Judd Woldin (May 30, 1925 – November 27, 2011) was an American composer, most notable for his musical ''

Raisin A raisin is a Dried fruit, dried grape. Raisins are produced in many regions of the world and may be eaten raw or used in cooking, baking, and brewing. In the United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, Ireland, New Zealand, Australia and South Afri ...

''.

Biography

Edwin Judd Woldin was born in

Somerville, New Jersey Somerville is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in and the county seat of Somerset County, New Jersey, Somerset County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.Judd Woldin Biography.
He attended

Rutgers University Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's C ...

, and received his B.A. in 1958 and his M.A. in 1960. He had started a doctoral program at

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

, but left to write the dance music for a Broadway musical based on

James Thurber James Grover Thurber (December 8, 1894 – November 2, 1961) was an American cartoonist, writer, humorist, journalist, and playwright. He was best known for his gag cartoon, cartoons and short stories, published mainly in ''The New Yorker'' an ...

's '' Fables for Our Time and Famous Poems Illustrated''. After having toured with

Don Elliott Don Elliott Helfman (October 21, 1926 – June 5, 1984), known as Don Elliott, was an American jazz trumpeter, vibraphonist, vocalist, and mellophone player. Elliott recorded over 60 albums and 5,000 advertising jingles throughout his career. C ...

and then

Lionel Hampton Lionel Leo Hampton (April 20, 1908 – August 31, 2002) was an American jazz vibraphonist, percussionist, and bandleader. He worked with jazz musicians from Teddy Wilson, Benny Goodman, and Buddy Rich, to Charlie Parker, Charles Mingus, an ...

, Woldin attended

Black Mountain College Black Mountain College was a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Black Mountain, North Carolina. It was founded in 1933 by John Andrew Rice, Theodore Dreier, and several others. The coll ...

, studying painting with

Josef Albers Josef Albers ( , , ; March 19, 1888March 25, 1976) was a German-born American artist and Visual arts education, educator who is considered one of the most influential 20th-century art teachers in the United States. Born in 1888 in Bottrop, Westp ...

and composition with Heinrich Jalowetz. He then attended the

University of New Mexico The University of New Mexico (UNM; ) is a public research university in Albuquerque, New Mexico, United States. Founded in 1889 by the New Mexico Territorial Legislature, it is the state's second oldest university, a flagship university in th ...

to study 12-tone music with

Ernst Krenek Ernst Heinrich Krenek (, 23 August 1900 – 22 December 1991) was an Austrian, later American, composer. He explored atonality and other modern styles and wrote a number of books, including ''Music Here and Now'' (1939), a study of Johannes Ock ...

(the composer of Johnny Spielt Auf. Woldin then joined the

BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theater Workshop The BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop is a two-year educational program for people who wish to develop a musical and has been called "the premier incubator for Broadway". At the end of the second year, a small number of selected participants ...

, where he met and began collaborating with Robert Brittan. There they would begin work on a musical version of

Lorraine Hansberry Lorraine Vivian Hansberry (May 19, 1930 – January 12, 1965) was an American playwright and writer. She was the first African-American female author to have a play performed on Broadway theatre, Broadway. Her best-known work, the play ''A Raisin ...

's play ''

A Raisin In The Sun ''A Raisin in the Sun'' is a play by Lorraine Hansberry that debuted on Broadway in 1959. The title comes from the poem "Harlem" (also known as "A Dream Deferred") by Langston Hughes. The story tells of a black family's experiences in south Ch ...

''. The result was ''

''. It premiered May 30, 1973 at the Arena Stage in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

and would move to Broadway at the

46th Street Theatre The Richard Rodgers Theatre (formerly Chanin's 46th Street Theatre and the 46th Street Theatre) is a Broadway theater at 226 West 46th Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, New York, U.S. Opened in 1925, it was ...

on October 18, 1973, transferred to the

Lunt-Fontanne Theatre The Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, originally the Globe Theatre, is a Broadway theater at 205 West 46th Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City, New York, U.S. Opened in 1910, the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre was designed by C ...

on January 13, 1975, and closed on December 8, 1975 after 847 performances. The show won a Tony and a Grammy for Best Musical and Best Original Score From a Musical. (Woldin is credited with the music and Brittan the lyrics, but Woldin felt that they should have shared both credits as the process was very collaborative.) His other work includes ''Petticoat Lane'', loosely based on the novella '' King of Schnorrers'' by

Israel Zangwill Israel Zangwill (21 January 18641 August 1926) was a British author at the forefront of Zionism during the 19th century, and was a close associate of Theodor Herzl. He later rejected the search for a Jewish homeland in Palestine and became the ...

, which premiered at the

George Street Playhouse George Street Playhouse is a theater company in New Brunswick, New Jersey, in the city's Civic Square, New Brunswick, Civic Square government and theater district and resident at the newly built New Brunswick Performing Arts Center. The GSP is o ...

in October 1978, and would move to the Harold Clurman Theatre on October 4, 1979. ''Lorenzo'', a musical based on Mozart librettist

Lorenzo Da Ponte Lorenzo Da Ponte (; 10 March 174917 August 1838) was an Italians, Italian, later American, opera libretto, librettist, poet and Catholic Church, Roman Catholic priest. He wrote the libretti for 28 operas by 11 composers, including three of Wolfgan ...

, premiered at the

in 1982. It was co-written by Richard Engquist. ''Little Ham'' was written with Daniel Owens and Engquist as well, and is based on

Langston Hughes James Mercer Langston Hughes (February 1, 1901 – May 22, 1967) was an American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist from Joplin, Missouri. An early innovator of jazz poetry, Hughes is best known as a leader of the Harl ...

' play of the same name, and would be premiered at the

in 1987 and would also play at the

Westport Country Playhouse Westport Country Playhouse is a not-for-profit regional theater in Westport, Connecticut, Westport, Connecticut. It was founded in 1931 by Lawrence Langner, a New York theater producer. Langner remodeled an 1830s tannery with a Broadway-quality ...

. It also was produced by Amas Musical Theatre at the Hudson Guild in 2002. In 1992, a concert version of ''Jonah'', about the

Jonah Jonah the son of Amittai or Jonas ( , ) is a Jewish prophet from Gath-hepher in the Northern Kingdom of Israel around the 8th century BCE according to the Hebrew Bible. He is the central figure of the Book of Jonah, one of the minor proph ...

from the

Old Testament The Old Testament (OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible, or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew and occasionally Aramaic writings by the Isr ...

, was presented at the Merkin Concert Hall and part of a festival of Jewish music presented by Jack Gottlieb. It would also be produced at the

York Theatre The York Theatre Company is an Off-Broadway theatre company based on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in New York City. Established in 1969, The York is the only theater in New York City, and one of the few in the world, whose two-fold missio ...

in 2004. ''The Prince and The Pauper'', written with Marc Elliot, was based on

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by the pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, and essayist. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has produced," with William Fau ...

's novel of the same name, and it ran at the Peninsula Civic Light Opera in San Mateo,

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

. It has also been produced at the Starlight Theatre in

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more t ...

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

, the

5th Avenue Theatre The 5th Avenue Theatre is a landmark theatre located in the Skinner Building, in the downtown core of Seattle, Washington, United States. It has hosted a variety of theatre productions and motion pictures since it opened in 1926. The building ...

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

, and at the

Ordway Center for the Performing Arts The Ordway Center for the Performing Arts, in downtown Saint Paul, Minnesota, hosts a variety of performing arts, such as touring Broadway musicals, orchestra, opera, and cultural performers, and produces local musicals. It is home to several l ...

Saint Paul Paul, also named Saul of Tarsus, commonly known as Paul the Apostle and Saint Paul, was a Christian apostle ( AD) who spread the teachings of Jesus in the first-century world. For his contributions towards the New Testament, he is generally ...

Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...

. Judd Woldin died after an eight-year bout with cancer on November 27, 2011, at the age of 86.

Works

Musicals

*1973 - ''

'' (lyrics by Robert Brittan, book by Robert B. Nemiroff and Charlotte Zaltzberg) *1978 - ''Pettycoat Lane'' *1982 - ''Lorenzo'' (co-librettist Richard Engquist) *1987 - ''Little Ham'' (co-librettist Engquist) *1992 - ''Jonah'' *1993 - ''The Prince and the Pauper'' (music by Woldin and Marc Elliot, lyrics by Elliot)

Play

*2002 - ''Murder in Baker Street''

Film scores

*1962 - '' Railway with a Heart of Gold'' *1964 - ''Light Fantastic'' *1967 - ''Poppycock'' *1968 - ''Nobody Ever Died of Old Age''

Notes

;Bibliography * {{DEFAULTSORT:Woldin, Judd 1925 births American musical theatre composers American male musical theatre composers Grammy Award winners 2011 deaths Rutgers University alumni Tony Award winners