Robert Lopez

Robert Lopez (born February 231975) is an American composer and lyricist of musicals best known for co-writing the Broadway musical "Avenue Q", for which he won a Tony Award.

Early life and career

A native of the picturesque Manhattan neighborhood of Greenwich Village, renowned for generations as the residence of avant-garde artists, Robert Lopez became interested in songwriting from an early age (he wrote his first song at 7.)cite news |last=Mandell |first=Jonathan |url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A06E0D6143EF935A25750C0A9659C8B63 |title=THEATER: Puppets Not Suitable For Children |publisher=The New York Times |date=2003-03-16 |accessdate=2008-03-24 ] He attended Hunter College High School and received a B.A. in English from Yale University, where he was a member of the Yale Spizzwinks(?).

In 1998, while participating in the prestigious BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theater Workshop, he met another aspiring songwriter, Jeff Marx. Their first project together, "Kermit, Prince of Denmark", a Muppet parody of "Hamlet", won the Kleban Award for lyrics, though The Jim Henson Company rejected the script, saying it didn't have enough "kid appeal."

In 1999, Lopez and Marx, who collaborate on both music and lyrics, began work on "Avenue Q", a stage musical which, using puppet-like characters, similar to those on "Sesame Street", dealt with adult themes and ideas. The show, for which Lopez also provided the animated segments, was his first professional experiencecite news |last=Maupin |first=Elizabeth |url=http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/orl-nemo2606nov26,0,5434834.story?page=1 |title=Swimming with big fish |publisher=Orlando Sentinel |date=2006-11-26 |accessdate=2007-03-22] . After playing Off-Broadway, it transferred in July 2003 to Broadway's John Golden Theatre, where it proved both a critical and popular success, winning the 2004 Tony Award for Best Musical, and earning Lopez and Marx's a 2004 Tony Award for their musical score. As of 2007, the musical's Grammy Award-nominated Original Cast Album has sold over 150,000 copies.

In early 2006, Robert Lopez collaborated with his brother, Billy, on several episodes of the Nickelodeon series "Wonder Pets". In January 2007, a musical adaptation of the Disney/Pixar film "Finding Nemo", which Lopez co-wrote with his wife, Kristen Anderson-Lopez, opened at Disney's Animal Kingdom theme park.

Since 2007, Lopez has been working on a new musical project with Matt Stone and Trey Parker, the creators of "South Park", a series which, in 2003, Lopez had mentioned as a partial inspiration for "Avenue Q". Lopez and Marx wrote four songs for a musical episode of the NBC sitcom "Scrubs" which aired on January 182007. Lopez, along with Jeff Marx, was recognized with an Emmy nomination for the song "Everything Comes Down to Poo" from the above mentioned episode. [ [http://www.broadway.com/Gen/Buzz_Story.aspx?ci=550667 Stage Stars Nab 2007 Emmy Nominations, Broadway.com Buzz ] ] Stephanie D'Abruzzo, who originated the roles of Kate Monster and Lucy the Slut in "Avenue Q" made a guest appearance in the episode.

Personal life

During his participation in the 1998 Lehman Engel Workshop, Robert Lopez met and began dating lyricist Kristen Anderson. As described in a 2003 "New York Times" profile, the pair, struggling in a cash-strapped post-college period that recalls the storyline of "Avenue Q"'s Princeton and Kate Monster, "live [d] in Astoria, Queens, [drove] a 1989 Buick and survive [d] on fast food".cite news |last=Lee |first=Linda |url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E06E5DC123EF930A3575BC0A9659C8B63 |title=A Night Out With Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx; When Puppets Go to Town |publisher=The New York Times |date=2003-08-03 |accessdate=2008-03-24 ] The couple married in 2003 and live in Manhattan with their daughter Katie (born 2005).

References

External links

* [http://www.avenueq.com The Official "Avenue Q" website]
* [http://www.lopezmarx.com www.lopezmarx.com, Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx's website]
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* [http://www.americantheatrewing.org/seminars/detail/avenue_q_09_03/ Production: Avenue Q] - "Working in the Theatre Seminar" video at American Theatre Wing.org, September 2003