The Will Rogers Follies - East Haddam, CT (Regional) Creative Team

Cy Coleman was a prolific composer, songwriter, and jazz pianist who made a significant impact on American music and Broadway. Born Seymour Kaufman in 1929 in New York City, Coleman began playing piano at an early age and was soon performing in clubs and bars around the city. He studied at the Juilliard School of Music and the Manhattan School of Music, but his true education came from playing with jazz greats like Charlie Parker and Dizzy Gillespie. Coleman's first foray into Broadway was with the musical "Wildcat" in 1960, which starred Lucille Ball. The show was not a critical success, ... read more Betty Comden, born in Brooklyn in 1917, was an American lyricist, screenwriter, and actress. She is best known for her work with Adolph Green, with whom she collaborated on numerous musicals and films. Comden and Green met in 1938 while both were studying at New York University, and began writing together shortly thereafter. Their first Broadway credit was for On the Town, a musical about three sailors on a 24-hour leave in New York City. The show premiered in 1944 and was a huge success, cementing Comden and Green's place in the world of musical theater. Comden and Green went on to ... read more Adolph Green was an American lyricist and playwright who was born on December 2, 1914, in the Bronx, New York. He was the son of Hungarian Jewish immigrants. Green's father was a successful businessman, and his mother was a homemaker. Green attended New York University, where he studied English and drama. Green began his career in show business as a performer in the late 1930s. He appeared in several Broadway productions, including "The New Yorkers" and "Two for the Show." However, it was his work as a lyricist that would make him famous. Green's first major success as a lyricist came in ... read more ... read more ... read more