Richard Eldridge Maltby Jr. (born October 6, 1937) is an American theatre director and

producer Producer or producers may refer to: Occupations *Producer (agriculture), a farm operator *A stakeholder of economic production *Film producer, supervises the making of films **Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...

, lyricist, and

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

. He conceived and directed the only two musical revues to win the Tony Award for Best Musical: '' Ain't Misbehavin''' (1978: Tony, N.Y. Drama Critics, Outer Critics, Drama Desk Awards, also Tony Award for Best Director) and '' Fosse'' (1999: Tony, Outer Critics, Drama Desk Awards).

Life and career

Maltby was born in

Ripon, Wisconsin Ripon is a city in Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 7,733 at the 2010 census. The city is surrounded by the Town of Ripon. Ripon is home to the Little White Schoolhouse, the commonly recognized birthplace of ...

, the son of Virginia (née Hosegood) and

Richard Maltby, Sr. Richard Eldridge Maltby Sr. (June 26, 1914 – August 19, 1991) was an American musician, conductor, arranger and bandleader, most notable for his 1956 recording " (Themes from) ''The Man with the Golden Arm''". He was also the father of th ...

, a well-known orchestra leader.Filmreference.com
/ref> Maltby and David Shire started working together as students at Yale University (where he was a member of Manuscript Society); their first Broadway credit was in 1968, when their song "The Girl of the Minute" was used in the revue '' New Faces of 1968''. In 1977 the Manhattan Theatre Club produced a revue of their earlier songs, written for other works, finally titled ''

Starting Here, Starting Now ''Starting Here, Starting Now'' is a musical theatre, musical revue with lyrics by Richard Maltby Jr. and music by David Shire. With a cast of three and three musicians, the revue explores a variety of romantic relationships. Productions The revu ...

''. With composer Shire, Maltby was the director and lyricist for '' Baby'', (1983, book by Sybille Pearson) and the lyricist for '' Big'' (1996, book by John Weidman). Also with Shire, he conceived and wrote the lyrics for '' Take Flight'' (book by John Weidman), which had its world premiere in July 2007 at the Menier Chocolate Factory in London. He was director/co-lyricist for the American version of Andrew Lloyd Webber's '' Song and Dance'', (1986) starring Bernadette Peters. He was co-lyricist for '' Miss Saigon'' (Evening Standard Award 1990; Tony nomination: Best Score, 1991). He also conceived and directed '' Ring of Fire'', a musical about Johnny Cash, which ran on Broadway in 2006. He is co-bookwriter/lyricist for ''

The Pirate Queen ''The Pirate Queen'' is a musical with music by Claude-Michel Schönberg, French lyrics by Alain Boublil and English lyric adaptations by Richard Maltby Jr. and John Dempsey. The French book was written by Boublil and Schönberg and the Engli ...

'' (2007). He was most recently represented on Broadway as the director of the new, original musical ''

The Story of My Life The Story of My Life or Story of My Life may refer to: Literature * ''The Story of My Life'' (biography), a 1903 autobiography by Helen Keller * ''Story of My Life'' (novel), 1988 novel by Jay McInerney * ''Histoire de ma vie'' (''Story of my l ...

'' by composer/lyricist Neil Bartram and book writer Brian Hill. That musical had a brief run at the Booth Theatre in February 2009. and received a 2009

Drama Desk Award The Drama Desk Award is an annual prize recognizing excellence in New York theatre. First bestowed in 1955 as the Vernon Rice Award, the prize initially honored Off-Broadway productions, as well as Off-off-Broadway, and those in the vicinity. Fo ...

nomination for outstanding production of a musical. Since 1976 he has constructed the monthly cryptic crossword puzzles for ''

Harper's Magazine ''Harper's Magazine'' is a monthly magazine of literature, politics, culture, finance, and the arts. Launched in New York City in June 1850, it is the oldest continuously published monthly magazine in the U.S. (''Scientific American'' is older, b ...

'', formerly in collaboration with

E. R. Galli E is the fifth letter of the Latin alphabet. E or e may also refer to: Commerce and transportation * €, the symbol for the euro, the European Union's standard currency unit * ℮, the estimated sign, an EU symbol indicating that the weight ...

. He constructed cryptic crosswords for '' New York Magazine'' in the early 1970s.

Personal life

Maltby married twice: first to Barbara Black Sudler on June 5, 1965 (they had two children, Nicholas and David), and second, in 1987, to Janet Brenner (they had three children, Jordan, Emily, and Charlotte). He now has seven grandchildren, Aidan, Emma, Liam, Owen, Matt, Lionel, and Jesse Maltby.

Work

;Broadway *'' Ain't Misbehavin''', 1978 (Director/Co-lyricist) *'' Baby'', 1983 (Director/Lyricist) *'' Blood Knot'', 1985 (Producer) *'' Song and Dance'', 1986 (Director/Co-lyricist) *'' Miss Saigon'', 1989 (Lyricist) *'' Nick & Nora'', 1991 (Lyricist) *'' Big'', 1996 (Lyricist) *'' Fosse'', 1999 (Director) *'' Bea Arthur on Broadway'', 2002 (Production Consultant) *'' Ring of Fire'', 2006 (Creator/Director)Ibdb.com
/ref> *''

'', 2007 (Writer/Lyricist) ;Off-Broadway *''

Closer Than Ever ''Closer Than Ever'' is a musical revue in two acts, with words by Richard Maltby, Jr. and music by David Shire. The revue contains no dialogue, and Maltby and Shire have described this show as a "bookless book musical." The show was originally ...

'', (1989, two Outer Critics Circle Awards: Best Musical, Best Score) with David Shire *''

'', director/lyricist (1977 Grammy nomination) with David Shire *''

'', 2009 (Director) ;Regional *'' Love Match'', lyricist (1968, Ahmanson Theatre, Los Angeles) *'' The 60's Project'', director, (2006, Goodspeed Opera House) *''Waterfall'', book and lyrics; David Shire music (2015), Pasadena PlayhouseVirini, Bob
"L.A. Theater Review: ‘Waterfall’ with Thai Pop Star Bie Sukrit"
''Variety'', June 12, 2015 ;Film *'' Miss Potter'', (2007), Screenplay, starring Renée Zellweger and Ewan McGregor (Christopher Award, best screenplay)

Awards and nominations

;Awards *1978 Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical - ''Ain't Misbehavin'' *1990

Outer Critics Circle Award The Outer Critics Circle Awards are presented annually for theatrical achievements both on Broadway and Off-Broadway. They are presented by the Outer Critics Circle (OCC), the official organization of New York theater writers for out-of-town newspa ...

for Best Score - ''Closer Than Ever'' *1999 Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical - ''Fosse'' *2001

Laurence Olivier Award The Laurence Olivier Awards, or simply the Olivier Awards, are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre to recognise excellence in professional theatre in London at an annual ceremony in the capital. The awards were originally known as ...

- ''Fosse'' ;Nominations *1977 Grammy Award for Best Original Cast Recording - ''Starting Here, Starting Now'' *1984 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lyrics - ''Baby'' *1984 Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical - ''Baby'' *1984 Tony Award for Best Original Score - ''Baby'' *1986 Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical - ''Song and Dance'' *1986 Tony Award for Best Musical - ''Song and Dance'' *1986 Tony Award for Best Original Score - ''Song and Dance'' *1986 Tony Award for Best Play - ''Blood Knot'' *1990 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lyrics - ''Closer Than Ever'' *1991 Tony Award for Best Original Score - ''Miss Saigon'' *1992 Tony Award for Best Original Score - ''Nick & Nora'' *1996 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lyrics - ''Big'' *1996 Tony Award for Best Original Score - ''Big'' *1999

for Outstanding Director of a Musical - ''Fosse''

References

External links

* *
Richard Maltby Jr.
- ''Downstage Center'' interview at American Theatre Wing.org
MTI Shows biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maltby, Richard Jr. 1937 births Living people American lyricists American male screenwriters American theatre directors American theatre managers and producers Broadway composers and lyricists Broadway theatre directors Harper's Magazine people People from Ripon, Wisconsin Puzzle designers Screenwriters from New York (state) Screenwriters from Wisconsin Tony Award winners Yale University alumni