Tony-Winning Composer and Lyricist William Finn Dies at 73

BroadwayWorld is saddened to report that composer and lyricist William Finn passed away yeasterday, April 7, from pneumonia. He was 73 years old. Finn is best known for his Tony-winning work on the musical Falsettos, as well as The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, A New Brain, and more.

Finn's most notable work is a trilogy of short musicals, In Trousers, March of the Falsettos, and Falsettoland. The combination of the second and third parts of the trilogy is known as Falsettos, which opened on Broadway at the John Golden Theater on April 29, 1992. The musical received seven nominations at the 46th Tony Awards, winning two: Best Original Score and Best Book of a Musical, the latter of which Winn shared with James Lapine.

Finn's other notable works include include Elegies, A Song Cycle (Lincoln Center), The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, which had a three-year run on Broadway and has been produced nationally and all over the world, and Little Miss Sunshine with James Lapine. Little Miss Sunshine began previews Off Broadway at the Second Stage Theatre in New York on October 15, 2013, and opened November 14, 2013.

Finn wrote the lyrics to Graciela Daniele's Tango Apasionado (with music by Astor Piazzolla) and, with Michael Starobin, the music to Lapine's version of The Winter's Tale. His musical Romance in Hard Times was presented at The Public Theater. He also wrote Painting You for Love's Fire, a piece commissioned and performed by The Acting Company, based on Shakepeare's sonnets.

Finn was one of a selected few composers who contributed to the song cycle Stars of David which premiered in October 2012 at the Philadelphia Theatre Company. 

He also worked on The Royal Family of Broadway, which saw its first full production in 2018 at the Barrington Stage Company with Rachel Sheinkin penning the book.

For television, Finn provided the music and lyrics for the Ace Award-winning HBO cartoon Ira Sleeps Over, Tom Thumb and Thumbelina, Pokey Little Puppy's First Christmas and, with Ellen Fitzhugh, two Brave Little Toaster cartoons. He has written for Vogue, Harper's Bazaar and The New Yorker. 

Finn was a member of the NYU Tisch Graduate Program in Musical Theater Writing faculty. He was the co-founder and artistic producer of the Musical Theatre Lab at the Barrington Stage Company in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, established in 2006.