Kooman and Dimond (

Michael Kooman Michael Kooman is an Emmy nominated composer writing for the stage and screen. His television work includes songs on the Disney Junior animated series, ''Vampirina'' and the Netflix series Ridley JonesHe is most known for his musical '' Romantics ...

and

Christopher Dimond Christopher Dimond is an American playwright, librettist, and lyricist currently living in New York City. He is most known for his work on the musical ''Dani Girl'' and the song cycle "Homemade Fusion", both of which were written with composer M ...

) are Emmy nominated songwriters for the stage and screen

Their television work includes the Disney Junior (Channel), Disney Junior series

Vampirina ''Vampirina'' is a computer-animated children's television series created by Chris Nee. Based on the ''Vampirina Ballerina'' series of books written by Anne Marie Pace and published by Disney-Hyperion, the series was announced in March 2016 and ...

and the

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a ...

series

Ridley Jones ''Ridley Jones'' is a 2021 animated preschool streaming television series. Created and executive produced by Chris Nee for Netflix, the series premiered on July 13, 2021. A second season debuted on a November 2 release. A third season was rele ...

Their stage musicals include ''Romantics Anonymous'' (written with

Emma Rice Emma Juliet Rice (born August 1967) is a British actor, director and writer. Hailed as a fearless director, Rice's work includes theatrical adaptations of ''Brief Encounter'', '' The Red Shoes'' and ''Wise Children.'' In 2022, Rice was named in ...

and premiered at

Shakespeare's Globe Shakespeare's Globe is a reconstruction of the Globe Theatre, an Elizabethan playhouse for which William Shakespeare wrote his plays, in the London Borough of Southwark, on the south bank of the River Thames. The original theatre was built in ...

), ''The Noteworthy Life of Howard Barnes'' (and its subsequen
world premiere recording
, ''Dani Girl'', ''Judge Jackie: Disorder in the Court'', and ''Orphie & The Book of Heroes.'' They are also known for their cabaret material (and subsequent

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second most ...

following); and their album ''Out of Our Heads'', released in 2011.

Background

Both natives of Pennsylvania, Michael and Chris met and began working together under the tutelage of

Milan Stitt Milan Stitt (February 9, 1941 – March 12, 2009

Carnegie Mellon University Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. One of its predecessors was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools; it became the Carnegie Institute of Technology ...

in 2006. They have been awarded the prestigious 2013

Fred Ebb Fred Ebb (April 8, 1928 – September 11, 2004) was an American musical theatre lyricist who had many successful collaborations with composer John Kander. The Kander and Ebb team frequently wrote for such performers as Liza Minnelli and Chita R ...

Award, a Jonathan Larson Grant, and were awarded the first

Lorenz Hart Lorenz Milton Hart (May 2, 1895 – November 22, 1943) was an American lyricist and half of the Broadway songwriting team Rodgers and Hart. Some of his more famous lyrics include " Blue Moon", " The Lady Is a Tramp", "Manhattan", " Bewitched, ...

Award by the ASCAP Foundation. They attended the Johnny Mercer Songwriting Workshop (where they studied with

Andrew Lippa Andrew Lippa (born December 22, 1964) is an American composer, lyricist, book writer, performer, and producer. He is a resident artist at the Ars Nova Theater in New York City. Early life Lippa was born in Leeds, England, to English parents. ...

and

Craig Carnelia Craig Carnelia (born 1949) is an American musical theater composer and singer, known for his collaboration on the musicals '' Working'' and ''Sweet Smell of Success''. Biography Carnelia grew up in Floral Park, New York. He was exposed to Broadw ...

), and were fellows at the O'Neill Musical Theater Conference. They studied with

Lynn Ahrens Lynn Ahrens (born October 1, 1948) is an American writer and lyricist for the musical theatre, television and film. She has collaborated with Stephen Flaherty for many years. She won the Tony Award, Drama Desk Award, and Outer Critics Circle Aw ...

and

Stephen Flaherty Stephen Flaherty (born September 18, 1960) is an American composer of musical theatre and film. He works most often in collaboration with the lyricist/book writer Lynn Ahrens. They are best known for writing the Broadway musicals ''Ragtime'', whi ...

through the 2009–10

Dramatists Guild of America The Dramatists Guild of America is a professional organization for playwrights, composers, and lyricists working in the U.S. theatre market. Membership as an Associate Member is open to any person having written at least one stage play. Active Me ...

Fellowship.

Works

Vampirina

Kooman and Dimond have been Emmy nominated for their work on the Disney Junior (Channel), Disney Junior series

. They are the primary songwriters for the show, and have written over 150 songs for the series. Following the story of a family of vampires as they move from Transylvania to Pennsylvania, the series features Isabella Crovetti,

James Van Der Beek James William Van Der Beek (; born March 8, 1977) is an American actor best known for his portrayal of Dawson Leery in the WB series '' Dawson's Creek'' and Johnny "Mox" Moxon in '' Varsity Blues'' (1999). He played a fictionalized version of ...

Lauren Graham Lauren Graham (born March 16, 1967) is an American actress and author. She is best known for her roles as Lorelai Gilmore on The WB/ CW television series ''Gilmore Girls'' (2000–2007), for which she received nominations for Screen Actors Guild ...

Wanda Sykes Wanda Yvette Sykes (born March 7, 1964) is an American stand-up comedian, actress, and writer. She was first recognized for her work as a writer on '' The Chris Rock Show'', for which she won a Primetime Emmy Award in 1999. In 2004, ''Entertain ...

Patti Lupone Patti Ann LuPone (born April 21, 1949) is an American actress and singer best known for her work in musical theater. She has won three Tony Awards, two Olivier Awards, two Grammy Awards, and was a 2006 inductee to the American Theater Hall of Fa ...

, and

Brian Stokes Mitchell Brian Stokes Mitchell (born October 31, 1957) is an American actor and singer. A powerful baritone, he has been one of the central leading men of the Broadway theater since the 1990s. He won the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical in 2000 for ...

. Notable guest stars performing their songs include

Andrew Rannells Andrew Scott Rannells (born August 23, 1978) is an American film, stage, television and voice actor. Rannells is best known for originating the role of Elder Kevin Price in the 2011 Broadway musical ''The Book of Mormon'' for which he was nomin ...

Sara Ramirez Sara Elena Ramírez (; born August 31, 1975) is a Mexican-American actor and singer. Born in Mazatlán, Sinaloa, Ramírez moved to the United States at eight years old, eventually graduating with a fine arts degree from the Juilliard School. ...

Skylar Astin Skylar Astin Lipstein (born September 23, 1987) is an American actor and singer. He became known for portraying Jesse Swanson in the musical films '' Pitch Perfect'' (2012) and ''Pitch Perfect 2'' (2015). He originated the role of Georg in the Bro ...

Henry Winkler Henry Franklin Winkler, OBE (born October 30, 1945), is an American actor, comedian, author, executive producer, and director. After rising to fame as Arthur "Fonzie" Fonzarelli on the American television series '' Happy Days'', Winkler has ...

, and

Christian Borle Christian Dominique Borle (born October 1, 1973) is an American actor and singer. He is a two-time Tony Award winner for his roles as Black Stache in '' Peter and the Starcatcher'' and as William Shakespeare in '' Something Rotten!''. Borle als ...

Romantics Anonymous

With a book by acclaimed British writer/director

, Romantics Anonymous was adapted from the 2010 French-Belgian film of the same name. The show premiered to great acclaim in 2017 at Shakespeare's Globe. The Guardian hailed it as "A multifaceted gem, chic-full of love, generosity and joy" and Variety raved "Kooman's score and Dimond's lyrics soar to emotional heights".

Ridley Jones

After working on Vampirina with executive producer

Chris Nee Christine Nee is an American children's television screenwriter and producer. Nee is best known as the creator of ''Doc McStuffins'', which she conceived as ''Cheers'' for preschoolers. She has previously worked as an associate producer on severa ...

, Kooman & Dimond began work on the Netflix Series Ridley Jones. On the show they collaborated with such singers as Sutton Foster, Andrew Rannells, and Jane Lynch.

The Noteworthy Life of Howard Barnes

''The Noteworthy Life of Howard Barnes'', a musical comedy which chronicles the tale of an average man who wakes up one morning to discover that his life has become a musical, was first workshopped at the prestigious

Eugene O'Neill Theater Center The Eugene O'Neill Theater Center in Waterford, Connecticut, is a 501(c)(3) non-profit theater company founded in 1964 by George C. White. It is commonly referred to as The O'Neill. The center has received two Tony Awards, the 1979 Special Awa ...

in 2013, followed by workshops at the

Human Race Theatre Company The Human Race Theatre Company is the professional producing theatre company of Dayton Ohio, dedicated to producing works on universal themes that explore the human condition and startle us all into a renewed awareness of ourselves. The HRTC is l ...

and

Village Theatre Village Theatre is a major regional theatre located in the Seattle metropolitan area. It is a member of Theatre Puget Sound and the National Alliance for Musical Theatre. The theatre was founded in Issaquah, Washington, in 1979 and built a second l ...

. In 2014

produced a workshop production of the piece. The show received its world premiere at

in the fall of 2018, with the

Seattle Times ''The Seattle Times'' is a daily newspaper serving Seattle, Washington, United States. It was founded in 1891 and has been owned by the Blethen family since 1896. ''The Seattle Times'' has the largest circulation of any newspaper in Washington s ...

giving it a rave, calling it "uproariously funny."
world premiere recording
was released in 2019.

Dani Girl

Kooman and Dimond's first musical, ''Dani Girl,'' has been work-shopped at

Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a public state-related land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvania. Founded in 1855 as the Farmers' High School of Pennsylvania, Penn State becam ...

, the

American Conservatory Theater The American Conservatory Theater (A.C.T.) is a nonprofit theater company in San Francisco, California, United States, that offers both classical and contemporary theater productions. It also has an attached acting school. History The Americ ...

The Kennedy Center The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (formally known as the John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, and commonly referred to as the Kennedy Center) is the United States National Cultural Center, located on the Potom ...

, The ASCAP/Disney Musical Theater Workshop, and CAP-21. The piece is licensed by

Samuel French Samuel French (1821–1898) was an American entrepreneur who, together with British actor, playwright and theatrical manager Thomas Hailes Lacy, pioneered in the field of theatrical publishing and the licensing of plays. Biography French fou ...

. Its professional premiere was produced in Barrie, Ontario by Talk is Free Theatre, directed by Richard Ouzounian, and subsequently was remounted in 2012.

Harvest Rain Theatre Company Harvest Rain Theatre Company is a theatre company based in Brisbane, Australia, known for presenting professional musical theatre. Since its inception in 1985, Harvest Rain has produced theatre productions at a range of venues throughout Brisb ...

debuted the show internationally in Brisbane, Australia in 2010. The show was presented at the 2011 National Alliance for Musical Theater Festival of New Musicals and by Maryland's Unexpected Stage Company (Summer 2014). ''Dani Girl'' made its UK amateur premiere in Glasgow, Scotland by Epilogue Theatre and debuted in New York City as an Exit, Pursued a Bear production starring Steffanie Leigh, Matt Shingledecker,

Erik Liberman Erik Liberman is an American actor, author, and director. Early life and education Liberman was born in Miami, the son of social worker Marsha and Havana-born vision scientist and author Jacob. He attended New World School of the Arts, where h ...

and Amy Jo Jackson. The musical made its Hong Kong premiere in 2021 by theatre compan
Musical Trio

Orphie and the Book of Heroes

''Orphie and the Book of Heroes'' was commissioned by

and premiered in 2014.

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large n ...

gave the show 5 stars and called it "An Epic Success". It has subsequently been produced at Orlando Repertory Theatre, Front Porch Theatre, and Interlochen Arts Academy
World Premiere Recording
was released in 2017.

Judge Jackie: Disorder in the Court

''Judge Jackie: Disorder in the Court'' is an audience participation based musical commissioned by the

Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera (Pittsburgh CLO) is a nonprofit professional theater company based in the Cultural District of Downtown Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. Despite its name, the organization presents musical theatre classics rather th ...

which ran for 14 weeks at their cabaret space in downtown

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

in 2014. Reviews were positive, and the

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette The ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'', also known simply as the PG, is the largest newspaper serving metropolitan Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Descended from the ''Pittsburgh Gazette'', established in 1786 as the first newspaper published west of the All ...

raved "Musical comedy justice is served in a new CLO Cabaret show featuring catchy tunes, clever lyrics, juicy characters and important roles for audience members throughout the proceedings.”

Golden Gate

''Golden Gate'' premiered at the

Williamstown Theater Festival The Williamstown Theatre Festival is a resident summer stock theater, summer theater on the campus of Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1954 by Williams College news director Ralph Renzi and drama program chairm ...

Aug 12, 2009. It has subsequently been workshopped as part of

Millikin University Millikin University is a private university in Decatur, Illinois. It was founded in 1901 by prominent Decatur businessman James Millikin and is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA). Media Decaturian The ''Decaturian'', also known as ...

's New Musicals Workshop, culminating in a production of the latest incarnation of the show, which occurred in the spring of 2011.

Someday Soon

In 2012, Kooman and Dimond collaborated with director Alberto Belli to create the musical short film ''Someday Soon'', which was subsequently featured on

Funny or Die Funny or Die is a comedy video website and film/television production company owned by Henry R. Muñoz III that was founded by Will Ferrell, Adam McKay, Mark Kvamme, and Chris Henchy in 2007. The website contained exclusive material from a re ...

Homemade Fusion

Their first collaboration was the song cycle ''Homemade Fusion'' in March 2006. Since the premiere, ''Homemade Fusion'' has been performed across the country as well as internationally. The show debuted at Carnegie Mellon University in 2006, with a subsequent production at the Pittsburgh CLO Cabaret Theater. This production featured Tony Award winner

Patina Miller Patina Renea Miller is an American actress and singer. Miller's breakout role was as originating the role of disco diva wannabe Deloris Van Cartier in the 2009 West End and 2011 Broadway productions of ''Sister Act'' for which she earned a Lauren ...

Kara Lindsay Kara Lynn Massey (born February 16, 1985), known professionally as Kara Lindsay, is an American stage actress and singer, best known for her roles as Katherine Plumber in ''Newsies'' (2012) and Glinda in ''Wicked'' (2014, 2016, 2018, 2019). Educa ...

, Anderson Davis,

Andrew Kober Andrew Kober is an American stage and screen actor, best known for playing the role of Margaret Mead in the 2009 Broadway revival of '' Hair''. Early life Kober grew up in Shaker Heights, Ohio. His granduncle Arthur Kober was born to a Jewish ...

, and many other Carnegie Mellon Drama School Alumni. In 2010, the show was performed at the Ambassadors theater in London. Songs from "Homemade Fusion" have amassed millions views on thei
YouTube channel
Part of the show was performed by the writers in 2009 at

's "Next Generation of Musical Theater" series.

Album

On June 28, 2011, Kooman released ''Out of Our Heads: The Music of Kooman and Dimond''. The album features several Tony-nominated performers including

Kerry Butler Kerry Butler is an American actress and singer known primarily for her work in theatre. She is best known for originating the roles of Barbara Maitland in ''Beetlejuice'', Penny Pingleton in ''Hairspray'', and Clio/Kira in '' Xanadu'', the latt ...

and

Christopher Sieber Christopher Luverne Sieber (born February 18, 1969) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles Kevin Burke in '' Two of a Kind (American TV series)'' and Agatha Trunchbull in ''Matilda the Musical''. He was nominated for the Tony Aw ...

. The album release party was held at Birdland on July 18, 2011 featuring performances by

Laura Osnes Laura Ann Osnes (born November 19, 1985) is an American actress and singer known for her work on the Broadway stage. She has played starring roles in '' Grease'' as Sandy, ''South Pacific'' as Nellie Forbush, ''Anything Goes'' as Hope Harcourt, ...

Julia Murney Julia Kathleen Murney (born January 14, 1969) is an American actress and singer, also known for television commercial voice-overs. Until 2005, she was commonly known as the Broadway actress who had technically never appeared on Broadway. This ...

Jeremy Jordan Jeremy Jordan may refer to: * Jeremy Jordan (actor, born 1984), American actor and singer, notable for being an actor and Broadway performer * Jeremy Jordan (singer, born 1973) Don Henson (born September 19, 1973), known professionally as Jerem ...

Kyle Dean Massey Kyle Dean Massey (born November 17, 1981) is an American actor and singer. He is best known for his leading roles in the Broadway musicals '' Wicked'' – for which he has played Fiyero on-and-off from 2007 to 2019 – ''Next to Normal,'' and ...

and

Jose Llana Jose Llana (born 5 May 1976) is a Filipino-American singer and actor best known for his roles on Broadway. Biography Born 5 May 1976, Llana, a native of Manila, Philippines, grew up in Springfield, Virginia, a suburb of Washington, D.C. After ...

. The eleventh and final track of the album, "Lost in the Waves," describes Dimond's real-life experience of when his father drowned when saving him from a

riptide A rip tide, or riptide, is a strong offshore current that is caused by the tide pulling water through an inlet along a barrier beach, at a lagoon or inland marina where tide water flows steadily out to sea during ebb tide. It is a strong tidal f ...

References

External links

* *https://www.goldderby.com/article/2020/daytime-emmy-nominations-list-of-nominees/ *https://www.playbill.com/article/breaking-down-the-noteworthy-life-of-howard-barnes-score *https://www.seattletimes.com/entertainment/theater/an-ordinary-man-is-trapped-in-a-musical-in-village-theatres-hilarious-the-noteworthy-life-of-howard-barnes/ * http://www.koomandimond.com/biography.html

* http://broadwayworld.com/article/Photo-Coverage-Patina-Miller-Laura-Osnes-Jeremy-Jordan-More-Sing-the-Music-of-Kooman-Dimond-at-Birdland-20110719 * http://www.playbill.com/article/breaking-down-the-noteworthy-life-of-howard-barnes-score * https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbbewRSc-C0 * http://www.unexpectedstage.org/ * http://www.mdtheatreguide.com/2014/07/theatre-review-dani-girl-at-unexpected-stage-company/ * http://www.playbill.com/news/article/michael-kooman-and-christopher-dimond-are-winners-of-ninth-annual-fred-ebb--211651 * http://www.playbill.com/news/article/oneill-music-theater-conference-will-nurture-new-musicals-goddess-broadcast-204007 * http://www.post-gazette.com/ae/theater-dance/2014/02/11/Mischievous-mayhem-rules-in-Judge-Jackie/stories/201402110024 * http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/da67462e8f/someday-soon-i-ll-be-employed * https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/review-orphie-and-the-book-of-heroes-at-the-kennedy-center-is-an-epic-success/2014/02/13/f145f4f4-941f-11e3-9e13-770265cf4962_story.html {{DEFAULTSORT:Kooman And Dimond Songwriting teams