Murthy Agora, Rubenstein Arts Center
January 26, 2024
Award-winning composer Scott Frankel is in residence January 16-26 in the Department of Theater Studies, engaging with students in the production of the Spring 2024 New Works Lab.
Frankel and his frequent collaborator, lyricist Michael Korie, are developing a show (with book writer Richard LaGravenese) about Liberace and his life on and off stage. “We will be focusing on the creation of some of the Act I musical material while in Durham,” said Frankel. Musical sequences written during the residency will be presented to the public on January 26 at 5:30 pm in the Murthy Agora, Rubenstein Arts Center. Admission is free.
In addition to working on the new show, Frankel will visit Ryan Donovan’s Musical Theater Performance class (THEATRST 211) and will meet with students throughout the residency. He is looking forward to sharing insights about composing and discussing how some of his shows came to be created, such as the Broadway musicals Grey Gardens (2006), which was nominated for a Tony Award, and War Paint (2017), which starred Patti LuPone and Christine Ebersole.
Scott Frankel is the recipient of the ASCAP Foundation New Horizons Richard Rodgers Award and the Frederick Loewe Award. He is a fellow of MacDowell and a graduate of Yale University, where he teaches musical theater composition.