Applause - Broadway Creative Team

Betty Comden, born in Brooklyn in 1917, was an American lyricist, screenwriter, and actress. She is best known for her work with Adolph Green, with whom she collaborated on numerous musicals and films. Comden and Green met in 1938 while both were studying at New York University, and began writing together shortly thereafter. Their first Broadway credit was for On the Town, a musical about three sailors on a 24-hour leave in New York City. The show premiered in 1944 and was a huge success, cementing Comden and Green's place in the world of musical theater. Comden and Green went on to ... read more Adolph Green was an American lyricist and playwright who was born on December 2, 1914, in the Bronx, New York. He was the son of Hungarian Jewish immigrants. Green's father was a successful businessman, and his mother was a homemaker. Green attended New York University, where he studied English and drama. Green began his career in show business as a performer in the late 1930s. He appeared in several Broadway productions, including "The New Yorkers" and "Two for the Show." However, it was his work as a lyricist that would make him famous. Green's first major success as a lyricist came in ... read more Ken Billington is a highly acclaimed lighting designer with over 50 years of experience in the theatre industry. Born in 1944 in Long Island, New York, Billington attended Hofstra University where he studied theatre and lighting design. After graduating, he began his career as a lighting designer in the Off-Broadway scene in the 1960s, eventually making his way to Broadway. Billington has designed the lighting for over 100 Broadway productions, including the original productions of Sweeney Todd, Chicago, and The Drowsy Chaperone. He has been nominated for the Tony Award for Best Lighting Design 21 times, winning three times for his ... read more Philip J. Lang was a musician, composer and music educator who taught at the graduate schools of music at the University of Michigan and the University of Colorado and was the orchestrator of more than 50 Broadway musicals including My Fair Lady and Camelot (with Robert Russell Bennett); Annie Get Your Gun; Applause; Hello, Dolly!; Carnival; and 42nd Street. Mr. Lang was an orchestrator for the Metropolitan Opera and a frequent musical arranger for television including Hallmark Productions, David Susskind, Radio City Music Hall and "The Tonight Show." Mel's long career as a composer includes scores for 30 musicals, 47 plays, and 3 operas. His musical Dr. Seuss’ How the Grinch Stole Christmas returned in 2019 for its yearly national tour, with two companies playing 11 cities in the U.S. and the U.K. Canceled for 2020 by the pandemic, The Grinch, which appeared on Broadway during the 2006 and 2007 seasons, was last seen in New York for a month-long run at Madison Square Garden Theater in 2018. It has also been running for 21 consecutive sold-out seasons at the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego. ... read more