BWW Profile: LA LA LAND's Oscar Nominated Song-Writing Team, Benj Pasek and Justin Paul

Already boasting a Golden Globe Award for their song "City of Stars," songwriting duo Benj Pasek and Justin Paul are again in the spotlight for their work in the critically-acclaimed LA LA LAND. Garnering a total of 14 Oscar nominations, the musical film features lyrics by Pasek and Paul, and two of its original songs, "Audition (The Fools Who Dream)" and "City of Stars," are up for the Original Song award. Composer Justin Hurwitz wrote LA LA LAND's music, and is nominated with Pasek and Paul.

Though somewhat new to the world of film, since meeting at the University of Michigan just over a decade ago, the songwriting team of Pasek and Paul has established an astounding reputation on stage and in television, with their work currently represented on Broadway and around the world.

The duo's first project, a coming-of-age song cycle titled EDGES, premiered in 2005 in Ann Arbor, Mich., and has since been staged in numerous productions throughout North America, Asia and Australia. The pair is also responsible for the score of JAMES AND THE GIANT PEACH, commonly produced in smaller theaters across the country, as well as that of the Tony-nominated A CHRISTMAS STORY, which toured the continent after productions in Kansas City and Seattle, and eventually marked the team's Broadway debut in 2012.

That same year, Second Stage Theater housed the premiere of DOGFIGHT, which features yet another original score by Pasek and Paul. Based on the 1991 film of the same name, the show won a Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Musical, and scored several Outer Critics Circle nominations, including one for Outstanding New Score.

But their biggest stage success so far came last December, when their most recent musical DEAR EVAN HANSEN opened at the Music Box Theatre. After successful productions at Arena Stage in Washington, D.C. and at Second Stage in New York, the show's Broadway production has received rave reviews and continuously played to full houses since its opening. And, as reported by BWW earlier this month, its Original Broadway Cast Recording's debut at No. 8 on the Billboard 200 is the highest debut of an original cast album since 1961.

Along with their stage success, Pasek and Paul have contributed to the world of television; one of their first professional projects was writing for the Disney Channel show JOHNNY AND THE SPRITES. Their songs are also represented in HIT LIST, the fictional musical conceived in Season 2 of NBC's SMASH, and next month, another original song of theirs will premiere on CW's THE FLASH and SUPERGIRL crossover episodes.

As LA LA LAND continues to generate hype, Pasek and Paul will continue their work in film, penning an original score for THE GREATEST SHOWMAN ON EARTH, an upcoming musical biopic following the life of showman P.T. Barnum, starring Tony-winner Hugh Jackman. They also have a song featured in DreamWorks' TROLLS, and will write for the upcoming live-action remake of SNOW WHITE.

With the Oscar buzz around LA LA LAND, the rising success of DEAR EVAN HANSEN on stage and on the charts, and upcoming TV projects, the writing team could conceivably win all of the awards to join the EGOT club in a single year.

With all of their new-found, mainstream success, Pasek and Paul are currently enjoying some long-awaited national attention.