Glenn Slater (born January 28, 1968) is an American

lyricist A lyricist is a writer who writes lyrics (the spoken words), as opposed to a composer, who writes the song's music which may include but not limited to the melody, harmony, arrangement and accompaniment. Royalties A lyricist's income derives ...

for

musical theatre Musical theatre is a form of theatre, theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, ...

. He's collaborated with

Alan Menken Alan Irwin Menken (born July 22, 1949) is an American composer and conductor. Over his career he has received List of awards and nominations received by Alan Menken, numerous accolades including winning eight Academy Awards, a Tony Awards, Tony ...

, Christopher Lennertz, &

Andrew Lloyd Webber Andrew Lloyd Webber, Baron Lloyd-Webber (born 22 March 1948) is an English composer and impresario of musical theatre. Several of his musicals have run for more than a decade both in the West End theatre, West End and on Broadway theatre, Broad ...

, among other composers. He was nominated for three

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ce ...

s for Best Original Score for the Broadway versions of '' The Little Mermaid'' in 2008, '' Sister Act'' in 2011, & ''

School of Rock ''School of Rock'' (titled on screen as ''The School of Rock'') is a 2003 comedy film directed by Richard Linklater, produced by Scott Rudin and written by Mike White (filmmaker), Mike White. The film stars Jack Black, Joan Cusack, White and Sa ...

'' in 2016.

Early life

Slater was born in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

, New York. He 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 ...

. Raised in East Brunswick, New Jersey, he graduated from East Brunswick High School as part of the class of 1986; he became interested in drama while at high school after an unsuccessful effort as a songwriter with a band. In 1990, he graduated from

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

where he composed Hasty Pudding Theatricals' 141st production, ''Whiskey Business''. He has received the ASCAP Foundation's Richard Rodgers New Horizon Award with composer Stephen Weiner.

Career

Slater wrote the lyrics for the

Off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

stage revue ''Newyorkers'' produced by the Manhattan Theatre Club in 2001.Jones, Kennet
"New Revue, Newyorkers, Premieres at MTC Feb. 27; Opens March 20"
, playbill.com, February 27, 2001 He has written lyrics for six editions of Ringling Brothers & Barnum and Bailey Circus. His first work with Alan Menken was writing the lyrics for the film '' Home on the Range'' in 2004 and the stage production '' Sister Act the Musical'' (2006). He wrote the lyrics for the stage adaptation of

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

's '' The Little Mermaid'' (2008), replacing the animated film's original lyricist Howard Ashman, who died in 1991. He also worked with Menken on the new musical version of ''

Leap of Faith In philosophy, a leap of faith is the act of belief, believing in or accepting something not on the basis of reason. The phrase is commonly associated with Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard. Idiomatic usage As an idiom, ''leap of faith'' ca ...

''. Slater and his wife, Wendy Leigh Wilf, wrote the book, music and lyrics to a new musical ''Beatsville'' that received a production at the 2008 NAMT Festival of New Musicals, in New York. It is based on the 1959 Roger Corman film '' A Bucket of Blood''. He has also composed the lyrics and co-wrote the book for the major

musical '' Love Never Dies'', which is a sequel to Lloyd Webber's 1986 musical '' The Phantom of the Opera''. The show premiered in the West End in March 2010. Adding to his career as a lyricist, Slater wrote the lyrics for the songs in Disney's 50th animated feature '' Tangled''. In 2015 he worked again with

for the Broadway musical ''School of Rock'' and continued his working relationship with

writing lyrics for the songs of '' Galavant'' on ABC. Slater attended the BMI Musical Theatre Workshop and was a resident writer with Musical Theatreworks.

Awards and honors

Slater has received the Kleban Award for Lyrics, the ASCAP Foundation Richard Rodgers New Horizons Award and the Jonathan Larson Award.Slater credits
playbill.com, accessed February 1, 2010 He was nominated for the 2008 Tony Award for Best Original Score for ''The Little Mermaid'' and received his second nomination for this award in 2011 for '' Sister Act''. He won a

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

in 2012 for Best Song Written for Visual Media for the song "I See The Light" from the animated movie '' Tangled''. He was nominated for an Oscar for Best Original Song for that song. In July 2020, Slater won a

Daytime Emmy Award The Daytime Emmy Awards, or Daytime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the New York-based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NA ...

for Original Song in a Children's, Young Adult or Animated Program for the song "Waiting in the Wings" from '' Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure''.

Personal life

Slater 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, Wendy Leigh Wilf, and two sons, Benjamin and Daniel. He is a supporter of the

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

club Tottenham Hotspur.

References

External links

*
Internet Off-Broadway listingBiography at americantheatrewing.org
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Slater, Glenn 1968 births American musical theatre lyricists Broadway composers and lyricists Jewish American songwriters Living people Musicians from Brooklyn East Brunswick High School alumni People from East Brunswick, New Jersey Walt Disney Animation Studios people Skydance Media people Daytime Emmy Award winners Grammy Award winners Songwriters from New Jersey Songwriters from New York (state) Hasty Pudding alumni Animation composers