James Lapine

 ( 1949 Births ) 

In 1982, Lapine was introduced to Stephen Sondheim.Secrest, pp. 326–341 The pair developed Sunday in the Park with George: Lapine wrote the book and directed; Sondheim created the music and lyrics. The play was first produced Off-Broadway in 1983,Lawson, Carol. Summer's hottest ticket? How about Sondheim musical? The New York Times (abstract), June 17, 1983 "'Sunday in the Park with George' Listing" Internet Off-Broadway DataBase, accessed March 10, 2011 and moved to Broadway theatre in 1984. Their next musical was Into the Woods, which premiered on Broadway in 1987,Rich, Frank. "Stage: 'Into the Woods,' From Sondheim" The New York Times, November 6, 1987 for which Lapine won the Tony Award and the Drama Desk Award for Best Book of a Musical. They next collaborated on the musical Passion, for which Lapine wrote the book and directed. The musical ran on Broadway in 1994 and in the West End in 1996, receiving a nomination for the Olivier Award for Best New Musical, and winning the Tony Award for Best Musical and the Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical, among other awards and nominations.Richards, David. "Review/Theater; Sondheim Explores the Heart's Terrain" The New York Times (Books, The New York Times on the Web), May 10, 1994 "'Passion' Listing, 1994" InternetBroadwayDatabase.com, accessed March 10, 2011 "Olivier Awards, 1997 albemarle-london.com, accessed March 10, 2011 Their last collaboration was the revue Sondheim on Sondheim. Presented on Broadway in 2010, it won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Musical Revue.Brantley, Ben. "Theater Review: 'Sondheim On Sondheim'" The New York Times, April 23, 2010Gans, Andrew. "'Red', 'Memphis', 'Bridge', 'Fences' and 'La Cage' Win Drama Desk Awards" Playbill.com, May 23, 2010

In 1992, Lapine returned to working with William Finn, and wrote the book and directed the Broadway musical Falsettos. Lapine wrote the book and Finn composed the music for A New Brain, which premiered Off-Broadway in 1998. "'A New Brain', 1998" InternetOff-BroadwayDatabase.com, accessed March 10, 2011 They later worked together on Finn's musical The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, which premiered Off-Broadway in 2005 and later moved to Broadway. The New York Times reviewer wrote of the Spelling Bee Broadway transfer that "Mr. Lapine has sharpened all the musical's elements without betraying its appealing modesty."Isherwood, Charles. "Theater Review: Six Misfits Test Wits On Bigger Platform" The New York Times, May 3, 2005 The latest Finn-Lapine work is Little Miss Sunshine, which premiered in 2011 at the La Jolla Playhouse in California.Jones, Kenneth. "Road Trip! Finn & Lapine's 'Little Miss Sunshine' Musical Begins World-Premiere Run in CA" Playbill.com, February 15, 2011

Lapine has also directed dramas, including Dirty Blonde, which ran Off-Broadway and then on Broadway in 2000. Conceived by Claudia Shear and Lapine and written by Shear with direction by Lapine, Ben Brantley called Lapine's direction "stylish and compassionate".Brantley, Ben. "Theater Review: Smitten by a Goddess, but She's No Angel" The New York Times, January 11, 2000 Lapine was nominated for the Tony Award and Drama Desk Award for Best Direction of a Play. "Complete List of 1999–2000 Tony Award Winners" Playbill.com, June 4, 2000

Lapine directed the 2012 Broadway revival of Annie.Gans, Andrew. "Broadway Revival of 'Annie' Finds Its Orphans" Playbill.com, May 15, 2012 He wrote a stage adaption of the Moss Hart autobiography Act One, which premiered on Broadway at the Lincoln Center Vivian Beaumont Theater in April 2014.Hetrick, Adam and Gioia, Michael. "'Act One', Stage Adaptation of Moss Hart's Theatrical Memoir, Opens on Broadway April 17" Playbill.com, April 17, 2014

Lapine wrote the book for and directed the new musical Flying Over Sunset. A staged singing/reading was presented at the Vineyard Arts Project (Martha's Vineyard) in August 2015. The composer is Tom Kitt and lyrics are by Michael Korie.Nadler, Holly. 'Flying Over Sunset' lifts off at the Vineyard Arts Project" Martha's Vineyard Times, September 2, 2015 The musical premiered on Broadway at the Vivian Beaumont Theater on November 11, 2021 in previews with the official opening scheduled for December 13. The production was originally scheduled to open on April 16, 2020, but was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Lincoln Center Pushes to Fall 2020 BroadwayWorld, March 20, 2020Clement, Olivia. "Carmen Cusack, Harry Hadden-Paton, and Tony Yazbeck to Lead Cast of New Broadway Musical 'Flying Over Sunset'", Playbill, August 20, 2019

In 1991, Lapine directed his first film, Impromptu, which has a screenplay by his wife, Sarah Kernochan. The story revolves around the romance of George Sand and Chopin, and stars Judy Davis and Hugh Grant.Maslin, Janet. "Review/Film: Chopin, George Sand, Liszt and Some Others" The New York Times, April 12, 1991 He followed with Life With Mikey, with Michael J. Fox for Disney. In 1993, he directed Passion, starring the original Broadway cast, for television. He directed the film version of Anne Tyler novel Earthly Possessions, starring Susan Sarandon and Stephen Dorff, for HBO in 1999.Tynan, William (March 22, 1999). "Earthly Possessions". Time. " Earthly Possessions Listing" InternetMovieDatabase. Retrieved March 10, 2011. He wrote the screenplay for Disney's film version of Into the Woods (2014), directed by Rob Marshall. He wrote and directed the film Custody in 2016 with Viola Davis, Hayden Panettiere, and Catalina Sandino Moreno.Gans, Andrew. "Raul Esparza, Viola Davis, Dan Fogler Cast in James Lapine Film 'Custody' " Playbill.com, April 30, 2015

Lapine received the 2015 Mr. Abbott Award at a special gala on October 19, 2015. The award is presented by the Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation "in recognition of a lifetime of exceptional achievement in the theatre." "James lapine Receives Lifetime Achievement Award" americantheatre.org, September 30, 2015Simoes, Monica. "Pics! Bernadette Peters, Andrew Rannells, Stephen Sondheim and More Honor James Lapine" Playbill, October 20, 2015 Lapine's book Putting It Together: How Stephen Sondheim and I Created Sunday in the Park with George was released on August 3, 2021, and reviewed by Alan Cumming in a cover story in the New York Times Book Review on August 8, 2021.