Norman L. Berman
Encyclopedia
Norman L. Berman is an American theater composer, arranger and director.
Berman co-composed the score to the Broadway
and off-Broadway
productions of the 1979 musical play Strider: The Story of a Horse. For the 1980 Broadway production, he was the first composer to be awarded the Drama Desk award in the category of outstanding music in a play. He also served as orchestrator and musical director. Strider has subsequently been produced all over the world including regional theaters across the United States.
Throughout the 1970s and 1980s Berman served as composer-in-Residence at the celebrated Circle Repertory Company
. He composed music scores for over 20 plays there ranging from premieres by Tennessee Williams, Lanford Wilson, Marsha Norman and Paul Zindel to Shakespearean and Chekhovian classics. At Circle Repertory Company he worked with various distinguished directors and actors including Marshall W. Mason
, Lanford Wilson
, William Hurt
, Christopher Reeve
, Judd Hirsch
and Jeff Daniels
.
Berman has been commissioned to compose music for many prominent regional theaters across the country including, New York Shakespeare Festival
, Manhattan Theatre Club
, Playwrights Horizons
, Brooklyn Academy of Music
, Roundabout Theatre, Arena Stage
, Folger Theater Company, St. Louis Repertory Company, GeVa Theater, Seattle Repertory Company, Taper Two and many more.
In Los Angeles, Berman currently serves as Composer-in-Residence for the classical repertory company, A Noise Within, where he has composed scores for some 32 plays ranging from Shakespeare to Thorton Wilder.
He received an Ace Award nomination for his score for the film Traveler's Rest, seen on Showtime Cable Network. Berman’s other television scores have been heard on PBS, CBS
Cable Television (Kennedy’s Children) and the Discovery Channel
. He has also composed music for four mini-musicals with librettist, lyricist Abraham Tetenbaum for the educational touring shows produced by Enrichment Works.
Berman was commissioned by the Chelsea Theatre Center, to create (with Betty Comden and Adolph Green) and co-direct By Bernstein, a musical revue premiering Leonard Bernstein's unheard songs from West Side Story, Candide, On the Town, Peter Pan and The Race to Urga. For Manhattan Theatre Club, he conceived and directed the musical revue Unsung Cole, which premiered two dozen songs by Cole Porter
. Unsung Cole was subsequently produced by Circle Repertory Theater and many regional theaters across the country.
Berman directed various stage productions for Manhattan Theatre Club, Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, Westchester Theatre Company and more. He created and directed the revue Patch, Patch, Patch, which premiered the songs of Alan Menken
at the West Bank Cafe in New York City
Upcoming Projects
Berman composed the music for First Kids, a new musical with libretto and lyrics by Abraham Tetenbaum. "First Kids" is an original story which thematically explores the life of presidential offspring, familial reconciliation and our American history. It was given a workshop production in July, 2010 in Hickory, N. Carolina and a private industry reading in New York in June, 2011. Preparation is being made for a Broadway production.
Berman co-composed the score to the Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
and off-Broadway
Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway theater is a term for a professional venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, and for a specific production of a play, musical or revue that appears in such a venue, and which adheres to related trade union and other contracts...
productions of the 1979 musical play Strider: The Story of a Horse. For the 1980 Broadway production, he was the first composer to be awarded the Drama Desk award in the category of outstanding music in a play. He also served as orchestrator and musical director. Strider has subsequently been produced all over the world including regional theaters across the United States.
Throughout the 1970s and 1980s Berman served as composer-in-Residence at the celebrated Circle Repertory Company
Circle Repertory Company
The Circle Repertory Company, originally named the Circle Theater Company, was a theatre company in New York City that ran from 1969 to 1996. It was founded on July 14, 1969, in Manhattan, in a second floor loft at Broadway and 83rd Street by director Marshall W...
. He composed music scores for over 20 plays there ranging from premieres by Tennessee Williams, Lanford Wilson, Marsha Norman and Paul Zindel to Shakespearean and Chekhovian classics. At Circle Repertory Company he worked with various distinguished directors and actors including Marshall W. Mason
Marshall W. Mason
Marshall W. Mason is an American theater director, the founder and for eighteen years, artistic director of the Circle Repertory Company in New York City....
, Lanford Wilson
Lanford Wilson
Lanford Wilson was an American playwright who helped to advance the Off-Off-Broadway theater movement. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1980, was elected in 2001 to the Theater Hall of Fame, and in 2004 was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters...
, William Hurt
William Hurt
William McGill Hurt is an American stage and film actor. He received his acting training at the Juilliard School, and began acting on stage in the 1970s. Hurt made his film debut as a troubled scientist in the science-fiction feature Altered States , for which he received a Golden Globe nomination...
, Christopher Reeve
Christopher Reeve
Christopher D'Olier Reeve was an American actor, film director, producer, screenwriter, author and activist...
, Judd Hirsch
Judd Hirsch
Judd Hirsch is an American actor most known for playing Alex Rieger on the television comedy series Taxi, John Lacey on the NBC series Dear John, and Alan Eppes on the CBS series Numb3rs.-Early life and education:...
and Jeff Daniels
Jeff Daniels
Jeffrey Warren "Jeff" Daniels is an American actor, musician and playwright. He founded a non-profit theatre company, the Purple Rose Theatre Company, in his home state of Michigan...
.
Berman has been commissioned to compose music for many prominent regional theaters across the country including, New York Shakespeare Festival
New York Shakespeare Festival
New York Shakespeare Festival is the previous name of the New York City theatrical producing organization now known as the Public Theater. The Festival produced shows at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park, as part of its free Shakespeare in the Park series, at the Public Theatre near Astor Place...
, Manhattan Theatre Club
Manhattan Theatre Club
Manhattan Theatre Club is a theater company located in New York City. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Lynne Meadow and Executive Producer Barry Grove, Manhattan Theatre Club has grown since its founding in 1970 from an Off-Off Broadway showcase into one of the country’s most acclaimed...
, Playwrights Horizons
Playwrights Horizons
Playwrights Horizons is a not-for-profit Off-Broadway theater located in New York City dedicated to the support and development of contemporary American playwrights, composers, and lyricists, and to the production of their new work....
, Brooklyn Academy of Music
Brooklyn Academy of Music
Brooklyn Academy of Music is a major performing arts venue in Brooklyn, a borough of New York City, United States, known as a center for progressive and avant garde performance....
, Roundabout Theatre, Arena Stage
Arena Stage
Arena Stage is a not-for-profit regional theater based in Southwest Washington, D.C. Its declared mission"is to produce huge plays of all that is passionate, exuberant, profound, deep and dangerous in the American spirit. Arena has broad shoulders and a capacity to produce anything from vast epics...
, Folger Theater Company, St. Louis Repertory Company, GeVa Theater, Seattle Repertory Company, Taper Two and many more.
In Los Angeles, Berman currently serves as Composer-in-Residence for the classical repertory company, A Noise Within, where he has composed scores for some 32 plays ranging from Shakespeare to Thorton Wilder.
He received an Ace Award nomination for his score for the film Traveler's Rest, seen on Showtime Cable Network. Berman’s other television scores have been heard on PBS, CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
Cable Television (Kennedy’s Children) and the Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel
Discovery Channel is an American satellite and cable specialty channel , founded by John Hendricks and distributed by Discovery Communications. It is a publicly traded company run by CEO David Zaslav...
. He has also composed music for four mini-musicals with librettist, lyricist Abraham Tetenbaum for the educational touring shows produced by Enrichment Works.
Berman was commissioned by the Chelsea Theatre Center, to create (with Betty Comden and Adolph Green) and co-direct By Bernstein, a musical revue premiering Leonard Bernstein's unheard songs from West Side Story, Candide, On the Town, Peter Pan and The Race to Urga. For Manhattan Theatre Club, he conceived and directed the musical revue Unsung Cole, which premiered two dozen songs by Cole Porter
Cole Porter
Cole Albert Porter was an American composer and songwriter. Born to a wealthy family in Indiana, he defied the wishes of his domineering grandfather and took up music as a profession. Classically trained, he was drawn towards musical theatre...
. Unsung Cole was subsequently produced by Circle Repertory Theater and many regional theaters across the country.
Berman directed various stage productions for Manhattan Theatre Club, Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, Westchester Theatre Company and more. He created and directed the revue Patch, Patch, Patch, which premiered the songs of Alan Menken
Alan Menken
Alan Menken is an American musical theatre and film composer and pianist.Menken is best known for his numerous scores for films produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios. His scores for The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and Pocahontas have each won him two Academy Awards...
at the West Bank Cafe in New York City
Upcoming Projects
Berman composed the music for First Kids, a new musical with libretto and lyrics by Abraham Tetenbaum. "First Kids" is an original story which thematically explores the life of presidential offspring, familial reconciliation and our American history. It was given a workshop production in July, 2010 in Hickory, N. Carolina and a private industry reading in New York in June, 2011. Preparation is being made for a Broadway production.
External links
- Norman L. Berman at the Internet Off-Broadway DatabaseLortel ArchivesThe Lortel Archives, or the Internet Off-Broadway Database is an online database that catalogues theatre productions shown off-Broadway.The archives are named in honor of actress and theatrical producer Lucille Lortel.-See also:...
- Traveler's Rest