Interview: Michael McGowan Reflects on Husband Steven Lutvak's Life & Legacy Ahead of Tribute Show

[Photo: Steven Lutvak and Michael McGowan. Photo credit: Jane Jourdan]

This Thursday, July 18th at 3 pm, NYU Skirball Center will honor the late Tony Award-winning composer Steven Lutvak (A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder). The day marks what would have been Steven’s 65th birthday. The show will feature performances and tributes from family and friends in a celebration of his life, including performances by Broadway Inspirational Voices, Crystal Monee Hall, Bryce Pinkham, Catherine Walker, Scarlett Strallen, Catherine Porter, Lori Wilner, and Jenna Pastuszek. It will feature songs from A Gentlemen’s Guide to Love and Murder (Tony Award for Best Musical, 2014), Steven’s albums Ahead of My Heart and The Time It Takes, and several never-before heard works-in-progress. Admission is free, but reservations are encouraged.

Mr. Lutvak made his Broadway debut with A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder in 2014, for which he composed the music, and co-wrote the lyrics with Robert L. Freedman. The musical won the Drama League, Outer Critics Circle, Drama Desk and Tony Awards for Best Musical. The pair had previously written the musical Campaign of the Century together, which won the California Musical Theater Competition from the Beverly Hills Theater Guild.

We spoke to Michael McGowan, Steven’s husband, about Steven’s legacy and the upcoming tribute show.

It's been almost a year since your late husband, Steven Lutvak, passed away. How have you been holding up?

The past nine months since Steven passed have been enormously difficult. Our daughter and I are taking things a day at a time, sometimes a moment at a time, as we try to process this loss. Steven and I were together for almost thirteen years, married for almost nine of those years, and then we had our daughter in 2016. Steven was the center of our universe, and we wake up each day trying to find our new center. It still seems impossible that he's gone, like the world is spinning in reverse. We remind each other each and every day that his spirit is here with us, and we are determined to keep his love a central part of our lives as we move forward. We look for him in all things, in all ways.

How are you feeling about this upcoming tribute show in honor of Steven's birthday? 

No one loved celebrating their birthday more than Steven did, so it felt like this was the absolute right day to honor him. We have been planning this concert for a few months and I hope it will provide some comfort to the many people who have been missing him so deeply since he passed. Never could I have imagined that this would be the way we would be marking the occasion of his 65th birthday, but I hope that it helps us all get through that difficult day together, and will remind us that his gifts of music, love and deep connection are everlasting and boundless. 

If there's anyone who primarily knows Steven's work from Gentleman's Guide and wants to dig deeper, where would you recommend that they start?

Steven's work as a composer, singer, coach and mentor spans decades. While A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder rightly garnered the Tony nominations and win for “Best Musical,” his legacy is so deep and rich, and reaches well beyond that glorious show. He released two albums, he was a charismatic performer of the highest order, and his collaborative efforts were myriad. He never stopped working and loved every square inch of that work. He was developing five new projects at the time of his passing and he was always finding new musical ideas to explore. His music is a Spotify search away for anyone who is unfamiliar, and can allow you to hear much of his work beyond GGLAM.  

This concert is being held at NYU, where Steven was an adjunct professor in the Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program. What role did teaching have in Steven's life?

Steven had been coaching singers and actors for decades. He loved that particular exchange in which he could get to know not only the voice, but the person and the pulse behind that voice. He loved being at the piano and finding just the right material for them. He derived so much pleasure working with young songwriters and idea makers following in his path. He was so uniquely generous with his expertise, his knowledge, his connections and his love for the history and the form of musical theatre. When he was hired as an adjunct professor in the Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program at NYU, it was truly a full circle experience. Steven was a graduate of the very first class of that program, and he was able to bring all of his particular gifts to this next generation of writers at NYU.  It was an enormous source of joy for him.

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For free tickets to the NYU Skirball tribute show on Thursday July 18th at 3 pm, please visit tickets.nyu.edu/stevenlutvak

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