Andrew Lippa to Sneak-Peek New Show at Texas State

Famed Broadway composer Andrew Lippa will be holding an intimate showcase of selections from his next musical, THE MAN IN THE CEILING, at Texas State University in San Marcos on Saturday, October 23 at 7:30 pm.

Lippa is currently the composer-in-residence at Texas State University and will be working with the musical theatre and drama students.  He was recently the first recipient of the Harrison New Musical Works Commission and will be using his time at Texas State to further develop his musical.

Previously an exclusive showcase closed to all but the department's students, Lippa has decided to open the concert performance to the public. 

Seating is extremely limited.  Please RSVP to Kaitlin Hopkins at kh40@txstate.edu to reserve your spot today and be the first in the world to hear excerpts from THE MAN IN THE CEILING!

Read an exclusive interview with Lippa about his past, present, and future projects and his involvement with Texas State University here.

Andrew Lippa is currently penning the music and lyrics for a new musical based on Jules Feiffer's THE MAN IN THE CEILING (Mr. Feiffer is writing the book) which is being produced by Disney Theatrical for Broadway. Mr. Lippa wrote the music for the world premiere of Aaron Sorkin's (The West Wing, A Few Good Men) new play The Farnsworth Invention directed by Des McAnuff and presented by the La Jolla Playhouse. ASPHALT BEACH (music and lyrics) was premiered at Northwestern University by the American Music Theatre Project in October, 2006. THE WILD PARTY (book/music/lyrics) was given its world premiere in 2000 at the Manhattan Theater Club in New York City. The Wild Party won the Outer Critics Circle Award for best Off-Broadway musical of the season and Mr. Lippa won the 2000 Drama Desk Award for best music. 2004 saw the premiere of Mr. Lippa's A LITTLE PRINCESS (book and lyrics by Brian Crawley) at TheatreWorks in Palo Alto, CA. In 1999 Mr. Lippa contributed three new songs to the Broadway version of YOU'RE A GOOD MAN, CHARLIE BROWN (including "My New Philosophy" for Tony-Award Winner Kristin Chenoweth) and created all new arrangements. He wrote the music and co-wrote the book (with Tom Greenwald) for john & jen, which played in New York City in 1995 at The Lamb's Theater.

Mr. Lippa's recordings include Julia Murney's new CD I'm Not Waiting (producer, 3 songs), THE WILD PARTY (RCA Victor) which he also produced, YOU'RE A GOOD MAN, CHARLIE BROWN (RCA Victor) which earned him a Grammy Award nomination, and john & jen (Fynsworth Alley) which he associate produced. Jazz phenom Peter Cincotti recorded Mr. Lippa's "Raise The Roof" on his CD titled On The Moon (Phil Ramone, producer). In addition, Lippa produced the original cast recording of BAT BOY for RCA Victor and his singing voice can be heard on The Sondheim Album on Fynsworth Alley and If I Sing on PS Classics. Vocal selections from The Wild Party and john & jen are published by Hal Leonard and licensed by MTI.

Mr. Lippa has been music director for Kristin Chenoweth since 1999. He conducted/played her sold-out concert at the Metropolitan Opera House in NYC in January, 2007, and at the Donmar Warehouse in London in 2002, and Carnegie Hall in 2004 among others. In 2005 he conducted the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra for Ms. Chenoweth. Additionally, he is an accomplished singer having been heard in many venues in New York and, in 2005, as a guest artist at the Adelaide Cabaret Convention in Adelaide, Australia.

Memberships include ASCAP, The Dramatists Guild, Actor's Equity, and the AF of M.

A graduate of the University of Michigan, Mr. Lippa is the resident artist at the Ars Nova Theater in New York City and the High Holiday cantor at Congregation Beth Tikvah in Richmond, British Columbia.

Erin grew up far from Broadway in western North Dakota. After studying Criminal Justice at the University of North Dakota, she relocated to San Antonio, Texas to broaden her horizons. It was in Texas that her love for musical theater developed, having access to national productions that weren't available in her rural hometown. She supplements attending local and touring productions with frequent excursions to New York City. Erin is the Digital Strategy Manager for Broadway actresses Idina Menzel and Eden Espinosa.

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