• The Musical
  • About Take Flight
  • A New Musical Takes Flight
  • An Interview with John Weidman, David Shire, and Richard Maltby, Jr.
  • Writers' Biographies
  • Annotated Credits of Weidman, Shire, and Maltby, Jr.
  • Links
• The Production
  • Emily Mann on Take Flight
  • Performance Schedule
  • Who's Who
  • Director’s Biography
  • The Creative Team
• The History
  • Amelia Earhart
  • Charles Lindbergh
  • The Wright Brothers
  • Timeline of Flight
  • The Science of Flight
• Multimedia
  • Photos
  • Videos
  • Audio
  • McCarter Blog
• Press
  • Feature Stories
  • Reviews
• For Students and Educators
  • Core Curriculum Standards
  • Pre-Show Discussion
  • Post-Show Discussion

Writers’ Biographies

Composer David Shire, book writer John Weidman, and lyricist Richard Maltby, Jr. Photo by John Baer

John Weidman (Book) has written the books for a wide variety of musicals, including Pacific Overtures, Assassins, and Road Show, all with scores by Stephen Sondheim; Contact, co-created with director/choreographer Susan Stroman; Happiness, score by Scott Frankel and Michael Korie, directed and choreographed by Susan Stroman; Big, score by Richard Maltby, Jr. and David Shire; and the new book, co-authored with Timothy Crouse, for the Lincoln Center Theater revival of Cole Porter’s Anything Goes. Since his children were pre-schoolers, Weidman has written for Sesame Street, receiving more than a dozen Emmy Awards for Outstanding Writing for a Children’s Program. From 1999 to 2009, he served as President of the Dramatists Guild of America.

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David Shire (Music) An Oscar and Grammy winner and multiple Tony and Emmy nominee, Shire has composed prolifically for the theater, films, television, and recordings. Broadway: Baby (Tony nominations, Best Original Score, Best Musical); Big (Tony nomination, Best Original Score). Off-Broadway: Starting Here, Starting Now (Grammy nomination); Closer Than Ever (Outer Critics Circle Awards, Best Score, Best Musical). Film scores include Norma Rae (Academy Award); The Conversation; All the President’s Men; The Taking of Pelham 1-2-3; Zodiac; Saturday Night Fever (two Grammys). Numerous television scores have garnered five Emmy nominations. Songs recorded by Barbra Streisand, Maureen McGovern, Melissa Manchester, Jennifer Warnes, John Pizzarelli, Kiri Te Kanawa, Liz Callaway, Nancy Lamont, and many others. His song “With You I’m Born Again” was an international hit single for Billy Preston and Syreeta.

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Richard Maltby, Jr. (Lyrics) Broadway: conceived and directed the musicals Ain’t Misbehavin’ (1978 Tony, NY Drama Critics, Outer Critics, Drama Desk Awards; Tony Award, Best Director); Fosse (1999 Tony, Outer Critics, Drama Desk Awards); Ring of Fire (2006). With composer David Shire: director/lyricist of Baby (1983, seven Tony nominations); lyricist of Big (1996 Tony nomination, Best Score); lyricist/conceiver of Take Flight (Menier Chocolate Factory, London, 2007). Also: co-lyricist of Miss Saigon (1991 Tony nomination, Best Score); co-bookwriter/lyricist of The Pirate Queen (2007). As director: The Story of My Life (2009); director/co-lyricist of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Song & Dance. Off-Broadway: director/lyricist of Starting Here, Starting Now (1977 Grammy nomination); Closer than Ever (1989 Outer Critics Awards, Best Musical, Best Score). Regional: director of Mask (2008, Pasadena Playhouse) and The 60’s Project (2006, Goodspeed). Film: screenplay, Miss Potter (2007).