Matty Selman is a playwright, lyricist, composer, and author based 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 ...

. He first came into the national spotlight when he was hand-selected by Harvard's

Robert Brustein Robert Sanford Brustein (April 21, 1927 – October 29, 2023) was an American theatrical critic, producer, playwright, writer, and educator. He founded the Yale Repertory Theatre while serving as dean of the Yale School of Drama in New Haven, ...

to write the lyrics to an adaptation of

Lysistrata ''Lysistrata'' ( or ; Attic Greek: , ''Lysistrátē'', ) is an ancient Greek comedy by Aristophanes, originally performed in classical Athens in 411 BC. It is a comic account of a woman's mission to end the Peloponnesian War between Greek city ...

with music by

HAIR Hair is a protein filament that grows from follicles found in the dermis. Hair is one of the defining characteristics of mammals. The human body, apart from areas of glabrous skin, is covered in follicles which produce thick terminal and ...

composer,

Galt MacDermot Arthur Terence Galt MacDermot (December 18, 1928 – December 17, 2018) was a Canadian-American composer, pianist and writer of musical theater. He won a Grammy Award for the song "African Waltz" in 1960. His most successful musicals were ''Hair ...

. The resulting work starred

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 ...

winner

Cherry Jones Cherry Jones (born November 21, 1956) is an American actress. She started her career in theater as a founding member of the American Repertory Theater in 1980 before transitioning into film and television. Celebrated for her dynamic roles on st ...

and was presented by the

American Repertory Theatre The American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) is a professional not-for-profit theater in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1979 by Robert Brustein, the A.R.T. is known for its commitment to new American plays and music–theater explorations; to ne ...

at Harvard and the Prince Theatre in Philadelphia.

Early life and career

Both having lived on

Staten Island Staten Island ( ) is the southernmost of the boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County and situated at the southernmost point of New York (state), New York. The borough is separated from the ad ...

, Selman and MacDermot continued their collaboration and wrote

Goddess Wheel ''Goddess Wheel'' is a musical adaptation of ''Lysistrata'' by Aristophanes. The show contains music by ''Hair'' composer Galt MacDermot and lyrics/book by Matty Selman. The first presentations of the musical starred Tony Award winner Cherry Jone ...

a further exploration of the

tale, which had its world premiere at the Snug Harbor Cultural Center. Prior to working with Galt MacDermot, Selman had collaborated with

Agnes of God ''Agnes of God'' is a 1979 play by American playwright John Pielmeier which tells the story of a novice nun who gives birth but does not believe she has. After the child is found dead, a psychiatrist and the mother superior of the convent clash ...

playwright,

John Pielmeier John Pielmeier (born February 23, 1949) is an American playwright, screenwriter and novelist. Life and career Pielmeier was born in Altoona, Pennsylvania, the son of Louise (Blackburn) and Len Pielmeier. He was raised Catholic. He earned a Bachelo ...

on three musicals, Steeplechase the Funny Place, developed at The New Harmony Project, Young Rube, produced on the Main Stage of the Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, and Slow Dance with a Hot Pickup, produced at BDT in Boulder, Co. He is the author of "Uncle Philip's Coat" which won Best Production at the United Solo Festival. It was recently produced at the Greenhouse Theatre in Chicago starring Gene Waygandt. He is the composer, lyricist and librettist of "La Dottoressa" a new musical about feminist, scientist, educator, mother and advocate for world peace, Maria Montessori. "La Dottoressa" was presented as a full staged reading by the Chamber Orchestra Society at Lincoln Center and featured Kathy Voytko, Ned Eisenberg and Angelina Fiordellisi. Matty was selected by the Cafe Royal Cultural Foundation as its Spring Literature Grantee,2021 for his collection of short stories, "Satchel of Dreams." He is the creator and sole author of "Time Out of Kilter" a monthly newsletter of his original stories. (mattyselman.substack.com)

References

American lyricists Living people Year of birth missing (living people) {{US-composer-stub