Michael Kooman is an

Emmy The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award catego ...

nominated composer writing for the stage and screen. His television work includes songs on the

Disney Junior Disney Jr. (formerly Disney Junior) is an American pay television network owned by the Disney Branded Television sub-division of the Disney Entertainment business segment of the Walt Disney Company. Aimed mainly at children two to seven year ...

animated series, '' Vampirina'' and the

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

series Ridley Jones

He is most known for his musical '' Romantics Anonymous (musical), Romantics Anonymous'' (written with

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

), which premiered in 2017 at

Shakespeare's Globe Shakespeare's Globe is a reconstruction of the Globe Theatre, an Elizabethan playhouse first built in 1599 for which William Shakespeare wrote his plays. Like the original, it is located on the south bank of the River Thames, in Southwark, Lon ...

Theatre in London. He is half of the writing team of Kooman and Dimond.

Works

''Vampirina''

Kooman and Dimond are the primary songwriters for the

series Vampirina, and were nominated for a 2020 Emmy for their work on the show. 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 David Van Der Beek (; born March 8, 1977) is an American actor. Known for his portrayal of Dawson Leery on The WB's ''Dawson's Creek'' (1998–2003), he also played a fictionalized version of himself on the cult ABC sitcom '' Don't Trus ...

Lauren Graham Lauren Helen Graham (born March 16, 1967) is an American Actor, actress and author. She is best known for portraying Lorelai Gilmore on The WB series ''Gilmore Girls'', for which she was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – ...

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, ''Entertainme ...

Patti Lupone Patti Ann LuPone (born April 21, 1949) is an American actress and singer. After starting her professional career with The Acting Company in 1972, she soon gained acclaim for her leading performances on the Broadway and West End stage. Known f ...

, and Brian Stokes Mitchell. Notable Broadway guest stars include

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

and Christian Borle. By the end of the show's thirds season he's written over 150 songs for the series.

''Romantics Anonymous''

With a book by acclaimed British writer/director

, '' Romantics Anonymous (musical), 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 ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

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". The show planned to tour internationally in 2020.

''Ridley Jones''

Continuing his collaboration with creator and executive producer

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

, he began work writing songs for the

series Ridley Jones.

''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, seating just over 1,000 guests. The center has received two ...

in 2013, followed by workshops at the Human Race Theatre Company and

Village Theatre Village Theatre is a small community 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 an American daily newspaper based in Seattle, Washington. Founded in 1891, ''The Seattle Times'' has the largest circulation of any newspaper in the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region. The Seattle Time ...

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

''Dani Girl''

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

Carnegie Mellon University Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. The institution was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools. In 1912, it became the Carnegie Institu ...

Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsyl ...

, the

American Conservatory Theater The American Conservatory Theater (ACT) 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 American ...

The Kennedy Center The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, commonly known as the Kennedy Center, is the national cultural center of the United States, located on the eastern bank of the Potomac River in Washington, D.C. Opened on September 8, ...

, 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 A license (American Englis ...

. 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 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.

''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'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

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. An album of the score was released in 2018.

''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 tha ...

which ran for 14 weeks at their cabaret space in downtown

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

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 Greater Pittsburgh, metropolitan Pittsburgh in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. Descended from the ''Pittsburgh Gazette'', established in 1786 as the fi ...

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

Millikin University Millikin University is a private university in Decatur, Illinois, United States. It was founded in 1901 by prominent Decatur businessman James Millikin and is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA). History Millikin was initially esta ...

'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, Inc. is a comedy video website and 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 regular staf ...

''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, Kara Lindsay, Anderson Davis, Andrew Kober, 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 more than a million views on their YouTube channel. Part of the show was performed by the writers in 2009 at

's "Next Generation of Musical Theater" series.

Awards

Along with Christopher Dimond, he received the $50,000 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 ...

Award as well as the 2010

Jonathan Larson Jonathan David Larson (February 4, 1960 – January 25, 1996) was an American composer, lyricist and playwright, most famous for writing the musicals ''Rent (musical), Rent'' and ''Tick, Tick... Boom!'', which explored the social issues of mult ...

Grant. In 2011, they 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, Bo ...

Award, given by the

ASCAP The American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers (ASCAP) () is an American not-for-profit performance-rights organization (PRO) that collectively licenses the public performance rights of its members' musical works to venues, broadc ...

Foundation. In 2009, he received the Burton Lane Award from the

American Theatre Hall of Fame American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

, and received a fellowship from both the

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. It was born in 1921 out of the Authors Guild, known then as Authors League of America, formed in 1912. M ...

as well as the O'neill Musical Theatre Festival.http://www.ascap.com/playback/2012/01/foundation/rodgers_hart_award.aspx He has completed the advanced BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theater Workshop and is currently a member of the

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 Patina Miller, Kerry Butler, and Christopher Sieber. The album release party was held at Birdland on July 18, 2011 featuring performances by Laura Osnes, Julia Murney, Jeremy Jordan, Kyle Dean Massey, and Jose Llana.

Additional Sources

*https://www.goldderby.com/article/2020/daytime-emmy-nominations-list-of-nominees/ *http://koomandimond.com/biography.html *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.kennedy-center.org/programs/millennium/artist_detail.cfm?artist_id=KOOMANMCHL *http://broadwayworld.com/article/Photo-Coverage-ASCAP-Foundation-Honors-Stephen-Schwartz-with-Richard-Rodgers-Award-20111208

*http://broadwayworld.com/article/Photo-Coverage-Patina-Miller-Laura-Osnes-Jeremy-Jordan-More-Sing-the-Music-of-Kooman-Dimond-at-Birdland-20110719 *https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbbewRSc-C0

References

External links

*http://koomandimond.com/ {{DEFAULTSORT:Kooman, Michael Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American male composers 21st-century American composers American music arrangers American pianists Carnegie Mellon University College of Fine Arts alumni Place of birth missing (living people) Musicians from New York City American male pianists 21st-century American male musicians