE (Music by Matthew Ward) and ROCK ODYSSEY (Music and Lyrics by Billy Straus), which had 2 successful productions at the Adrienne Arscht Center Miami and will be produced annually then for the next ten years. Stephen is also a published author with four books to his credit including THAT BOOK ABOUT THAT GIRL and I COULD HAVE SUNG ALL NIGHT, the Marni Nixon story, NOEL COWARD and Charles Strouse's memoir PUT ON A HAPPY FACE. Stephen has written continuity, narration, and special material for fifteen different Drama League Shows including all star tributes to Kander and Ebb, Liza Minnelli, Chita Rivera, Terrance McNally, Liz Smith, Peter Stone and most recently Angela Lansbury and Patti LuPone. Some of the stars Stephen has written material for include Marlo Thomas, Tyne Daly, Bernadette Peters, Christine Baranski, Hal Linden, Chita Rivera, Gavin MacLeod, Dee Hoty, Christine Ebersole, Keith Carradine, JoAnne Worley, Lauren Bacall, Matthew Broderick, Michael Rupert, Joel Grey and many others. Stephen is the recipient of a Gilman-Gonzales Falla Commendation for musical theatre. He was also named one of Variety's 50 Creatives to Watch- 2000. Liz Smith in her syndicated column has called Stephen's lyrics "brilliant and gifted."

As a producer, Stephen presented Liza Minnelli, Barbara Cook, David Hyde Pierce, and many others in an 80th Birthday Tribute to John Kander. Stephen has also released a series of CD's entitled MERMANIA on Harbinger Records. These include never before released selections sung by his favorite star and friend, Ethel Merman. .

Works in progress include THE BLACK AND WHITE BALL (with Todd Ellison) and MERMAN'S APPRENTICE (with David Evans).

Collaborators: David Krane, Todd Ellison, David Evans, Susan Kim, Claibe Richardson, Jeffrey Saver, Steve Silverstein, Billy Straus, Matthew Ward,

PRODUCTION HISTORY FOR: (All shows Book & Lyrics by Stephen Cole unless otherwise noted.)

AFTER THE FAIR (Music by Matthew Ward)

Full Stage Productions:

Off Broadway at the York Theatre, NYC 1999
Starring Michele Pawk
Directed by Travis Stockley
Nominated for Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Off Broadway Musical
London: Kings Head Theatre, Islington 2000
Village Theatre, Seattle, WA 2000-1
Apple Tree Theatre, Chicago, IL 1997
Village Originals, Seattle WA 1998
Lyric Stage, Irving, TX 1997
Winner of 5 Dallas Theatre League Awards including Best New Play or Musical
Cast Album on Fynsworth Alley Records

ASPIRE (Music by David Krane)

World Premiere, Aspire Academy, Qatar November 2005

CASPER-the Musical (Music by Matthew Ward)

Full Stage Production at Pittsburgh CLO (and on tour to Dallas Summer Musicals, Fox Theatre, Atlanta, GA, and Kansas City Starlight, Kansas City, MO) summer 2001
Starring Chita Rivera
Directed by David Bell
Full Stage Production in Sydney Australia, Fall 2003

DODSWORTH (Music by Jeffrey Saver)

Readings at York Theatre Company NYC 1994-95
Full Stage Production at Casa Manana Musicals, Fort Worth TX 1995
Starring Hal Linden and Dee Hoty
Directed by Bruce Lumpkin
Produced by Van Kaplan
Presented at the National Alliance of Musical Theatre's New Musical Festival, NYC 1996
Starring John Cullum and Dee Hoty
Workshop under the auspices of Dragonfly Productions 2000, NYC
Starring Walter Charles, Christine Ebersole, Dee Hoty, Patricia Morison
Directed by Scott Ellis
Presented in Stages 2003, August 2003 at the Theatre Building in Chicago, IL

GROSSINGER'S (Music by Claibe Richardson; Co-lyricist Ronny Graham)

Full Stage Production at Casa Manana Musicals, Fort Worth, TX
Starring Gavin MacLeod and Ruta Lee
Directed by Bruce Lumpkin
Concert Version presented by the Los Angeles Jewish Symphony Orchestra

MERLIN'S APPRENTICE (Music by Matthew Ward; Book by Susan Kim)

Full Stage Production at Walden Family Playhouse in Denver April 2003

Cast CD on Walden Media

THE NIGHT OF THE HUNTER (Music by Claibe Richardson)

Workshop at the Vineyard Theatre
Directed by Lonny Price
Workshop at the Goodman Theatre
Directed by Robert Falls
Workshop April 2003 starring Ron Raines, Beth Fowler, Julie Johnson.
World Premiere Production Opening Sept. 24, 2004 Willows Theatre, Concord, CA Starring Brian Noonan & Lynne Wintersteller. Directed by John Bowab
Full Stage Production, New York Musical Theatre Festival, NYC Starring Brian Noonan, Beth Fowler, Dee Hoty, Mary Stout

Full Staged Production with 24 piece orchestra, Lyric Stage,Irving TX October 2010 starring Davis Gaines and Julie Johnson

Concept CD on Fynsworth Alley Records

THE ROAD TO QATAR! (Music David Krane)

World Premiere Production Lyric Stage, Irving, TX October 2009

Winner of Best New Play or Musical from the Dallas-Ft. Worth Drama Critics Forum

Off Broadway Production at the York Theatre Company opening January 25, 2010

ROCK ODYSSEY (Music & Lyrics by Billy Straus)

Full Stage Production at Walden Family Playhouse in Denver March 2003

Full Stage Production at the Adrienne Arscht Center, Miami, Florida Spring 2010, Fall 2010

Under exclusive license to Arscht Center thru 2020

Cast CD on Walden Media

SATURDAY NIGHT AT GROSSINGER'S (Music by Claibe Richardson; Co-lyricist Ronny Graham)

Full Stage Production of 6 character revision of the "Grossingers" at Broadhollow Theatre, Rockville Center, NY July 2003

Full Stage Production at Theatre West, LA, CA 4 month run 2005

Full Stage Production, Ft. Lauderdale FLA 3 month run 2006

TIME AFTER TIME (Music by Jeffrey Saver)

Second Reading May 2004.

World Premiere Point Park College, Pittsburgh PA in Jan. 2010

THE WHEEL GOES ROUND (Music by David Krane)

Short film musical shown in five film festivals and released on DVD