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ROBERT MITCHELL

Robert Mitchell is an American composer, playwright and lyricist. He is a member of ASCAP, The BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theater Workshop, The Dramatists Guild of America, and The Writers Guild of America.

EARLY LIFE

Robert Mitchell grew up in Chicago where he received his first musical theatre production, "This is your life, Joe Mazzarella", while attending Columbia College. He also attended The University of Illinois and did his graduate work in Music Composition at Northwestern University. Some of his teachers and main influences were William Russo (Columbia College), Alan Stout (Northwestern University) and Hugo Weisgall (Julliard).

CAREER

Robert Mitchell is an award winning Playwright, Composer and Lyricist. His musical VINCENT, based on the life and letters of van Gogh, won ‘Best Musical’ Honors in 2003 and played at The Lucille Lortel Theatre. The New Yorker referred to it as an “Off-Broadway hit”, The NY Times said “it is infused with a stubborn nobility”, while The New Yorker wrote, “the story is unforced, the lyrics are good and sometimes funny, with as much to sing as to say”. His musical, CAPONE, starring Danny Aiello, began at The Lynn Redgrave Theatre and was revived by B’way Producer Rose Caiola at The MCC Theatre. DIMAGGIO - THE MAN BEHIND THE MYTH, was performed at Playwrights Horizons. His musical THEY ALL KNEW played at The York Theatre and received critical acclaim from The New York Times, Variety and The New Yorker – “from the creator of the 2003 hit ‘Vincent’, a highly pleasing musical with frothy melodies and complex harmonies”. FRANKENSTEIN, his retelling of the Mary Shelley novel from the monster’s point of view, featured Brian Charles Rooney as Victor Frankenstein in the NYC production, and later toured throughout Europe. His opera musical, RAPPACCINI’S DAUGHTER, based on the Nathaniel Hawthorne short story, has been produced in New York, New Jersey, San Francisco, Las Vegas, and was also part of a European Tour. DOROTHY DANDRIDGE, his musical about the trail-blazing, African-American star of the 50s, played at Theater 80 and Amas Theatre in NYC. BAGS, based on the lives of New York’s homeless, was produced Off-Broadway by actress/producer Lee Grant. THE LONE STAR STATE, an outdoor musical drama starring Marilyn Maye, was commissioned by and performed at the 3,000 seat Moody State Theatre in Galveston, Texas. A recording of this work was made in London with the London Philharmonic Orchestra. ONE MAN, TWO MINDS and LA TRISTEZZA are one act dramatic song cycles commissioned by a grant from Meet the Composer, performed live on WQXR Radio (NYC) and later staged at Soho Rep. LIFESONGS - a musical revue, was produced at the Bruno Walter Auditorium at Lincoln Center.

Other works include CHILDREN AND ART - performed at the Actors Theatre of Louisville’s Festival of One Act Plays. THIS IS YOUR LIFE, JOE MAZZARELLA - a one act jazz-rock opera performed at the Free Theatre in Chicago. FRIENDS AND LOVERS, based on Patricia Ryan poems, was performed at La Mama’s.

For dance, he was commissioned by The Chicago Ballet to write a latin-jazz-rock version of the CARMEN BALLET, and MONAHAN – with chamber orchestra and mixed voices, was performed by the Nikolais Dance Company.

In film and radio he has written the scores for BUT ONLY FOR A DAY, a documentary broadcast on PBS TV, SOUTHERN HEART, a full length feature which premiered at Robert De Niro’s Tribeca Film Center. IN SOUTH AFRICA, a documentary filmed in Africa, and THE WISE MAN, an after school PBS Radio Broadcast.

He is also the author of the play THE MAFIA-CAMORRA WAR - a Mafioso retelling of Shakespeare’s “King Lear”, performed at The Actors Studio, and has written screenplays entitled MOMMA’S BOY, about the life of actor Danny Aiello, as well as WOODY’S 9-60 - a dark, allegorical comedy.

Also active as a Conductor/Music Director, Robert Mitchell has conducted the Chicago Civic Orchestra, the Chicago Jazz Ensemble Orchestra, a recording of the “Carmen Ballet”, and in London, members of the BBC Orchestra for his orchestral arrangement of the recording for “Hello Dolly”. Among other shows, he was the Conductor and Music Director for seven European Tours of “The Best of Andrew Lloyd Webber”, traveling throughout Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Italy, Sweden, Norway and Denmark.

As a musician, he was a guest soloist with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, played in six Broadway shows, and performed for such luminaries as The Queen of England, Prince Charles, Princess Diana, Jackie Kennedy, Presidents Bush, Clinton and Reagan.

FUTURE WORK

Mr. Mitchell has been commissioned to write both the 'stage musical' version and screenplay for AZUSA – about the 1906 religious revival in Los Angeles that paved the way for the Pentecostal Movement that is today, 700 million strong worldwide and still growing.

REFERENCES

Gene Kilik, President of the Outer Circle Critics Awards for "They All Knew"

-The New Yorker review of "They All Knew"

-The New York Times review of "They All Knew"

-Backstage review of They All Knew

-The New Yorker review of “Vincent”

-Lawrence Van Gelder of The New York Times of "Vincent"

-Frederick M. Winship, UPI - "Vincent"

-Esther Tolkoff, BackStage - "Vincent"

-OGGI (Italian publication/New York Edition) - "Dimaggio"

-reviewed by Mario Fratti (co-author of the musical 'Nine')

-Martin Denton of NY Theatre of DiMaggio-The Man Behind the Myth

-Jerry Tallmer of New York Post

-Martin Denton of NY Theatre

-Bill Zakariasen of New York Post - "Rappaccini's Daughter"

-Jerry Tallmer of New York Post - "Frankenstien"

-Judith Jarosz of NY Theatre.com - "Frankenstein"

EXTERNAL LINKS

-Robert Mitchell's Website: robertmitchellmusicandtheatre.com

-IMBD

- Huffington Post Interview: "Danny Aiello - Singing, Selecting Roles, and Taking On a Musical Al Capone"

-Blacks on Wall Street