How Often Do Writers Play in the Orchestra for Their Own Musicals

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This time, the reader question was: I know sometimes writers perform in their own shows… but how often do writers play in the orchestra for their own musicals on Broadway?

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From Lin-Manuel Miranda in Hamilton to Sara Bareilles in Waitress, some of the most beloved and acclaimed musicals of the 21st century on Broadway have included their writers on stage in the cast. Sometimes these performances have included the writers playing instruments in addition to their acting achievements, like Billie Joe Armstrong in American Idiot.

But how often have writers of musicals specifically been part of the orchestra for their show on Broadway, conducting and/or playing instruments?

One of the most impressive examples of this can be attributed to Liz Swados. The late groundbreaking experimental musical theatre writer had six different credits on her 1978 musical Runaways. Swados directed, wrote book, music, and lyrics, choreographed, and played guitar in the show’s orchestra. Runaways was Swados’ musicalization of the true stories of children she interviewed and spent time with who ran away from home and lived on the streets. She received four separate Tony nominations, in all categories she was eligible in, for the show. While she didn’t win any Tony Awards, her presence as a young woman pioneer in musical theatre made a statement; in the category of Best Direction, the then 27-year-old Swados was pitted against Hal Prince, Bob Fosse, and Richard Maltby Jr. (who won). In many of the show’s publicity shots, Swados can be seen holding the guitar that she played in the show at the Plymouth (now Schoenfeld) Theatre.

Some of the most legendary writers of musical theatre have, on special occasion, conducted their own shows on Broadway. This illustrious list includes George Gershwin, who conducted Girl Crazy on its 1930 opening night, introducing audiences to “I Got Rhythm” and “But Not For Me” under his baton. Richard Rodgers conducted a few of his shows early on in his career, from Garrick Gaieties to Dearest Enemy. Of course Leonard Bernstein conducted his own Broadway scores on recordings, but it was much more rare for him to do so on Broadway, although he did a few times for performances of West Side Story. Galt MacDermot conducted his own incredible music in the original 1968 production of Hair. In more recent years, Jason Robert Brown has conducted a few of his own extraordinary musicals, including the Parade revival in 2023 and Bridges of Madison County in 2014. Currently, Jason Howland functions as composer, arranger, orchestrator, and music supervisor for The Great Gatsby. Throughout his distinguished Broadway career, he has been part of orchestras and also composed scores; he notably both composed and conducted (in addition to other jobs) on the musical Paradise Square.

We might not collectively remember the name Reginald De Koven today, but he was a popular and prolific composer of comic operas on Broadway in the late 19th century and early 20th century. His operetta Robin Hood was revived on Broadway seven separate times, with De Koven conducting the 1912 revival himself. The Lyric Theatre, currently home of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, was constructed in 1998 by utilizing two existing houses, the Lyric and the Apollo. The original Lyric Theatre exterior on 43rd Street still stands and it boasts three imposing busts—of W.S. Gilbert, Arthur Sullivan, and Reginald De Koven; the theater was originally intended to house De Koven’s shows.

The groundbreaking multi-hyphenate J. Rosamond Johnson had an extremely impressive theatrical career from the 1900s through the 1940s. Johnson often collaborated with his brother James Weldon Johnson as well as Bob Cole. As a Black musical theatre writer, Johnson broke through barriers and overcame tremendous adversity on the road to success. He contributed songs to over 25 Broadway productions! He also performed (in shows including Porgy and Bess and Cabin in the Sky), music directed (including being appointed music director of the Grand Opera House in London), and indeed, conducted his own work on occasion. In 1911, Johnson conducted Hello, Paris, a revue for which he also composed the music. Johnson’s most famous composition was the song “Lift Every Voice and Sing”.

The 1992 musical revue The High Rollers Social and Pleasure Club may have had a quick run of only 13 performances but it was notable for Allen Toussaint’s contributions in many departments. On the show, Toussaint was performer, music arranger, orchestrator, music director, conductor, composer, and lyricist! This mirrored his career trajectory where he wore many hats, including record producer of hits such as “Lady Marmalade” and “Right Place, Wrong Time”. His theatre credits also included the 1986 off-Broadway musical Staggerlee which, like High Rollers, was set in New Orleans where Toussaint was one of the most influential figures in music.

As far as the writers of musicals playing instruments in their own orchestras separate from conducting, these instances are rare but they have happened! As depicted in 2016’s Shuffle Along, Or The Making of the Musical Sensation of 1921 and All That Followed, the great Eubie Blake was at the piano during the landmark original production of Shuffle Along. In addition to composing the game-changing musical and music directing, like his fellow collaborators, Noble Sissle, Flournoy Miller, and Aubrey Lyles, who were in the cast, Blake was also part of bringing the show to life each night. 

During the infamous 1937 production of Cradle Will Rock, composer-lyricist-book writer-performer Marc Blitzstein also played piano. The controversial musical that satirizes corporate greed was shut down just before opening since it was part of the Federal Theatre Project and there were objections to having the government fund such a show. The company famously marched to a different theater when theirs was padlocked and, to avoid arrest, performers acted their roles from the audience while Blitzstein played his score from the piano on stage.

Dorothea Freitag’s seventeen Broadway credits include dance arrangements for Golden Boy, Zorba, and Dear World, and dance arrangements plus an on-stage role playing piano in 70 Girls, 70. Twice she played piano in the orchestra for shows she wrote: Autobiography (1956) and Mask and Gown (1957).

Multi-talented multi-hyphenate Marc Shaiman has played the piano for his own songs in Broadway shows like Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me. Shaiman has been lauded on Broadway for his triumphs in many different positions, from co-composer and co-lyricist of musicals including Hairspray and Some Like It Hot to conductor of An Evening with Harry Connick Jr. and His Orchestra.

The beloved 2008 musical Passing Strange was an autobiographical story about coming of age as a Black artist, with book and lyrics by Stew and music co-composed by Stew and his key creative collaborator Heidi Rodewald. The pair also co-orchestrated and co-music supervised, and Rodewald in addition played bass and contributed vocals in the band. It’s definitely rare to have the writer of a musical also play bass in the show’s band!

There are also those musical theatre writers who have both played in Broadway orchestras and had their shows produced on Broadway—but not in the same productions, from Jeanine Tesori to Matthew Sklar to Lily Hyland to John Philip Sousa to Scott Frankel to Muriel Pollock to Louis St. Louis to Andrew Lippa to Kay Swift to David Shire to Tom Kitt. In 1967, Burt Bacharach made his Broadway debut conducting Marlene Dietrich’s one-woman-show; his bio stated “He is currently working on his first Broadway musical, with lyricist Hal David, an adaptation by Neil Simon of the film, The Apartment”. (This would become Promises, Promises.) Such a path was the trend for several of the writers above who played in the orchestra for shows written by others on Broadway, prior to having their own musicals produced.

While not musicals, there are several plays that have included music which was played or conducted by one of its writers. The raconteur Oscar Levant, recently memorialized on Broadway in Good Night, Oscar, conducted his own music in the 1939 spectacle The American Way. The 1980 play with music Billy Bishop Goes To War featured the show’s writer of book, music, and lyrics, John Gray, also directing and playing piano, as well as being the narrator. Lucia Hwong penned incidental music for the original 1988 production of M. Butterfly and also played lute during performances, in addition to being the show’s music director.

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