Ryan Scott Oliver
Encyclopedia
Ryan Scott Oliver is a musical theatre composer and lyricist. He is the recipient of both the 2009 Jonathan Larson Grant
and the 2008 Richard Rodgers Award for Musical Theater. He received his B.A. in Music Composition from UCLA and his M.F.A. in Musical Theatre Writing from the Tisch School of the Arts
at New York University
. He is also creator of the blog Crazytown.
, to parents Scott and Sherry, a truck driver and facilities manager, respectively. His interest in musicals began at 9 years old when Oliver joined a local summer musical theatre camp. In 2004, Oliver took over the program as Artistic Director and renamed it the Pasadena Musical Theatre Program.
. Mrs. Sharp was given a staged reading at Playwrights Horizons
in 2009 in a production directed by Michael Greif
with Jane Krakowski
as the title character. Playwright Horizons described Mrs. Sharp as:
or triptych
. The exhibition is orchestrated for six voices (three women, three men), and six players (viola/violin, cello, guitars, bass, percussion, and synthesizer). A full developmental production was presented at Urban Stages in December 2010, directed by Daisy Prince.
Jonathan Larson Performing Arts Foundation
The Jonathan Larson Performing Arts Foundation was a foundation started in 1997 by the family and friends of Jonathan Larson, composer of the musical Rent. From 1997 to 2008, the foundation awarded grants to musical theatre composers, lyricists and book writers. Following the 2008 grants, the...
and the 2008 Richard Rodgers Award for Musical Theater. He received his B.A. in Music Composition from UCLA and his M.F.A. in Musical Theatre Writing from the Tisch School of the Arts
Tisch School of the Arts
Tisch School of the Arts is one of the 15 schools that make up New York University ....
at New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
. He is also creator of the blog Crazytown.
Early life
Oliver was born in Pasadena, CaliforniaPasadena, California
Pasadena is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Although famous for hosting the annual Rose Bowl football game and Tournament of Roses Parade, Pasadena is the home to many scientific and cultural institutions, including the California Institute of Technology , the Jet...
, to parents Scott and Sherry, a truck driver and facilities manager, respectively. His interest in musicals began at 9 years old when Oliver joined a local summer musical theatre camp. In 2004, Oliver took over the program as Artistic Director and renamed it the Pasadena Musical Theatre Program.
Mrs. Sharp
Mrs. Sharp (previously called Alive at Ten), with music and lyrics by Oliver and book by Kirsten Guenther, is loosely based on the 1991 teacher-student sex scandal and murder trial surrounding Pamela SmartPamela Smart
Pamela Ann Smart is serving a life sentence for accomplice to first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit murder and witness tampering in New Hampshire...
. Mrs. Sharp was given a staged reading at 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....
in 2009 in a production directed by Michael Greif
Michael Greif
Michael Greif is a stage director and producer, born in Brooklyn, New York. He has received three Tony Award nominations and won the Obie Award....
with Jane Krakowski
Jane Krakowski
Jane Krakowski is an American actress and singer. She is most well known for her performance of Elaine Vassal on Ally McBeal, for which she was nominated for a Golden Globe Award, and for her current role as Jenna Maroney on the NBC sitcom 30 Rock, for which she has been nominated for three Emmy...
as the title character. Playwright Horizons described Mrs. Sharp as:
Darling
Darling, with music and lyrics by Oliver, and book by B.T. Ryback, follows upper crust teenager Ursula Morgan in 1929 Boston as its society boils in the weeks before the Crash. Neglected by her excessive, self-absorbed parents, Ursula encounters Peter, a charming rent-boy of uncertain age, on the run from the Captain of Police who pursues him for a heinous crime he may or may not have committed. When she is offered the opportunity to run away with him, she takes it and finds herself swept into a seedy underground of jazz, sex and a mysterious white powder called Fairy Dust—and in love. Darling was presented by Pace New Musicals Program in 2009.35MM
35MM, a multimedia "musical exhibition" in which photographic images inspire music and lyrics, and inversely music and lyrics inspire photographs. The piece is made up of more than twenty songs and nearly 35 images by photographer Matthew Murphy. Some songs will elicit numerous photographs in one and others will be inspired by a diptychDiptych
A diptych di "two" + ptychē "fold") is any object with two flat plates attached at a hinge. Devices of this form were quite popular in the ancient world, wax tablets being coated with wax on inner faces, for recording notes and for measuring time and direction.In Late Antiquity, ivory diptychs with...
or triptych
Triptych
A triptych , from tri-= "three" + ptysso= "to fold") is a work of art which is divided into three sections, or three carved panels which are hinged together and can be folded shut or displayed open. It is therefore a type of polyptych, the term for all multi-panel works...
. The exhibition is orchestrated for six voices (three women, three men), and six players (viola/violin, cello, guitars, bass, percussion, and synthesizer). A full developmental production was presented at Urban Stages in December 2010, directed by Daisy Prince.
Jasper in Deadland
Jasper in Deadland, is a pop-rock musical based on the myth of Opheus and Eurydice. It follows 16-year-old Jasper Jarvis as he travels through the Afterlife on a mission to save his best friend, Agnes. Jasper in Deadland was commissioned in 2011 for the Pasadena Musical Theatre Program and a world premier workshop will be presented on August 5 and 6, 2011.Other works
- Rated RSO: A collection of Oliver's work which has been performed at the New York Musical Theatre FestivalNew York Musical Theatre FestivalThe New York Musical Theatre Festival is an annual three-week fall Festival which presents more than thirty new musicals at venues in New York City's midtown theater district...
, Joe's PubJoe's PubJoe's Pub at Public Theater is a nightclub that hosts live performances regularly. The venue, which is a non-profit operation, is located at 425 Lafayette Street near Astor Place in Manhattan, New York City...
, and Boston Court Performing Arts Center. - Circle 9: a One-Act Musical: Music by Brian Valencia, book and lyrics by Oliver
- Angus Oblong's The Debbies, A Ten Minute Musical: Music by Oliver and book and lyrics by Gordon Leary, inspired by characters from Angus OblongAngus OblongAngus Oblong is the pen name of an American writer and illustrator best known as the author of Creepy Susie and 13 Other Tragic Tales for Troubled Children and the 2001 television series it spawned, The Oblongs...
's Creepy Susie and 13 Other Tragic Tales for Troubled ChildrenCreepy Susie and 13 Other Tragic Tales for Troubled ChildrenCreepy Susie and 13 Other Tragic Tales for Troubled Children is a collection of illustrated short stories written by Angus Oblong. The stories mostly feature children and adolescents, although one story is about a dog. Several of the characters were eventually adapted for use in the animated...
and The OblongsThe OblongsThe Oblongs is an American animated television program aimed at teenagers and adults. It is loosely based on a series of characters introduced in creator Angus Oblong's picture book entitled Creepy Susie and 13 Other Tragic Tales for Troubled Children... - Out of my Head, A Musical Revue: Music and lyrics by Oliver, book by Kirsten Guenther
- Quit India: Book, music, and lyrics by B.T. Ryback and Oliver, is a musical retelling of the opera LakméLakméLakmé is an opera in three acts by Léo Delibes to a French libretto by Edmond Gondinet and Philippe Gille. Delibes wrote the score during 1881–82 with its first performance on 14 April 1883 at the Opéra Comique in Paris. Set in British India in the mid 19th century, Lakmé is based on the 1880 novel...
List of Popular Songs
- "A Hypochondriac's Song"
- "Halfway"
- "Lost Boy" from Darling
- "On Monday" from 35MM
- "Out of My Mind" from Mrs. Sharp
- "The Ballad of Sara Berry" from 35MM
- "This is Your Life" from The Battery's Down
- "What I Wouldn't Do For You" from Mrs. Sharp
Awards
- 2009 Jonathan Larson GrantJonathan Larson Performing Arts FoundationThe Jonathan Larson Performing Arts Foundation was a foundation started in 1997 by the family and friends of Jonathan Larson, composer of the musical Rent. From 1997 to 2008, the foundation awarded grants to musical theatre composers, lyricists and book writers. Following the 2008 grants, the...
Recipient - 2008 Richard Rodgers Award for Musical Theater Winner (for Mrs. Sharp)
- 2007 ASCAP Foundation Harold AdamsonHarold AdamsonFor the Toronto Police Chief see Harold Adamson Harold Adamson was an American lyricist during the 1930s and 1940s.- Biography :...
Lyric Award Recipient - 2007 Margo LionMargo LionMargo Lion is a producer for plays and musicals both on Broadway and off-Broadway. She is known for her role in producing the stage and screen hit Hairspray. Combined, the works Lion produced have won 20 Tony Awards and a Pulitzer Prize.-Biography:...
Award for Excellence in Adaptation for Alive at Ten with Kristen Guenther - 2007 Dramatist GuildDramatists Guild of AmericaThe Dramatists Guild of America is a professional organization for playwrights, composers, and lyricists working in the U.S. theatre market.Membership as an Associate Member is open to any person having written at least one stage play. Active Members are playwrights who have had at least one play...
Fellowship