Alan Jay Lerner Videos

Leonard Bernstein was born in Lawrence, Massachusetts. He took piano lessons as a boy and attended the Garrison and Boston Latin Schools. At Harvard University, he studied with Walter Piston, Edward Burlingame-Hill, and A. Tillman Merritt, among others. Before graduating in 1939, he made an unofficial conducting debut with his own incidental music to 'The Birds,' and directed and performed in Marc Blitzstein's 'The Cradle Will Rock.' Then at the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, he studied piano with Isabella Vengerova, conducting with Fritz Reiner, and orchestration with Randall Thompson. 

Imagine growing up in a world where your neighbors were Tennessee Williams, The Marx Brothers, Alan Jay Lerner, Noel Coward, Arthur Miller, and scores of others. For Michael Colby, he did grow up in such a world because his grandparents owned New York's famous Algonquin Hotel. Now, Michael swings by Shetler to discuss with Rob and Kevin his enviable life as a real life Eloise of The Plaza.

Musical theatre is a global phenomenon, drawing millions of fans every year to sell-out shows in the West End, on Broadway, and in cities across the world. And for writer and composer Neil Brand, the best musicals can stand shoulder to shoulder with any other art form.

The New York Pops, led by Music Director Steven Reineke, launched its 34th season at Carnegie Hall's Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage, celebrating the legacy and timeless works of Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe.

As previously announced, Westport Country Playhouse's production of Lerner & Loewe's 'Camelot,' starring Tony Award winner Robert Sean Leonard as King Arthur and Britney Coleman as Queen Guenevere, has extended by an extra week through Saturday, November 5. Click below to watch Stephen Mark Lukas perform 'C'est Moi' from the show!

As previously announced, Westport Country Playhouse's production of Lerner & Loewe's 'Camelot,' starring Tony Award winner Robert Sean Leonard as King Arthur and Britney Coleman as Queen Guenevere, has extended by an extra week through Saturday, November 5. Click below to watch highlights from the show!

As previously announced, Westport Country Playhouse's production of Lerner & Loewe's 'Camelot,' starring Tony Award winner Robert Sean Leonard as King Arthur and Britney Coleman as Queen Guenevere, has extended by an extra week through Saturday, November 5. Click below to watch Coleman perform 'The Lusty Month of May' from the show!

On 31 August 1918, Alan Jay Lerner was born - and he went on to become one of the most popular lyricist and librettists in musical theatre's history. A native New-Yorker, Lerner studied at the Juilliard School before being mentored by both Oscar Hammerstein and Lorenz Hart. His first big hit was Brigadoon, written with Frederick Lowe, and it is for his collaborations with Lowe that he is best-known - especially for My Fair Lady.

Today in 1981, the second Broadway revival of My Fair Lady opened at the Uris Theatre (now the George Gershwin Theatre), where it ran for 120 performances. My Fair Lady is a musical based upon George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion and with book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe. The story concerns Eliza Doolittle, a Cockney flower girl who takes speech lessons from professor Henry Higgins, a phoneticist, so that she may pass as a well born lady. The musical's 1956 Broadway production was a hit, setting what was then the record for the longest run of any major musical theatre production in history. It was followed by a hit London production, a popular film version, and numerous revivals.

Bay Street Theater has just announced that MY FAIR LADY will be extended through September 4 due to popular demand. The classic musical has book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe. It is based on the play Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw and Gabriel Pascal's motion picture. The production is directed by Michael Arden, Tony Award nominee and Outer Critics Circle Award-winner for Best Director of a Musical for the Broadway revival of Spring Awakening. BroadwayWorld has a first look at the cast in action below!

Today in 1980, the first Broadway revival of Camelot opened at the New York State Theatre, where it ran for 56 performances. Camelot is a musical by Alan Jay Lerner (book and lyrics) and Frederick Loewe (music). It is based on the King Arthur legend as adapted from the T. H. White tetralogy novel The Once and Future King. The original 1960 production, directed by Moss Hart and orchestrated by Robert Russell Bennett and Philip J. Lang, ran on Broadway for 873 performances, winning four Tony Awards and spawning several revivals, foreign productions and a 1967 film version. The 1980 cast starred Richard Burton, Christine Ebersole, and Richard Muenz.

Today in 1993, the second Broadway revival of Camelot opened at the George Gershwin Theatre, where it ran for 56 performances. Camelot is a musical by Alan Jay Lerner (book and lyrics) and Frederick Loewe (music). It is based on the King Arthur legend as adapted from the T. H. White tetralogy novel The Once and Future King. The original 1960 production, directed by Moss Hart and orchestrated by Robert Russell Bennett and Philip J. Lang, ran on Broadway for 873 performances, winning four Tony Awards and spawning several revivals, foreign productions and a 1967 film version. The 1993 cast starred Robert Goulet, Steve Blanchard, and Patricia Kies.

Happy Birthday, Charles Strouse! Strouse's first Broadway musical was the 1960 hit Bye Bye Birdie, with lyrics by Lee Adams, who would become his long time collaborator. Following this was Golden Boy (1964, also with Adams), starring Sammy Davis, Jr. and It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's Superman (1966, based on the popular comic strip) which introduced the song 'You've Got Possibilities' sung by Linda Lavin. In 1970, Applause (starring Lauren Bacall, with book by Betty Comden and Adolph Green, and lyrics by Adams) won Strouse his second Tony Award. In 1977, Strouse adapted another comic strip for the stage, creating the hit Annie, which garnered him his third Tony Award and two Grammy Awards. Other Strouse musicals include Charlie and Algernon (1979), Dance a Little Closer (1983, with lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner), Rags (1986), Nick & Nora (1993), and An American Tragedy (1995, with lyrics by David Shaber).

Happy Birthday Barbra Streisand! Streisand has appeared on Broadway in I CAN GET IT FOR YOU WHOLESALE and FUNNY GIRL, for which she was nominated for a Tony Award. Streisand won the 1968 Academy Award for Best Actress for the role in the film version of the musical. Her next two movies were also based on musicals, Jerry Herman's Hello, Dolly!, directed by Gene Kelly (1969), and Alan Jay Lerner's and Burton Lane's On a Clear Day You Can See Forever, directed by Vincente Minnelli (1970). Additionally, she has won two Academy Awards, eight Grammy Awards, one special Tony Award, five Emmy Awards including one Daytime Emmy, an American Film Institute award, a Peabody Award, and is one of the few entertainers who have won an Oscar, Emmy, Grammy, and Tony Award.

Today in 1957, Brigadoon opened at the Adelphi Theatre, where it ran for 47 performances. Brigadoon is a musical with a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe. Songs from the musical, such as 'Almost Like Being in Love' have become standards. The story involves two American tourists who stumble upon Brigadoon, a mysterious Scottish village that appears for only one day every hundred years. Tommy, one of the tourists, falls in love with Fiona, a young woman from Brigadoon. The original production opened on Broadway in 1947 and ran for 581 performances. A 1954 film version starred Gene Kelly and Cyd Charisse. A 1966 television version starred Robert Goulet and Peter Falk.

Opera Australia Artistic Director Lyndon Terracini AM and leading theatre producer John Frost AM will present a brand new production of Lerner and Loewe's masterpiece My Fair Lady at the Joan Sutherland Theatre, Sydney Opera House in 2016, celebrating the iconic musical's 60th anniversary. My Fair Lady will be directed by world-renowned actor and director Dame Julie Andrews with choreography by Tony Award-winning Christopher Gattelli (Newsies, The King and I, South Pacific). The premiere has been secured exclusively for Sydney by the NSW Government through its tourism and major events agency Destination NSW.

Today in 1976, the first Broadway revival of My Fair Lady opened at the St. James Theatre, where it ran for 377 performances. My Fair Lady is a musical based upon George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion and with book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe. The story concerns Eliza Doolittle, a Cockney flower girl who takes speech lessons from professor Henry Higgins, a phoneticist, so that she may pass as a well born lady. The musical's 1956 Broadway production was a hit, setting what was then the record for the longest run of any major musical theatre production in history. It was followed by a hit London production, a popular film version, and numerous revivals.

Today in 1947, Brigadoon opened at the Ziegfeld Theatre, where it ran for 581 performances. Brigadoon is a musical with a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by Frederick Loewe. It tells the story of a mysterious Scottish village that appears for only one day every hundred years, though to the villagers, the passing of each century seems no longer than one night. Brigadoon then received a West End production opening in 1949 that ran for 685 performances, and many revivals followed. A 1954 film version starred Gene Kelly and Cyd Charisse. A 1966 television version starred Robert Goulet and Peter Falk.

Today in 1960, Camelot opened at the Majestic Theatre, where it ran for 873 performances. Camelot is a musical by Alan Jay Lerner (book and lyrics) and Frederick Loewe (music). It is based on the King Arthur legend as adapted from the T. H. White tetralogy novel The Once and Future King. The original 1960 production, directed by Moss Hart and orchestrated by Robert Russell Bennett and Philip J. Lang, won four Tony Awards and spawned several revivals, foreign productions and a 1967 film version.

The cast recently met the German press, where they offered up a brief performance preview - check out the video below!