John Weidman (born September 25, 1946) is an American

librettist A libretto (From the Italian word , ) is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major ...

and television writer for ''

Sesame Street ''Sesame Street'' is an American educational television, educational children's television series that combines live-action, sketch comedy, animation, and puppetry. It is produced by Sesame Workshop (known as the Children's Television Worksh ...

''. He has worked on stage musicals with

Stephen Sondheim Stephen Joshua Sondheim (; March22, 1930November26, 2021) was an American composer and lyricist. Regarded as one of the most important figures in 20th-century musical theater, he is credited with reinventing the American musical. He received Lis ...

and

Susan Stroman Susan P. Stroman (born October 17, 1954) is an American theatre director, choreographer, and performer. Her notable theater productions include ''Oklahoma!'', ''The Music Man'', ''Crazy for You (musical), Crazy for You'', ''Contact (musical), Co ...

Career

Weidman was born in New York City and grew up in

Westport, Connecticut Westport is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. Located in the Gold Coast (Connecticut), Gold Coast along the Long Island Sound, it is northeast of New York City and is part of the Western Connecticut Planning Region, Connec ...

, the son of Peggy Wright and librettist and novelist Jerome Weidman."Storytelling with Sondheim"
harvardmagazine.com, January–February 2011 He received a B.A. 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 ...

with a major in East Asian history and a J.D. from

Yale Law School Yale Law School (YLS) is the law school of Yale University, a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was established in 1824. The 2020–21 acceptance rate was 4%, the lowest of any law school in the United ...

Theatre

Weidman collaborated on three stage musicals with

, all of which are politically themed to some degree. The first was ''

Pacific Overtures ''Pacific Overtures'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and a book by John Weidman, with "additional material by" Hugh Wheeler. Set in nineteenth-century Japan, it tells the story of the country's westernization starting ...

'', about the Westernization of Japan in the 19th century; it premiered on Broadway in 1976 and was revived in 2004 at

Studio 54 Studio 54 is a Broadway theatre, Broadway theater and former nightclub at 254 West 54th Street (Manhattan), 54th Street in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City, New York, U.S. Opened as the Gallo Opera House in 1927, it served ...

. '' Assassins'', a musical about the men and women who attempted (with or without success) to murder the President of the United States, first opened

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 ...

in December 1990 at

Playwrights Horizons Playwrights Horizons is a not-for-profit American Off-Broadway theater located in New York City dedicated to the support and development of contemporary American playwrights, composers, and lyricists, and to the production of their new work. ...

, and later opened in the West End in October 1992 at the Donmar Warehouse. The musical was revived on Broadway in 2004 in a Roundabout Theater Company production. '' Road Show'', a musical based on the lives of Wilson and

Addison Mizner Addison Cairns Mizner ( ) (December 12, 1872 – February 5, 1933) was an American architect whose Mediterranean Revival Style architecture, Mediterranean Revival and Spanish Colonial Revival architecture, Spanish Colonial Revival style interpret ...

, opened Off-Broadway at the Public Theatre in 2008. The musical had productions at the Goodman Theatre and Kennedy Center in 2003 prior to the Off-Broadway production. Weidman has worked with choreographer/director

three times. He wrote the book for the musical '' Big, the Musical'', with Stroman as choreographer. The musical opened on Broadway in April 1996 at the Shubert Theatre. He and Stroman co-created the Tony Award-winning musical '' Contact'', which opened Off-Broadway in October 1999 at the Newhouse Theatre at

Lincoln Center Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 ...

and on Broadway at the Vivian Beaumont Theatre in March 2000. He wrote the book for the new musical'' Happiness'', which ran at Lincoln Center in February 2009. Directed and choreographed by Stroman, the composer was

Scott Frankel Scott David Frankel (born May 6, 1963) is an American composer. Career Early life Frankel began his music education taking piano lessons with Betty Belkin in Cleveland, Ohio. He attended Interlochen Arts Camp, Hawken School (‘81) and graduated f ...

with lyrics by

Michael Korie Michael Korie (born April 1, 1955) is an American Libretto, librettist and lyricist whose writing for musical theater and opera includes the musicals ''Grey Gardens (musical), Grey Gardens'' and ''Far from Heaven (musical), Far From Heaven'', and ...

. He has been nominated for the

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 ...

for Best Book for a Musical three times and has been inducted into The Theater Hall of Fame.

Other work

In the 1970s, Weidman wrote for '' National Lampoon''. Weidman has also written for ''

'', for which he and the writing team have won the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing For A Children's Series more than a dozen times."PBS, ABC top Emmy nods"
''Variety'', May 12, 2002 From 1999 to 2009 he was president of the Dramatists Guild of America.brooklaw listing
/ref>

Stage work (libretti)

*''

'' - 1976 (Tony Award nominee, Best Book of a Musical) *'' Anything Goes'' - 1987 (revised original book with Timothy Crouse; Tony Award, Best Musical Revival) *'' Assassins'' - 1990 (revived on Broadway in 2004) (Drama Desk Award nominee, Outstanding Book of a Musical; Tony Award, Best Musical Revival) *''

Big Big or BIG may refer to: * Big, of great size or degree Film and television * Big (film), ''Big'' (film), a 1988 fantasy-comedy film starring Tom Hanks * ''Big'', a 2023 Taiwanese children's film starring Van Fan and Chie Tanaka * ''Big!'', a ...

'' - 1996 (Tony Award nominee, Best Book of a Musical) *'' Contact'' - 1999 - Off-Broadway; 2000 - Broadway (Tony Award nominee, Best Book of a Musical; Tony Award, Best Musical) *'' Take Flight'' - 2007 *'' Road Show'' - 2008 *''

Happiness Happiness is a complex and multifaceted emotion that encompasses a range of positive feelings, from contentment to intense joy. It is often associated with positive life experiences, such as achieving goals, spending time with loved ones, ...

'' - 2009 *'' I Can Get It for You Wholesale'' - 2023 (revised the show's book, originally written by his father Jerome Weidman)

References

External links

*
MTI shows biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Weidman, John 1946 births 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American male writers American male television writers American television writers American musical theatre librettists American people of German descent Harvard College alumni Living people National Lampoon people Writers from Westport, Connecticut The Harvard Lampoon alumni Writers from New York City Yale Law School alumni