Stephen Keeling is a British composer and musician who works predominantly in musical theatre.

Biographical details

Born in 1966 in Staffordshire, England, he trained at

Goldsmiths College Goldsmiths, University of London, officially the Goldsmiths' College, is a constituent research university of the University of London in England. It was originally founded in 1891 as The Goldsmiths' Technical and Recreative Institute by the Wor ...

University of London The University of London (UoL; abbreviated as Lond or more rarely Londin in post-nominals) is a federal public research university located in London, England, United Kingdom. The university was established by royal charter in 1836 as a degre ...

, gaining an honours degree in music. In 1990 he was chosen by

Sir Cameron Mackintosh Sir Cameron Anthony Mackintosh (born 17 October 1946) is a British theatrical producer and theatre owner notable for his association with many commercially successful musicals. At the height of his success in 1990, he was described as being "th ...

to be one of 12 writers to study with Stephen Sondheim during the latter's year-long tenure at

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

as the Visiting Professor of Contemporary Theatre.

Notable works

During his time with Stephen Sondheim at Oxford, he composed the music for ''Maddie'' (book and lyrics by

Shaun McKenna Shaun Patrick McKenna (born 5 April 1957 in Maidstone, Kent) is an English dramatist, lyricist and screenwriter. Biography Shaun McKenna studied at Maidstone Grammar School and the University of Bristol (1975–1978). He was an actor for a f ...

and

Steven Dexter Steven Dexter (born August 26, 1962) is a theatre director and writer. Early life Dexter was born in South Africa, then he moved to London in 1984 and studied at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. West End productions In 2003 he d ...

), which was subsequently workshopped at the

Royal National Theatre The Royal National Theatre in London, commonly known as the National Theatre (NT), is one of the United Kingdom's three most prominent publicly funded performing arts venues, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal Opera House. I ...

Studio before receiving its first full production at the

Salisbury Playhouse Salisbury Playhouse is a theatre in the English city of Salisbury, Wiltshire. It was built in 1976 and comprises the 517-seat Main House and the 149-seat Salberg, a rehearsal room and a community & education space. It is part of Arts Council E ...

. The production then transferred to the Lyric Theatre, Shaftesbury Avenue in London's West End in 1997, produced by Kenny Wax Productions. He was the co-composer, along with Laurence O'Keefe, for ''

La Cava La Cava may refer to: Legend *Florinda la Cava, a figure of Spanish legend People * Francesco La Cava (1876–1958), Italian physician and writer *Gregory La Cava (1892–1952), American film director * Nicholas la Cava (born 1986), American rower ...

'' (book by

Dana Broccoli Dana Broccoli ( Natol; January 3, 1922 – February 29, 2004) was an American actress. Biography Dana Natol was born January 3, 1922, in New York City to an Irish Italian family. She studied acting at the Cecil Clovelly's Academy of Dramatic A ...

, lyrics by John Claflin), which transferred from the

Churchill Theatre The Churchill Theatre in Bromley, southeast London was built by the London Borough of Bromley to designs by its borough architect's department. The Churchill is an example of a repertory theatre built in the style of European opera houses, w ...

, Bromley to the

Victoria Palace Theatre The Victoria Palace Theatre is a West End theatre in Victoria Street, in the City of Westminster, opposite Victoria Station. The structure is categorised as a Grade II* listed building. History Origins The theatre began life as a small conc ...

, London in 2000 and then later transferred to the

Piccadilly Theatre The Piccadilly Theatre is a West End theatre located at 16 Denman Street, behind Piccadilly Circus and adjacent to the Regent Palace Hotel, in the City of Westminster, London, England. Early years Built by Bertie Crewe and Edward A. Stone ...

in the West End of London. He composed the music for a musical adaptation of ''

Heidi ''Heidi'' (; ) is a work of children's fiction published in 1881 by Swiss author Johanna Spyri, originally published in two parts as ''Heidi: Her Years of Wandering and Learning'' (german: Heidis Lehr- und Wanderjahre) and ''Heidi: How She Use ...

'' (book and lyrics by

), which combines the story of

Johanna Spyri Louise Spyri (; ; 12 June 1827 – 7 July 1901) was a Swiss author of novels, notably children's stories, and is best known for her book ''Heidi''. Born in Hirzel, a rural area in the canton of Zurich, Switzerland, as a child she spent sev ...

’s first ''Heidi'' novel with the life of the author. ''Heidi'' opened in Switzerland in 2005. In 2007 a sequel, ''Heidi and Johanna'' (intertwining the second ''Heidi'' novel with the final years of Johanna Spyri’s life and ending with her death), was nominated for a Prix Walo award. Stephen Keeling has also composed the music for ''My Father’s Son'', a musical set in nineteenth century Sheffield and based loosely on Shakespeare's ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depi ...

'' (book and lyrics by Stephen Clark, directed by

at the

Crucible Theatre The Crucible Theatre (often referred to simply as "The Crucible") is a theatre in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England which opened in 1971. Although it hosts regular theatrical performances, it is best known for hosting professional snooker's ...

, Sheffield and the

Lilian Baylis Theatre Sadler's Wells Theatre is a performing arts venue in Clerkenwell, London, England located on Rosebery Avenue next to New River Head. The present-day theatre is the sixth on the site since 1683. It consists of two performance spaces: a 1,500-sea ...

, Sadler’s Wells). For children he has composed ''The Other Side,'' a musical about the Children's Crusade (book and lyrics by Peter Spafford) and written the music for a musical adaptation of '' The Amazing Mr. Blunden'' (book and lyrics by Edward Hardy).

Other

Keeling was a founding member of the Mercury Workshop, which merged with the New Musicals Alliance to become MMD, a UK-based organisation developing new musical theatre. In 1997, he appeared, together with Shaun McKenna, on BBC Radio 2's ''In Company With Sondheim'' in an edition devoted to ''Maddie''.

References

External links

MMD website

Heidi: The Musical

Stephen Keeling's website

Stephen Keeling's showreel
{{DEFAULTSORT:Keeling, Stephen 1966 births Living people British musical theatre composers