Ken Bloom
Encyclopedia
Ken Bloom is a New York
-based theatre historian, playwright, director, record producer, and author.
He began his theatre career in the mid-70s at the New Playwrights Theatre of Washington. With some friends, Bloom co-founded the ASTA theatre. That company became the basis for New Playwrights. While at ASTA, Bloom joined the Smithsonian Puppet Theatre, performing as part of Allan Stevens and Company in Washington and on tour throughout the United States for almost two years. At New Playwrights, Bloom co-produced and directed a series of musicals and musical revues written by Tim Grundmann including Sirocco, Bride of Sirocco (which transferred to a commercial run), Nightmare!, Out to Lunch, and Eddie’s Catchy Tunes. Bloom also was in charge of the theatre’s PR, audience development, and marketing. After leaving New Playwrights Bloom edited The Washington Season, an arts supplement for the Washington Post. In Washington, he hosted a musical theatre radio show for WKCR-FM, DC’s NPR
station.
He continued radio work after moving to New York in 1980 as a correspondent for Morning Edition
and All Things Considered
. He was also Broadway
correspondent for the CBC
. Bloom worked with Ezio Petersen on Musical Theatre Today on WKCR-FM, a weekly program that ran for fifteen years. He also hosted 12 hours a week for Sirius Satellite Radio
's musical theatre channel.
Shortly after his move to New York, Bloom, in partnership with Cleveland’s Bill Rudman, founded Harbinger Records, an independent label dedicated to the preservation of the music of American popular song, musical theatre, and cabaret. Their first release was Geraldine Fitzgerald
’s one-woman show, Streetsongs. Bloom and Rudman’s first studio record was Maxine Sullivan
Sings the Great Songs of the Cotton Club by Harold Arlen
and Ted Koehler
. It was nominated for a Grammy Award
for Best Jazz Vocalist and won the NAIRD award for Best Jazz Vocal of the Year. They continued working with Sullivan on the highly acclaimed Together: The Music of Jule Styne
and The Lady’s in Love with You: Maxine Sullivan
Sings the Music of Burton Lane
. Harbinger has also produced albums devoted to the talents of Mabel Mercer
, Susan Johnson
, three CD's with jazz great Barbara Carroll, three jazz CD's with pianist/singer Eric Comstock, Sylvia McNair
, opera diva Amy Burton (Opera News
Recording of the Month), Lorna Dallas, Eric Michael Gillette, and others. They have also released on CD the legendary Walden Records series of recordings as well as recordings by Noel Coward
, Charles Strouse
and Lee Adams
, Richard Rodgers
, Jerry Herman
, and Barry Kleinbort. In 2008, Harbinger Records celebrated its 25th Anniversary.
Bloom is also a noted author. His first book, American Song: The Complete Musical Theatre Companion is a listing of every song written for the American Theatre which was named Reference Book of the Year by Choice Magazine. He followed it up with Hollywood Song which contained information on songs from over 7,000 films. His Tin Pan Alley
features complete songographies of the top 175 composer and lyricists of American popular song. Bloom also wrote Broadway: An Encyclopedic Guide to the History, People, and Places of Times Square
which won a prestigious Source Magazine Award. In collaboration with Frank Vlastnik, Bloom wrote the bestseller, Broadway Musicals: The 101 Greatest Shows of All Time which was awarded the George Freedley Award and Sitcoms: The 101 Greatest Comedies of All Time. Bloom also wrote The American Songbook: The Singers, the Songwriters and the Songs. He also compiled, with Jerry Herman
, Jerry Herman: The Lyrics: a Celebration. In 2010, Bloom wrote "Hollywood Musicals: The 101 Greatest Song and Dance Movies of All Time." With Elaine Orbach, In 2009, Bloom wrote "Remember How I Love You: Love Letters from an Extraordinary Marriage" for Simon and Schuster. With Josh Wellman, Bloom wrote "Attending and Enjoying Concerts" for Pearson/Prentice Hall. Bloom is currently editor of Marquee, the journal of the Theatre Historical Society and sits on the board of that society.
In 2010, Bloom was the Executive Producer of the three-part PBS Series, "Michael Feinstein's American Songbook." He also developed an extensive website for the series which can be found at: www.michaelfeinsteinsamericansongbook.com.
Bloom consulted with Decca Broadway on their musical theatre catalog for nearly ten years. For such organizations as The Library of Congress and the Billy Rose Theatre Collection at Lincoln Center, Bloom catalogued the papers of such theatrical greats as Burton Lane
, Florence Klotz
, Peter Stone
, and Jerry Herman
.
With Barry Kleinbort, Bloom wrote the off-Broadway musical revue A Brief History of White Music which ran for a year at the Village Gate Uptown. Bloom directed benefits for the Brooklyn Academy of Music
, The New York City Opera
, and Toys R Us featuring such stars as Patti LuPone
, Carol Burnett
, Marc Antony, Paul Anka
, Wynona Judd, Donna Murphy
, Jerry Orbach
, and Duncan Sheik
.
In 2009, Bloom co-wrote with Kleinbort and Christopher Mirambeau a bi-lingual musical revue, "Metropolia(i)n." It was produced at the Opera Paniche in Paris, France with a cast of French and American performers. The show was remounted in November of 2010 at the Laurie Beechman Theatre in New York City. Clips from the show can be seen on YouTube at: MetropolitanParisNYC.
As a press agent he has represented Cirque du Soleil
, the Bolshoi
Theatre Grigorovich Balley, the Moscow Art Theatre
, the Kirov Ballet, George Abbott
’s Broadway at the Royale Theatre on Broadway
, internationally known children’s performers Sharon, Lois and Bram, and many others.
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
-based theatre historian, playwright, director, record producer, and author.
He began his theatre career in the mid-70s at the New Playwrights Theatre of Washington. With some friends, Bloom co-founded the ASTA theatre. That company became the basis for New Playwrights. While at ASTA, Bloom joined the Smithsonian Puppet Theatre, performing as part of Allan Stevens and Company in Washington and on tour throughout the United States for almost two years. At New Playwrights, Bloom co-produced and directed a series of musicals and musical revues written by Tim Grundmann including Sirocco, Bride of Sirocco (which transferred to a commercial run), Nightmare!, Out to Lunch, and Eddie’s Catchy Tunes. Bloom also was in charge of the theatre’s PR, audience development, and marketing. After leaving New Playwrights Bloom edited The Washington Season, an arts supplement for the Washington Post. In Washington, he hosted a musical theatre radio show for WKCR-FM, DC’s NPR
NPR
NPR, formerly National Public Radio, is a privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization that serves as a national syndicator to a network of 900 public radio stations in the United States. NPR was created in 1970, following congressional passage of the Public Broadcasting...
station.
He continued radio work after moving to New York in 1980 as a correspondent for Morning Edition
Morning Edition
Morning Edition is an American radio news program produced and distributed by National Public Radio . It airs weekday mornings and runs for two hours, and many stations repeat one or both hours. The show feeds live from 05:00 to 09:00 ET, with feeds and updates as required until noon...
and All Things Considered
All Things Considered
All Things Considered is the flagship news program on the American network National Public Radio. It was the first news program on NPR, and is broadcast live worldwide through several outlets...
. He was also 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...
correspondent for the CBC
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly known as CBC and officially as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian crown corporation that serves as the national public radio and television broadcaster...
. Bloom worked with Ezio Petersen on Musical Theatre Today on WKCR-FM, a weekly program that ran for fifteen years. He also hosted 12 hours a week for Sirius Satellite Radio
Sirius Satellite Radio
Sirius Satellite Radio is a satellite radio service operating in North America, owned by Sirius XM Radio.Headquartered in New York City, with smaller studios in Los Angeles and Memphis, Sirius was officially launched on July 1, 2002 and currently provides 69 streams of music and 65 streams of...
's musical theatre channel.
Shortly after his move to New York, Bloom, in partnership with Cleveland’s Bill Rudman, founded Harbinger Records, an independent label dedicated to the preservation of the music of American popular song, musical theatre, and cabaret. Their first release was Geraldine Fitzgerald
Geraldine Fitzgerald
Geraldine Fitzgerald, Lady Lindsay-Hogg was an Irish-American actress and a member of the American Theatre Hall of Fame.-Early life:...
’s one-woman show, Streetsongs. Bloom and Rudman’s first studio record was Maxine Sullivan
Maxine Sullivan
Maxine Sullivan , born Marietta Williams, was an American blues and jazz singer.She was born in Homestead, Pennsylvania, and married jazz musician John Kirby in 1938 , and stride pianist Cliff Jackson in 1956...
Sings the Great Songs of the Cotton Club by Harold Arlen
Harold Arlen
Harold Arlen was an American composer of popular music, having written over 500 songs, a number of which have become known the world over. In addition to composing the songs for The Wizard of Oz, including the classic 1938 song, "Over the Rainbow,” Arlen is a highly regarded contributor to the...
and Ted Koehler
Ted Koehler
Ted L. Koehler was an American lyricist.-Life and career:Koehler was born in Washington, D.C. He started out as a photo-engraver but was attracted to the music business, where he started out as a theater pianist for silent films. He moved on to write for vaudeville shows and Broadway, and he also...
. It was nominated for a Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
for Best Jazz Vocalist and won the NAIRD award for Best Jazz Vocal of the Year. They continued working with Sullivan on the highly acclaimed Together: The Music of Jule Styne
Jule Styne
Jule Styne was a British-born American songwriter especially famous for a series of Broadway musicals, which included several very well known and frequently revived shows.-Early life:...
and The Lady’s in Love with You: Maxine Sullivan
Maxine Sullivan
Maxine Sullivan , born Marietta Williams, was an American blues and jazz singer.She was born in Homestead, Pennsylvania, and married jazz musician John Kirby in 1938 , and stride pianist Cliff Jackson in 1956...
Sings the Music of Burton Lane
Burton Lane
Burton Lane was an American composer and lyricist. His most popular and successful work is the musical Finian's Rainbow, "the score for which Lane will always be most remembered."-Biography:...
. Harbinger has also produced albums devoted to the talents of Mabel Mercer
Mabel Mercer
Mabel Mercer was an English-born cabaret singer who performed in the United States, Britain, and Europe with the greats in jazz and cabaret. She was a featured performer at Chez Bricktop in Paris, owned by the hostess Bricktop, and performed in such clubs as Le Ruban Bleu, Tony's, the RSVP, the...
, Susan Johnson
Susan Johnson
Susan Johnson may refer to:*Susan Johnson , film producer*Susan Johnson , also known as Susan Johnson-Kehn , American musical theatre actress*Susan Johnson , National Bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada...
, three CD's with jazz great Barbara Carroll, three jazz CD's with pianist/singer Eric Comstock, Sylvia McNair
Sylvia McNair
Sylvia McNair is an American opera singer and classical recitalist who has also achieved notable success in the Broadway and cabaret genres. McNair, a soprano, has made several critically acclaimed recordings and has won two Grammy Awards....
, opera diva Amy Burton (Opera News
Opera News
Opera News is an American classical music magazine. It has been published since 1936 by the Metropolitan Opera Guild, a non-profit organization located at Lincoln Center which was founded to support the Metropolitan Opera of New York City...
Recording of the Month), Lorna Dallas, Eric Michael Gillette, and others. They have also released on CD the legendary Walden Records series of recordings as well as recordings by Noel Coward
Noël Coward
Sir Noël Peirce Coward was an English playwright, composer, director, actor and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what Time magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and chic, pose and poise".Born in Teddington, a suburb of London, Coward attended a dance academy...
, Charles Strouse
Charles Strouse
Charles Strouse is an American composer and lyricist.-Life and career:Strouse was born and raised in New York City, the son of Ira and Ethel Strouse...
and Lee Adams
Lee Adams
Lee Richard Adams is an American lyricist best known for his musical theatre collaboration with Charles Strouse.Born in Mansfield, Ohio, Adams received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Ohio State University and a Master's from Columbia University.Adams won Tony Awards in 1961 for Bye Bye Birdie...
, Richard Rodgers
Richard Rodgers
Richard Charles Rodgers was an American composer of music for more than 900 songs and for 43 Broadway musicals. He also composed music for films and television. He is best known for his songwriting partnerships with the lyricists Lorenz Hart and Oscar Hammerstein II...
, Jerry Herman
Jerry Herman
Jerry Herman is an American composer and lyricist, known for his work in Broadway musical theater. He composed the scores for the hit Broadway musicals Hello, Dolly!, Mame, and La Cage aux Folles. He has been nominated for the Tony Award five times, and won twice, for Hello, Dolly! and La Cage...
, and Barry Kleinbort. In 2008, Harbinger Records celebrated its 25th Anniversary.
Bloom is also a noted author. His first book, American Song: The Complete Musical Theatre Companion is a listing of every song written for the American Theatre which was named Reference Book of the Year by Choice Magazine. He followed it up with Hollywood Song which contained information on songs from over 7,000 films. His Tin Pan Alley
Tin Pan Alley
Tin Pan Alley is the name given to the collection of New York City music publishers and songwriters who dominated the popular music of the United States in the late 19th century and early 20th century...
features complete songographies of the top 175 composer and lyricists of American popular song. Bloom also wrote Broadway: An Encyclopedic Guide to the History, People, and Places of Times Square
Times Square
Times Square is a major commercial intersection in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, at the junction of Broadway and Seventh Avenue and stretching from West 42nd to West 47th Streets...
which won a prestigious Source Magazine Award. In collaboration with Frank Vlastnik, Bloom wrote the bestseller, Broadway Musicals: The 101 Greatest Shows of All Time which was awarded the George Freedley Award and Sitcoms: The 101 Greatest Comedies of All Time. Bloom also wrote The American Songbook: The Singers, the Songwriters and the Songs. He also compiled, with Jerry Herman
Jerry Herman
Jerry Herman is an American composer and lyricist, known for his work in Broadway musical theater. He composed the scores for the hit Broadway musicals Hello, Dolly!, Mame, and La Cage aux Folles. He has been nominated for the Tony Award five times, and won twice, for Hello, Dolly! and La Cage...
, Jerry Herman: The Lyrics: a Celebration. In 2010, Bloom wrote "Hollywood Musicals: The 101 Greatest Song and Dance Movies of All Time." With Elaine Orbach, In 2009, Bloom wrote "Remember How I Love You: Love Letters from an Extraordinary Marriage" for Simon and Schuster. With Josh Wellman, Bloom wrote "Attending and Enjoying Concerts" for Pearson/Prentice Hall. Bloom is currently editor of Marquee, the journal of the Theatre Historical Society and sits on the board of that society.
In 2010, Bloom was the Executive Producer of the three-part PBS Series, "Michael Feinstein's American Songbook." He also developed an extensive website for the series which can be found at: www.michaelfeinsteinsamericansongbook.com.
Bloom consulted with Decca Broadway on their musical theatre catalog for nearly ten years. For such organizations as The Library of Congress and the Billy Rose Theatre Collection at Lincoln Center, Bloom catalogued the papers of such theatrical greats as Burton Lane
Burton Lane
Burton Lane was an American composer and lyricist. His most popular and successful work is the musical Finian's Rainbow, "the score for which Lane will always be most remembered."-Biography:...
, Florence Klotz
Florence Klotz
Florence Klotz was an American costume designer on Broadway and film.-Biography:Originally named as Kathrina Klotz, she later changed her name to "Florence" and was often nicknamed "Flossie"....
, Peter Stone
Peter Stone
Peter Hess Stone was an American writer for theater, television and movies.-Life and career:Stone was born in Los Angeles. His mother, Hilda , was a film writer, and his father, John Stone was the writer and producer of many silent films, including Shirley Temple and Charlie Chan movies...
, and Jerry Herman
Jerry Herman
Jerry Herman is an American composer and lyricist, known for his work in Broadway musical theater. He composed the scores for the hit Broadway musicals Hello, Dolly!, Mame, and La Cage aux Folles. He has been nominated for the Tony Award five times, and won twice, for Hello, Dolly! and La Cage...
.
With Barry Kleinbort, Bloom wrote the off-Broadway musical revue A Brief History of White Music which ran for a year at the Village Gate Uptown. Bloom directed benefits for the 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....
, The New York City Opera
New York City Opera
The New York City Opera is an American opera company located in New York City.The company, called "the people's opera" by New York Mayor Fiorello La Guardia, was founded in 1943 with the aim of making opera financially accessible to a wide audience, producing an innovative choice of repertory, and...
, and Toys R Us featuring such stars as Patti LuPone
Patti LuPone
Patti Ann LuPone is an American singer and actress, known for her Tony Award-winning performances as Eva Perón in the 1979 stage musical Evita and as Madame Rose in the 2008 Broadway revival of Gypsy, and for her Olivier Award-winning performance as Fantine in the original London cast of Les...
, Carol Burnett
Carol Burnett
Carol Creighton Burnett is an American actress, comedian, singer, dancer and writer. Burnett started her career in New York. After becoming a hit on Broadway, she made her television debut...
, Marc Antony, Paul Anka
Paul Anka
Paul Albert Anka, is a Canadian singer, songwriter, and actor.Anka first became famous as a teen idol in the late 1950s and 1960s with hit songs like "Diana'", "Lonely Boy", and "Put Your Head on My Shoulder"...
, Wynona Judd, Donna Murphy
Donna Murphy
Donna Murphy is an American stage, film, television actress and singer.Murphy has won two Tony Awards for Best Actress in a Musical for her roles in Passion as Fosca and in The King and I as Anna Leonowens...
, Jerry Orbach
Jerry Orbach
Jerome Bernard "Jerry" Orbach was an American actor and singer. He was well known for his starring role as Detective Lennie Briscoe in the Law & Order television series and as the voice of Lumière in Disney's Beauty and the Beast. As well, Orbach was a noted musical theatre star...
, and Duncan Sheik
Duncan Sheik
Duncan Scott Sheik is an American singer-songwriter and composer. Sheik initially found success as a singer, most notably for his 1996 debut single "Barely Breathing". He later expanded his work to include compositions for motion pictures and the Broadway stage, leading him to involvement in the...
.
In 2009, Bloom co-wrote with Kleinbort and Christopher Mirambeau a bi-lingual musical revue, "Metropolia(i)n." It was produced at the Opera Paniche in Paris, France with a cast of French and American performers. The show was remounted in November of 2010 at the Laurie Beechman Theatre in New York City. Clips from the show can be seen on YouTube at: MetropolitanParisNYC.
As a press agent he has represented Cirque du Soleil
Cirque du Soleil
Cirque du Soleil , is a Canadian entertainment company, self-described as a "dramatic mix of circus arts and street entertainment." Based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and located in the inner-city area of Saint-Michel, it was founded in Baie-Saint-Paul in 1984 by two former street performers, Guy...
, the Bolshoi
Bolshoi
Bolshoi may refer to:*Bolshoi Theatre, a major ballet and opera theatre in Moscow, Russia**Bolshoi Ballet, resident ballet company at the Bolshoi Theatre**Moscow State Academy of Choreography, commonly known as The Bolshoi Ballet Academy...
Theatre Grigorovich Balley, the Moscow Art Theatre
Moscow Art Theatre
The Moscow Art Theatre is a theatre company in Moscow that the seminal Russian theatre practitioner Constantin Stanislavski, together with the playwright and director Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko, founded in 1898. It was conceived as a venue for naturalistic theatre, in contrast to the melodramas...
, the Kirov Ballet, George Abbott
George Abbott
George Francis Abbott was an American theater producer and director, playwright, screenwriter, and film director and producer whose career spanned more than nine decades.-Early years:...
’s Broadway at the Royale Theatre 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...
, internationally known children’s performers Sharon, Lois and Bram, and many others.