Amanda Green (born December 29, 1963) is an American actress, singer, and songwriter. In 2021, she was elected president of the Dramatists Guild of America, the first woman to hold the role in the Guild's 100-year history.

Early life and education

Born in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, Green was raised on the

Upper West Side The Upper West Side (UWS) is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It is bounded by Central Park on the east, the Hudson River on the west, West 59th Street to the south, and West 110th Street to the north. The Upper We ...

with her brother Adam by their parents Phyllis Newman, an actress and singer, and Adolph Green, a lyricist and playwright.Reifer, Jodi (October 15, 2009).
"Lyricist Amanda Green to Perform at Lorenzo's Cabaret"
silive.com.. From an early age, she was exposed to major talents of musical theatre, including

Leonard Bernstein Leonard Bernstein ( ; born Louis Bernstein; August 25, 1918 – October 14, 1990) was an American conductor, composer, pianist, music educator, author, and humanitarian. Considered to be one of the most important conductors of his time, he was th ...

Jule Styne Jule Styne ( ; born Julius Kerwin Stein; December 31, 1905 – September 20, 1994) was an English-American songwriter and composer widely known for a series of Broadway theatre, Broadway musical theatre, musicals, including several famous frequ ...

, and

Cy Coleman Cy Coleman (born Seymour Kaufman; June 14, 1929 – November 18, 2004) was an American composer, songwriter, and jazz pianist. Life and career Coleman was born Seymour Kaufman in New York City, to Ashkenazi, Eastern European Jewish parents, an ...

, all of whom were regular guests in her home. After graduating from Brown University in Rhode Island, 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

cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, casino, hotel, restaurant, or nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining or drinking, ...

s, like Joe's Pub.

Career

In the mid-1990s, inspired by Lyle Lovett's writing, she moved to Nashville, Tennessee to write

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

. In Los Angeles, Green wrote the lyrics for the musicals ''Once Upon a Primetime'' (2002) and ''Up the Week Without a Paddle'' (2000), 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

Second Stage Theatre Second Stage Theater is a non-profit theater company that presents work by living American writers both on and off Broadway. It is based in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, and is affiliated with the League of Resident Theatres. Founded in 1979 ...

in March 2003, and featured Jessica Molaskey,

Mario Cantone Mario Cantone (born December 9, 1959) is an American comedian, writer, actor, singer, and television host. He is best known for his numerous stage shows. He played Anthony Marentino in '' Sex and the City'' and Terri in '' Men in Trees'' (2006– ...

and Billy Stritch. A recording of a live performance was released on compact disc. She wrote the lyrics for and co-starred with Nancy Opel in ''For the Love of Tiffany: A Wifetime Original Musical'', which had a sold-out run at The Wings Theater as part of the New York International Fringe Festival in August 2003. 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. 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. 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 High fidelity (hi-fi or, rarely, HiFi) is the high-quality reproduction of sound. It is popular with audiophiles and home audio enthusiasts. Ideally, high-fidelity equipment has inaudible noise and distortion, and a flat (neutral, uncolored) ...

'' (2000). The show had a one-month run at Boston's Colonial Theatre, then went to New York City. The production opened on December 7, 2006, at the Imperial Theatre in New York City where, hampered by poor reviews, it closed after 14 performances. 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. Green has written a number of songs with

Phish Phish is an American rock band formed in Burlington, Vermont, in 1983. The band consists of guitarist Trey Anastasio, bassist Mike Gordon, drummer Jon Fishman, and keyboardist Page McConnell, all of whom perform vocals, with Anastasio being the ...

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 it ran on Broadway in April 2013. Green and Anastasio received a nomination for the Tony Award for Best Original Score. Green is the recipient of a 2004 Jonathan Larson Award and grant for excellence in songwriting, and is a contributing writer to ''

Playboy ''Playboy'' (stylized in all caps) is an American men's Lifestyle journalism, lifestyle and entertainment magazine, available both online and in print. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, funded in part by a $ ...

'' magazine. In 2021, Green became the first woman president of the Dramatists Guild of America. In 2022, Green wrote the lyrics for the Broadway musical '' Mr. Saturday Night'', starring Billy Crystal. She received a Tony Award nomination for Best Score, with composer Jason Robert Brown. She also was nominated for the 2022 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lyrics for the show.

Personal life

Green and her husband, Jeffrey Kaplan, who is an orthopedic surgeon, reside in Manhattan.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Green, Amanda 1965 births 20th-century American actresses 20th-century American composers 20th-century American singers 20th-century American women singers 20th-century American women writers 20th-century American writers 20th-century American women composers 21st-century American actresses 21st-century American composers 21st-century American singers 21st-century American women singers 21st-century American women writers 21st-century American writers 21st-century American women composers Actresses from Manhattan American cabaret performers American magazine writers American musical theatre actresses American musical theatre composers American musical theatre lyricists Broadway composers and lyricists Brown University alumni Circle in the Square Theatre School alumni Living people Singers from New York City Songwriters from New York (state) Writers from New York City