Smile - Broadway Creative Team

Howard Ashman followed a distinguished career as a musical comedy librettist, lyricist, playwright, and director with his animated feature film debut, Disney's critically and popularly celebrated The Little Mermaid. Ashman received the 1989 Academy Award® for Best Song for "Under the Sea," written with his longtime collaborator, Alan Menken. Ashman and Menken garnered a total of six awards for The Little Mermaid, including two Academy Awards®, two Golden Globe Awards®, and two Grammy Awards®. Born in Baltimore, Ashman received his education at Goddard College and Boston University, and earned an MFA from Indiana University. He moved to New York in 1974 ... read more Hamlisch, one of only eleven EGOT winners in the history of the entertainment industry, was awarded three Oscars, four Grammys, four Emmys, a Tony and three Golden Globe awards for his work. On Broadway, he wrote the music for A Chorus Line - which received the Pulitzer Prize - as well as They’re Playing Our Song, The Goodbye Girl and Sweet Smell of Success. He is the composer of more than forty motion picture scores including his Oscar-winning score and song for The Way We Were and his adaptation of Scott Joplin’s music for The Sting, for which he received a ... read more Howard Ashman followed a distinguished career as a musical comedy librettist, lyricist, playwright, and director with his animated feature film debut, Disney's critically and popularly celebrated The Little Mermaid. Ashman received the 1989 Academy Award® for Best Song for "Under the Sea," written with his longtime collaborator, Alan Menken. Ashman and Menken garnered a total of six awards for The Little Mermaid, including two Academy Awards®, two Golden Globe Awards®, and two Grammy Awards®. Born in Baltimore, Ashman received his education at Goddard College and Boston University, and earned an MFA from Indiana University. He moved to New York in 1974 ... read more Pick a Stephen Sondheim Broadway premiere in the last three decades – say, Sweeney Todd or Sunday in the Park with George or Into the Woods. Who was at the podium on opening night? If you guessed Paul Gemignani, you got it right. In fact, Maestro Gemignani has been a distinguished and constant presence in musical theater for the last forty years. In 2001 he was honored with a Special Lifetime Achievement Tony Award®. Significantly, for an artist so closely associated with Sondheim, Gemignani made his Broadway debut as a conductor in Sondheim’s Follies (1971), taking over the role of music ... read more William Ivey Long has over 70 Broadway design credits in addition to his work in television, film, opera and ballet. Mr. Long has won 6 Tony Awards, with 15 nominations. He was inducted into the Theatre Hall of Fame in January 2006 and recently completed a 4-year elected term as Chairman of the American Theatre Wing. Ramin was an orchestrator, arranger, and composer, who won an Oscar and a Grammy for his work on the film version of West Side Story. He was also one of the three orchestrators on the original Broadway production of the show. Though West Side Story may be the most notable, Ramin also worked on many other Broadway shows such as Wonderful Town (1953), Say, Darling (1958), Gypsy (1959), The Girls Against the Boys (1959), Vintage '60 (1960), Wildcat (1960), The Conquering Hero (1961), Kwamina (1961), I Can Get It for You Wholesale (1962), A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to ... read more Mr. Schmidt has designed nearly 60 Broadway shows and dozens of regional productions for the Guthrie, The Old Globe, The Alley Theatre, and Seattle Rep, among others. He has three Drama Desk Awards (Into the Woods, Veronica's Room, Over Here!), three Tony nominations (The Front Page, Into the Woods, 42nd Street), an Obie, and many other awards.