Richard Maltby, Jr. Part 2 ”80% of life is showing up”

Richard Maltby, Jr. includes among his Broadway credits: Conceived/directed AIN’T MISBEHAVIN’ (1978 Tony, NY Drama Critics, Outer Critics and Drama Desk Awards. Also Tony Award for Best Director); FOSSE (1999 Tony, Outer Critics and Drama Desk Awards). Lyricist: MISS SAIGON (Evening Standard Award 1990, Tony Nomination for Best Score 1991). Director and co-lyricist of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s SONG & DANCE, 1986 (Tony Award for star Bernadette Peters). With composer David Shire: director/lyricist BABY, 1983 (book by Sybille Pearson; seven Tony Award nominations); Lyricist: BIG, 1996 (book by John Weidman. Tony nomination: Best Score).Off-Broadway credits: director/lyricist STARTING HERE, STARTING NOW, 1977 (Grammy Award nomination); CLOSER THAN EVER, 1989 (Outer Critics Circle Awards: Best Musical, Best Score). Contributes devilish crossword puzzles to Harpers Magazine. Son of well-known orchestra leader; married to Janet Brenner; five children: Nicholas, David, Jordan, Emily and Charlotte.

Richard Maltby, Jr. Part 1 ”Ain’t Misbehavin’ Miss Saigon & Baby”

Richard Maltby, Jr. includes among his Broadway credits: Conceived/directed AIN’T MISBEHAVIN’ (1978 Tony, NY Drama Critics, Outer Critics and Drama Desk Awards. Also Tony Award for Best Director); FOSSE (1999 Tony, Outer Critics and Drama Desk Awards). Lyricist: MISS SAIGON (Evening Standard Award 1990, Tony Nomination for Best Score 1991). Director and co-lyricist of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s SONG & DANCE, 1986 (Tony Award for star Bernadette Peters). With composer David Shire: director/lyricist BABY, 1983 (book by Sybille Pearson; seven Tony Award nominations); Lyricist: BIG, 1996 (book by John Weidman. Tony nomination: Best Score).Off-Broadway credits: director/lyricist STARTING HERE, STARTING NOW, 1977 (Grammy Award nomination); CLOSER THAN EVER, 1989 (Outer Critics Circle Awards: Best Musical, Best Score). Contributes devilish crossword puzzles to Harpers Magazine. Son of well-known orchestra leader; married to Janet Brenner; five children: Nicholas, David, Jordan, Emily and Charlotte.

Alan Menken Part 2 ”This is it. Enjoy it!”

Alan Menken (alanmenken.com)(IG:@alanmenken) is known for his music on stage and screen, he is noted for his multiple works with the Walt Disney company (The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin), as well as Broadway stage musicals Sister Act and Little Shop of Horrors. With eight Academy Awards, Alan has received more Oscars than any living person, and is the recipient of numerous other awards including Golden Globes, Grammys, Drama Desk Awards, and a Tony Award.

Alan Menken Part 1 ”The Little Mermaid”

Alan Menken (alanmenken.com)(IG:@alanmenken) is known for his music on stage and screen, he is noted for his multiple works with the Walt Disney company (The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin), as well as Broadway stage musicals Sister Act and Little Shop of Horrors. With eight Academy Awards, Alan has received more Oscars than any living person, and is the recipient of numerous other awards including Golden Globes, Grammys, Drama Desk Awards, and a Tony Award.

Stephen Schwartz Part 1 ”Wicked”

Stephen Schwartz (stephenschwartz.com) was born in New York City on March 6, 1948. He studied piano and composition at the Juilliard School of Music while in high school and graduated from Carnegie Mellon University in 1968 with a B.F.A. in Drama. Upon coming back to live in New York City, he went to work as an A&R producer for RCA Records, but shortly thereafter began to work in the Broadway theatre. His first major credit was the title song for the play BUTTERFLIES ARE FREE; the song was eventually used in the movie version as well.
In 1971, he wrote the music and new lyrics for GODSPELL, for which he won two Grammys among other awards. This was followed by the English texts, in collaboration with Leonard Bernstein, for Bernstein’s MASS, which opened the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. The following year, he wrote the music and lyrics for PIPPIN, and two years later, THE MAGIC SHOW. At one point, GODSPELL, PIPPIN and THE MAGIC SHOW were all running on Broadway simultaneously.
He next wrote the music and lyrics for THE BAKER’S WIFE, followed by a musical version of Studs Terkel’s WORKING, to which he contributed four songs and which he also adapted and directed, winning a Drama Desk Award as best director. He also co-directed the television production, which was presented as part of the PBS “American Playhouse” series.
Other work for the musical theatre includes lyrics to RAGS (music by Charles Strouse), music and lyrics for CHILDREN OF EDEN, and two musicals produced overseas, MIT EVENTYR (MY FAIRY TALE) in Denmark and SCHIKANEDER in Austria.  He has also written songs for two musicals for young audiences, CAPTAIN LOUIE and MY SON, PINOCCHIO.  Compilation revues of his work include SNAPSHOTS and, for Princess Cruise Lines, MAGIC TO DO.
For film, he collaborated with composer Alan Menken on the songs for Disney’s POCAHONTAS, for which he received two Academy Awards and another Grammy, THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME, and ENCHANTED. He also provided songs for DreamWorks’ first animated feature, THE PRINCE OF EGYPT, for which he won another Academy Award for the song “When You Believe.”   THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME and THE PRINCE OF EGYPT have both been adapted for the stage.
Mr. Schwartz’s most recent stage musical, WICKED, opened in the fall of 2003 and is currently running on Broadway and in several other productions around the world. He received another Grammy for the cast recording, and in 2008, WICKED reached its 1900th performance on Broadway, making Mr. Schwartz the only songwriter in Broadway history ever to have three shows run more than 1900 performances.
His first opera, SEANCE ON A WET AFTERNOON, premiered at Opera Santa Barbara in the fall of 2009 and was subsequently produced by New York City Opera.  His frequently-performed choral works include “Testimony”, based on the It Gets Better Project, “Keramos” and part of the “Tyler Clemente Suite.”  He has also released two singer/songwriter CDs, RELUCTANT PILGRIM and UNCHARTED TERRITORY.
Mr. Schwartz has been awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and inducted into the Theatre Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame.  In 2015, he received the Isabelle Stevenson Tony Award for his humanitarian and mentorship contributions to the theatre.  A book about his career, “Defying Gravity,” has been released by Applause Books.
Under the auspices of the ASCAP Foundation, he has been the artistic director of musical theatre workshops in New York and Los Angeles for over twenty years, as well as conducting workshops for aspiring musical theatre writers and performers in countries around the world, including Australia, Germany, Latvia and Kenya.  He is also a past President and current Council Member of the Dramatists’ Guild.

Andy Einhorn Part 2 ”Be True To Yourself”

Andy Einhorn (LI:@andy-einhorn) has directed concerts with the Boston Pops, Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, National Arts Centre Orchestra, and the National Symphony Orchestra. He has worked as the Music Supervisor and Musical Director for the Broadway productions of Carousel and Hello Dolly!  Einhorn’s previous Broadway credits include Holiday Inn, Woody Allen’s Bullets Over Broadway, Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella, Evita, Brief Encounter, The Light in the Piazza, and Sondheim on Sondheim. He recently served as music director and conductor for the Châtelet Theatre’s production of Sondheim’s Passion in Paris and Einhorn made his New York Philharmonic debut with world-renowned trumpeter Chris Botti.
Since 2011 Einhorn has served as music director and pianist for Six-Time Tony Award Winner, Audra McDonald, performing with her at such prestigious orchestras and venues including The Philadelphia Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, National Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Opera, Avery Fisher Hall, Carnegie Hall, Walt Disney Concert Hall and Teatro Real, Madrid. They recently recorded performances for an upcoming telecast with the Sydney Symphony at the Sydney Opera House in Australia. Einhorn has also music directed for Barbara Cook at Feinstein’s and Toronto’s Royal Conservatory of Music.
His tour work includes Sweeney Todd, The Light in the Piazza, Mamma Mia!, and The Lion King. Einhorn’s work can be heard on the current touring production of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s The Sound of Music. Einhorn has worked at Goodspeed Opera House, Signature Theatre, Oregon Shakespeare Festival and PaperMill Playhouse. He was principal vocal coach and pianist for Houston Grand Opera’s An Evening with Audra McDonald, a double-bill of Poulenc’s La Voix Humaine and LaChiusa’s Send.
Recording credits include Bullets Over Broadway, Cinderella, Evita, Sondheim on Sondheim (Grammy Nom) Stage Door Canteen and McDonald’s newest release, Go Back Home. He served as the music director for HBO’s Peabody Award winning documentary Six by Sondheim and music supervisor for Great Performances Peabody Award winning special “Broadway Musicals: A Jewish Legacy” on PBS.
Andy Einhorn is an honors graduate of Rice University in Houston, Texas.

Andy Einhorn Part 1 on conducting Hello Dolly!, Carousel & Audra McDonald

Andy Einhorn (LI:@andy-einhorn) has directed concerts with the Boston Pops, Cincinnati Pops Orchestra, Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, National Arts Centre Orchestra, and the National Symphony Orchestra. He has worked as the Music Supervisor and Musical Director for the Broadway productions of Carousel and Hello Dolly!  Einhorn’s previous Broadway credits include Holiday Inn, Woody Allen’s Bullets Over Broadway, Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella, Evita, Brief Encounter, The Light in the Piazza, and Sondheim on Sondheim. He recently served as music director and conductor for the Châtelet Theatre’s production of Sondheim’s Passion in Paris and Einhorn made his New York Philharmonic debut with world-renowned trumpeter Chris Botti.
Since 2011 Einhorn has served as music director and pianist for Six-Time Tony Award Winner, Audra McDonald, performing with her at such prestigious orchestras and venues including The Philadelphia Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony, National Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Opera, Avery Fisher Hall, Carnegie Hall, Walt Disney Concert Hall and Teatro Real, Madrid. They recently recorded performances for an upcoming telecast with the Sydney Symphony at the Sydney Opera House in Australia. Einhorn has also music directed for Barbara Cook at Feinstein’s and Toronto’s Royal Conservatory of Music.
His tour work includes Sweeney Todd, The Light in the Piazza, Mamma Mia!, and The Lion King. Einhorn’s work can be heard on the current touring production of Rodgers & Hammerstein’s The Sound of Music. Einhorn has worked at Goodspeed Opera House, Signature Theatre, Oregon Shakespeare Festival and PaperMill Playhouse. He was principal vocal coach and pianist for Houston Grand Opera’s An Evening with Audra McDonald, a double-bill of Poulenc’s La Voix Humaine and LaChiusa’s Send.
Recording credits include Bullets Over Broadway, Cinderella, Evita, Sondheim on Sondheim (Grammy Nom) Stage Door Canteen and McDonald’s newest release, Go Back Home. He served as the music director for HBO’s Peabody Award winning documentary Six by Sondheim and music supervisor for Great Performances Peabody Award winning special “Broadway Musicals: A Jewish Legacy” on PBS.
Andy Einhorn is an honors graduate of Rice University in Houston, Texas.

Kris Kukul Part 2 ”Less Is More”

Kris Kukul (kriskukul.com)(IG:@kriskukul) is a New York City Based Orchestrator, Arranger, Music Director and Composer. 
Currently he is Music Supervisor, Orchestrator, co-arranger and Conductor for Broadway’s Tony nominated Beetlejuice The Musical! Other recent projects include, The Liz Swados Project for Ghostlight Records, In The Green at Lincoln Center Theatre, David Byrne’s Joan of Arc the Public Theatre, Songbird by Michael Kimmel and Lauren Pritchard, a remounting of Elizabeth Swados' Runaways at New York’s City Center, The Last Goodbye, an adaptation of Romeo and Juliet featuring the music of Jeff Buckley, and The Heart of Robin Hood, music by Parsonsfield.
He has also arranged, orchestrated and conducted solo concerts for Broadway powerhouses Kate Baldwin (Extraordinary Machine), and Amy Spanger (The Music Be the Place) and the Lincoln Center American Songbook concert celebrating the music of Elizabeth Swados.
For 10 seasons, he served as the resident music director for the Williamstown Theatre Festival. Productions included June Moon, The Last Goodbye, Animal Crackers and others. There he also directed the legendary Late-Night Cabarets, featuring iconic performers including Renee Fleming, Lewis Black, Kathleen Turner, Allison Janey, Tyne Daly, David Hyde Pierce, Judy Kuhn, Lena Hall, Judy Gold, Steven Pasquale, Kelli O’Hara, Phillipa Sou, Renee Elise Goldsberry, Debra Monk, Michael McKean, Harriet Harris and many others. 
Kris began his career working for musical theatre icon Elizabeth Swados. Together, they created Jabu, Kaspar Hauser, The Nomad, The LaMama Cantata and numerous concerts and recordings. He and Director/Choreographer Sam Pinkleton are committed to keeping her legacy alive.  
He music directed the film scores for Of Many, a documentary produced by Chelsea Clinton, and My Depression, an HBO animated film featuring the voices of Sigourney Weaver, Steve Buscemi and Fred Armisten.
As Composer, Kris has written the music for the musicals Beauty Queen and Dash Dexter and the family friendly musicals Camp Monster and Wing It!, both produced by the Williamstown Theatre Festival. He also wrote the music for Oliver Twist at The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey and A Midsummer Night’s Dream for The Greek National Theatre. 
Internationally, he spent 3 seasons with The National Theatre of Greece, conducting and arranging music for tours of classical plays in ancient amphitheaters, including the festival of Epidaurus. He performed at the Edinburgh Fringe with the musical From the Fire. With The LaMama Cantata, he performed in Tokyo, Spoleto, Istanbul, Zagreb, Skopje and Belgrade.
In New York City, Kris has worked at Playwrights Horizons, The Vineyard, New York Theatre Workshop, The Atlantic, The Flea, LaMama, Joe’s Pub, 54 Below, Birdland, the Cherry Lane and the Lucille Lortel. He has worked regionally at San Diego’s Old Globe, Arena Stage, Hartford Stage, A.R.T., Emerson Arts, Two River, Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, Williamstown, The Village Theatre and Royal Manitoba Theatre Center.
Kris is a Graduate of NYU Tisch School of the Arts. He is adjunct faculty at Tisch/Playwrights Horizons Theatre School, and has taught at The New School, Duke University, Columbia University, Belmont University, and Queens College.

Kris Kukul Part 1 ”Less Is More”

Kris Kukul (kriskukul.com)(IG:@kriskukul) is a New York City Based Orchestrator, Arranger, Music Director and Composer. 
Currently he is Music Supervisor, Orchestrator, co-arranger and Conductor for Broadway’s Tony nominated Beetlejuice The Musical! Other recent projects include, The Liz Swados Project for Ghostlight Records, In The Green at Lincoln Center Theatre, David Byrne’s Joan of Arc the Public Theatre, Songbird by Michael Kimmel and Lauren Pritchard, a remounting of Elizabeth Swados' Runaways at New York’s City Center, The Last Goodbye, an adaptation of Romeo and Juliet featuring the music of Jeff Buckley, and The Heart of Robin Hood, music by Parsonsfield.
He has also arranged, orchestrated and conducted solo concerts for Broadway powerhouses Kate Baldwin (Extraordinary Machine), and Amy Spanger (The Music Be the Place) and the Lincoln Center American Songbook concert celebrating the music of Elizabeth Swados.
For 10 seasons, he served as the resident music director for the Williamstown Theatre Festival. Productions included June Moon, The Last Goodbye, Animal Crackers and others. There he also directed the legendary Late-Night Cabarets, featuring iconic performers including Renee Fleming, Lewis Black, Kathleen Turner, Allison Janey, Tyne Daly, David Hyde Pierce, Judy Kuhn, Lena Hall, Judy Gold, Steven Pasquale, Kelli O’Hara, Phillipa Sou, Renee Elise Goldsberry, Debra Monk, Michael McKean, Harriet Harris and many others. 
Kris began his career working for musical theatre icon Elizabeth Swados. Together, they created Jabu, Kaspar Hauser, The Nomad, The LaMama Cantata and numerous concerts and recordings. He and Director/Choreographer Sam Pinkleton are committed to keeping her legacy alive.  
He music directed the film scores for Of Many, a documentary produced by Chelsea Clinton, and My Depression, an HBO animated film featuring the voices of Sigourney Weaver, Steve Buscemi and Fred Armisten.
As Composer, Kris has written the music for the musicals Beauty Queen and Dash Dexter and the family friendly musicals Camp Monster and Wing It!, both produced by the Williamstown Theatre Festival. He also wrote the music for Oliver Twist at The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey and A Midsummer Night’s Dream for The Greek National Theatre. 
Internationally, he spent 3 seasons with The National Theatre of Greece, conducting and arranging music for tours of classical plays in ancient amphitheaters, including the festival of Epidaurus. He performed at the Edinburgh Fringe with the musical From the Fire. With The LaMama Cantata, he performed in Tokyo, Spoleto, Istanbul, Zagreb, Skopje and Belgrade.
In New York City, Kris has worked at Playwrights Horizons, The Vineyard, New York Theatre Workshop, The Atlantic, The Flea, LaMama, Joe’s Pub, 54 Below, Birdland, the Cherry Lane and the Lucille Lortel. He has worked regionally at San Diego’s Old Globe, Arena Stage, Hartford Stage, A.R.T., Emerson Arts, Two River, Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, Williamstown, The Village Theatre and Royal Manitoba Theatre Center.
Kris is a Graduate of NYU Tisch School of the Arts. He is adjunct faculty at Tisch/Playwrights Horizons Theatre School, and has taught at The New School, Duke University, Columbia University, Belmont University, and Queens College.

Shawn Smith: Part 2 ”You can always be better”

Shawn W. Smith(IG:@shawnwsmith)(TW:@straysoundtrack)(@StrayAndTheSoundtrack) is a veteran of the stage and recording booth. In theatre he has been seen in “For the Record: The Brat Pack”, “Jesus Christ Superstar”, “Lysistrata Jones”, “Godspell”, and the national touring company of “Waitress” where you can currently see him in the role of Earl. In 2019 he released an album of original music entitled “That’s What You Get for Doing the Wrong Thing” and this past summer released a new original album with his music partner Michael Herlihy under the band name and album title “Stray and the Soundtrack”.