Joel Paley (October 6, 1955 – January 11, 2025) was an American theatre director, lyricist and playwright. He was perhaps best known for co-creating the all-female musical ''

Ruthless! ''Ruthless! The Musical'' is an all-female musical with music by Marvin Laird and book and lyrics by Joel Paley that spoofs Broadway musicals, like ''Gypsy'' and ''Mame'', and movies such as '' The Bad Seed'' and ''All About Eve''. The musical ...

'' with his creative partner and later husband Marvin Laird. In 1993, he won a

Drama Desk Award The Drama Desk Awards are among the most esteemed honors in New York theater, recognizing outstanding achievements across Broadway, Off-Broadway, and Off-Off-Broadway productions within the same categories. The awards are considered a signific ...

and was nominated for one more in the categories Outstanding Lyrics and Outstanding Director of a Musical for the play ''Ruthless!''. Paley died in

Milford, Connecticut Milford is a coastal city in New Haven County, Connecticut, United States, between New Haven, Connecticut, New Haven and Bridgeport, Connecticut, Bridgeport. The population was 50,558 at the 2020 United States Census. The city includes the Vill ...

, on January 11, 2025, at the age of 69.

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* * 1955 births 2025 deaths People from Philadelphia American musical theatre directors American male dramatists and playwrights American male lyricists American musical theatre lyricists American gay writers LGBTQ people from Pennsylvania LGBTQ people from Connecticut {{US-playwright-stub