Harvey Schmidt
Encyclopedia
Harvey Lester Schmidt is an American composer for musical theatre
. He is best known for composing the music for the longest running musical in history, The Fantasticks
, which ran off-Broadway
from 1960 - 2002.
. He attended the University of Texas to study art, but when he met Tom Jones at the University he started to accompany the drama students on the piano. They soon started writing musicals together, the first being a revue. However, after serving in the Army, Schmidt moved to New York and worked as a graphic artist for NBC Television and later as an illustrator for Life, Harper's Bazaar, Sports Illustrated, and Fortune.
All of Schmidt's major musicals were written with lyricist Tom Jones
. The work the duo is known for is the musical The Fantasticks which ran off-Broadway from 1960 - 2002 for a total of 17,162 performances. He also collaborated on the 1995 feature film adaptation
. In 1992 he received the Tony Award
, Tony Honor
for "The Fantasticks," then in its 33rd year.
The team followed with the Broadway
musical 110 in the Shade
in 1963, which ran for 330 performances on Broadway
and earned a Tony Award nomination for Best Composer and Lyricist for Schmidt and Jones. I Do! I Do!
followed in 1966, which brought Mary Martin
and Robert Preston
to the Broadway stage in a 2-person musical and ran for 560 performances. Jones and Schmidt were nominated for the Tony Award for Best Composer and Lyricist and Best Musical.
Schmidt was inducted into the American Theatre Hall of Fame
.
His recording, Harvey Schmidt plays Jones and Schmidt was released in 2005.
Schmidt and Jones wrote a musical of Thornton Wilder
's Our Town
and it took them thirteen years to write, only to have the rights pulled by Wilder's nephew.
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
. He is best known for composing the music for the longest running musical in history, The Fantasticks
The Fantasticks
The Fantasticks is a 1960 musical with music by Harvey Schmidt and lyrics by Tom Jones. It was produced by Lore Noto. It tells an allegorical story, loosely based on the play "The Romancers" by Edmond Rostand, concerning two neighboring fathers who trick their children, Luisa and Matt, into...
, which ran 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...
from 1960 - 2002.
Biography
Schmidt was born in Dallas, TexasDallas, Texas
Dallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
. He attended the University of Texas to study art, but when he met Tom Jones at the University he started to accompany the drama students on the piano. They soon started writing musicals together, the first being a revue. However, after serving in the Army, Schmidt moved to New York and worked as a graphic artist for NBC Television and later as an illustrator for Life, Harper's Bazaar, Sports Illustrated, and Fortune.
All of Schmidt's major musicals were written with lyricist Tom Jones
Tom Jones (writer)
Tom Jones is a lyricist of musical theatre. His best known work is The Fantasticks, which ran off-Broadway from 1960 until 2002, and the hit song from the same, Try to Remember. Other songs from "The Fantasticks" include "Soon It's Gonna Rain", "Much More" and "I Can See It"...
. The work the duo is known for is the musical The Fantasticks which ran off-Broadway from 1960 - 2002 for a total of 17,162 performances. He also collaborated on the 1995 feature film adaptation
The Fantasticks (film)
The Fantasticks is a 1995 musical film directed by Michael Ritchie. The screenplay by Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt is based on their record-breaking off-Broadway production of the same name, which ran for 17,162 performances...
. In 1992 he received the Tony Award
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
, Tony Honor
for "The Fantasticks," then in its 33rd year.
The team followed with 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...
musical 110 in the Shade
110 in the Shade
110 in the Shade is a musical with a book by N. Richard Nash, lyrics by Tom Jones, and music by Harvey Schmidt.Based on Nash's 1954 play The Rainmaker, it focuses on Lizzie Curry, a spinster living on a ranch in the American southwest, and her relationships with local sheriff File, a cautious...
in 1963, which ran for 330 performances on 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 earned a Tony Award nomination for Best Composer and Lyricist for Schmidt and Jones. I Do! I Do!
I Do! I Do!
I Do! I Do! is a musical with a book and lyrics by Tom Jones and music by Harvey Schmidt which is based on the Jan de Hartog play The Fourposter. The two-character story spans fifty years, from 1895 to 1945, as it focuses on the ups and downs experienced by Agnes and Michael Snow throughout their...
followed in 1966, which brought Mary Martin
Mary Martin
Mary Virginia Martin was an American actress and singer. She originated many roles over her career including Nellie Forbush in South Pacific and Maria in The Sound of Music. She was named a Kennedy Center Honoree in 1989...
and Robert Preston
Robert Preston
Robert Preston may refer to:*Robert Preston , American actor*Robert Preston *Robert E. Preston , Director of the U.S. Mint 1893-98*Robert K...
to the Broadway stage in a 2-person musical and ran for 560 performances. Jones and Schmidt were nominated for the Tony Award for Best Composer and Lyricist and Best Musical.
Schmidt was inducted into the American Theatre Hall of Fame
American Theatre Hall of Fame
The American Theatre Hall of Fame in New York City was founded in 1972. Earl Blackwell was the first head of the Executive Committee. In an announcement at a luncheon meeting on March 1972, he said that the new Theater Hall of Fame would be located in the Uris Theatre . James M...
.
His recording, Harvey Schmidt plays Jones and Schmidt was released in 2005.
Schmidt and Jones wrote a musical of Thornton Wilder
Thornton Wilder
Thornton Niven Wilder was an American playwright and novelist. He received three Pulitzer Prizes, one for his novel The Bridge of San Luis Rey and two for his plays Our Town and The Skin of Our Teeth, and a National Book Award for his novel The Eighth Day.-Early years:Wilder was born in Madison,...
's Our Town
Our Town
Our Town is a three-act play by American playwright Thornton Wilder. It is a character story about an average town's citizens in the early twentieth century as depicted through their everyday lives...
and it took them thirteen years to write, only to have the rights pulled by Wilder's nephew.
Songs
- "I Can See It" from the musical The FantasticksThe FantasticksThe Fantasticks is a 1960 musical with music by Harvey Schmidt and lyrics by Tom Jones. It was produced by Lore Noto. It tells an allegorical story, loosely based on the play "The Romancers" by Edmond Rostand, concerning two neighboring fathers who trick their children, Luisa and Matt, into...
; later recorded by Barbra StreisandBarbra StreisandBarbra Joan Streisand is an American singer, actress, film producer and director. She has won two Academy Awards, eight Grammy Awards, four Emmy Awards, a Special Tony Award, an American Film Institute award, a Peabody Award, and is one of the few entertainers who have won an Oscar, Emmy, Grammy,... - "Much More" from the musical The Fantasticks; later recorded by Barbra Streisand for The Barbra Streisand AlbumThe Barbra Streisand Album- Side two :- Personnel :* Barbra Streisand — vocals* Mike Berniker — producer* Peter Matz — arrangements* Fred Plaut and Frank Lacio — recording engineers* John Berg — design* Hank Parker — photography* Harold Arlen — liner notes- Chart performance :...
- "Soon It's Gonna RainSoon It's Gonna Rain"Soon It's Gonna Rain" is a song from the musical comedy The Fantasticks, with lyrics written by Tom Jones, and music composed by Harvey Schmidt....
" from the musical The Fantasticks; later recorded by Barbra Streisand for The Barbra Streisand Album - "Try To Remember" from the musical The Fantasticks
- "My Cup Runneth OverMy Cup Runneth Over"My Cup Runneth Over" is a quotation from the Hebrew Bible and means "I have more than enough for my needs" though interpretations and usage may vary. Notably, it can be employed sarcastically to indicate that someone, e.g...
" from the musical I Do! I Do!I Do! I Do!I Do! I Do! is a musical with a book and lyrics by Tom Jones and music by Harvey Schmidt which is based on the Jan de Hartog play The Fourposter. The two-character story spans fifty years, from 1895 to 1945, as it focuses on the ups and downs experienced by Agnes and Michael Snow throughout their...
, later recorded by Ed AmesEd AmesEd Ames is an American popular singer and actor. He is best known for his pop and adult contemporary hits of the 1960s like "When the Snow is on the Roses" and the perennial "My Cup Runneth Over." He was part of a popular 1950s singing group called The Ames Brothers.-Early life:Born in Malden,...
.
Theatre
- Shoestring '57 (1957)
- Demi-Dozen (1958)
- The FantasticksThe FantasticksThe Fantasticks is a 1960 musical with music by Harvey Schmidt and lyrics by Tom Jones. It was produced by Lore Noto. It tells an allegorical story, loosely based on the play "The Romancers" by Edmond Rostand, concerning two neighboring fathers who trick their children, Luisa and Matt, into...
(1960) - 110 in the Shade110 in the Shade110 in the Shade is a musical with a book by N. Richard Nash, lyrics by Tom Jones, and music by Harvey Schmidt.Based on Nash's 1954 play The Rainmaker, it focuses on Lizzie Curry, a spinster living on a ranch in the American southwest, and her relationships with local sheriff File, a cautious...
(1963) - I Do! I Do!I Do! I Do!I Do! I Do! is a musical with a book and lyrics by Tom Jones and music by Harvey Schmidt which is based on the Jan de Hartog play The Fourposter. The two-character story spans fifty years, from 1895 to 1945, as it focuses on the ups and downs experienced by Agnes and Michael Snow throughout their...
(1966) - CelebrationCelebration (musical)Celebration is a musical with a book and lyrics by Tom Jones and music by Harvey Schmidt.A musical fable set on New Year's Eve, it focuses on four characters: Orphan, an idealistic and cheerfully optimistic young man, in possession of the stained-glass eye of God, who reminds Edgar Allen Rich, a...
(1969) - Colette (1970)
- Bad Company (1972 film)Bad Company (1972 film)Bad Company is a 1972 American Western film directed by Robert Benton, who also co-wrote the film with David Newman. It stars Barry Brown and Jeff Bridges as two of a group of young men that flee the draft during the American Civil War to seek their fortune and freedom on the unforgiving American...
(1972) - PhilemonPhilemon (musical)Philemon is a 1975 Off-Broadway musical by Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt. The show was produced on Hollywood Television Theatre in 1976 with the original cast and directed by Norman Lloyd...
(1973) - Colette (1982 revision)
- Grovers Corners (1987)
- Mirette (1996)
- Roadside (2001)