Billy Aronson is an American

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes play (theatre), plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between Character (arts), characters and is intended for Theatre, theatrical performance rather than just Readin ...

and writer, who originated the concept of the rock opera ''

Rent Rent may refer to: Economics *Renting, an agreement where a payment is made for the temporary use of a good, service or property *Economic rent, any payment in excess of the cost of production *Rent-seeking, attempting to increase one's share of e ...

'', which was based on Puccini's

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

La bohème ''La bohème'' ( , ) is an opera in four acts,Puccini called the divisions '':wikt:quadro, quadri'', ''wikt:tableau, tableaux'' or "images", rather than ''atti'' (acts). composed by Giacomo Puccini between 1893 and 1895 to an Italian libretto b ...

''.Jones, Kenneth (2011)
Rent, With Andy Mientus, Fabio Monteiro, Halle Morse, Begins at Pioneer Theatre June 10
", Playbill.com, June 10, 2011, retrieved 2011-06-17

Early life

He attended

Lower Merion High School Lower Merion High School is a public high school in Ardmore, Pennsylvania, in the Main Line suburbs of Philadelphia. It is one of two high schools in the Lower Merion School District; the other one is Harriton High School. Lower Merion serves ...

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

and Yale Drama School.

''Rent'' and other plays

In 1988, as a playwright he wanted to create "a musical based on

Puccini Giacomo Puccini (22 December 1858 29 November 1924) was an Italian composer known primarily for his operas. Regarded as the greatest and most successful proponent of Italian opera after Verdi, he was descended from a long line of composers, s ...

's ''

La Bohème ''La bohème'' ( , ) is an opera in four acts,Puccini called the divisions '':wikt:quadro, quadri'', ''wikt:tableau, tableaux'' or "images", rather than ''atti'' (acts). composed by Giacomo Puccini between 1893 and 1895 to an Italian libretto b ...

'', in which the luscious splendor of Puccini's world would be replaced with the coarseness and noise of modern

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

." In 1989 he began a collaboration with

Jonathan Larson Jonathan David Larson (February 4, 1960 – January 25, 1996) was an American composer, lyricist and playwright, most famous for writing the musicals ''Rent (musical), Rent'' and ''Tick, Tick... Boom!'', which explored the social issues of mult ...

, and provided lyrics for ''Rent'', "I Should Tell You", and "Santa Fe". In addition to ''Rent'', he has written many

one act play A one-act play is a play that has only one act, as distinct from plays that occur over several acts. One-act plays may consist of one or more scenes. The 20-40 minute play has emerged as a popular subgenre of the one-act play, especially in writi ...

s including "Light Years (one-act)", "Reunions", "The News", "Little Duck", ''Of Two Minds'', ''Night Rules'', and ''In the Middle of the Night'', which were performed in

Ensemble Studio Theatre The Ensemble Studio Theatre (EST) is a non-profit membership-based developmental theatre located in Hell's Kitchen, New York City. It has a dual mission of nurturing individual theatre artists and developing new American plays. Overview The E ...

Marathons.Rooney, David (2011)
From Elegiac Appalachian Hollers to New Terrain
, ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', May 30, 2011, retrieved 2011-06-17 His short plays have been published in six volumes of "Best American Short Plays" and collected in "Funny Shorts". Full-length plays by Aronson include "Light Years" which premiered at Playwrights Horizons, "The Art Room" which premiered at the Woolly Mammoth Theatre and Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater, and "First Day of School" which premiered at 1812 Productions and SF Playhouse, and was named Best New Play for a medium-sized theater by the Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle in 2009.Weber, Bruce (2001)
THEATER REVIEW; Four Years in Three Acts: College Becomes a Collage
, ''

'', October 22, 2001, retrieved 2011-06-17Blankenship, Mark (2007)
Ensemble Studio Theater Marathon 2007: Series A
, ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'', June 4, 2007, retrieved 2011-06-17 He also wrote the book for the

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the Character (arts), charac ...

''Click Clack Moo'', which was nominated for a Lucille Lortel Award for Best New Musical, and wrote the libretto for ''Flurry Tale'' with composer

Rusty Magee Benjamin Rush "Rusty" Magee (August 6, 1955 – February 16, 2003) was an American comedian, actor and composer/lyricist for theatre, television, film and commercials. Biography Early life Magee was born in Washington, D.C., the son of Dr. ...

which premiered at Malmo Opera in Sweden under the name "Vinteryra". He has written for many popular children shows, such as ''

Postcards from Buster ''Postcards from Buster'' is an American animated children's television series that originally aired on PBS. It is a spin-off of the ''Arthur'' TV series. The show features Buster Baxter, an 8-year-old anthropomorphic rabbit and Arthur's best ...

'', '' Codename: Kids Next Door'', ''

Wonder Pets! ''Wonder Pets!'' is an American animated musical children's television series produced by Little Airplane Productions. The series follows a trio of classroom pets—Linny the Guinea Pig, Turtle Tuck, and Ming-Ming Duckling—who use teamwork to ...

'', ''

The Upside Down Show ''The Upside Down Show'' is a children's television series produced by Blink Films and Sesame Workshop. It was made for Noggin, a channel co-founded by Sesame Workshop. The series is set in a strange apartment building where the doors lead to a ...

'', ''

The Backyardigans ''The Backyardigans'' ( ) is an animated musical children's television series created by Janice Burgess for Nickelodeon. The series was written and recorded at Nickelodeon Animation Studio. It centers on five anthropomorphic animal neighbors ...

'', ''

Courage the Cowardly Dog ''Courage the Cowardly Dog'' is an American animated comedy horror television series created by John R. Dilworth for Cartoon Network. It was produced by Dilworth's animation studio, Stretch Films. The eponymous character is an anxious dog who li ...

'', and co-created ''

Peg + Cat PEG or peg may refer to: Devices * Clothes peg, a fastener used to hang up clothes for drying * Tent peg, a spike driven into the ground for holding a tent to the ground * Tuning peg, used to hold a string in the pegbox of a stringed instrumen ...

'' along with

Jennifer Oxley Jennifer Oxley is an American author, illustrator, animator, and television director. She is the executive producer for ''Wonder Pets: In The City!'', ''Vida the Vet'', and ''Clifford the Big Red Dog (2019 TV series), Clifford the Big Red Dog (2019 ...

. He was also a writer on ''

Beavis and Butthead ''Beavis and Butt-Head'' is an American adult animated sitcom created by Mike Judge. The series follows Beavis and Butt-Head, both voiced by Judge, a pair of teenage slackers characterized by their apathy, lack of intelligence, lowbrow hum ...

''. His writing for television has won him 5 Daytime Emmy Awards.

Personal life

Aronson is

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

.Lisa Vogel Wed To Billy Aronson
, ''

'', April 29, 1990, retrieved 2011-06-17 He currently lives 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 ...

with his wife Lisa Vogel (whom he married in 1990), and children Anna and Jake.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Aronson, Billy American musical theatre lyricists Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Princeton University alumni Lower Merion High School alumni