David Zippel
Zippel in 2025
Born	David Joel Zippel (1954-05-17)May 17, 1954 (age 71) Easton, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Education	University of Pennsylvania(B.A., 1976) Harvard Law School{J.D., 1979)
Occupation	Lyricist • director • producer

David Joel Zippel (born May 17, 1954) is an Americanmusical theatre andfilmlyricist, composer, songwriter, director, and producer.

Zippel was born on May 17, 1954, inEaston, Pennsylvania, in theLehigh Valley region of easternPennsylvania. Falling in love with theater as a child, Zippel first articulated his life's ambition to become a lyricist and director in junior high school.

He attended theUniversity of Pennsylvania inPhiladelphia, where he contributed lyrics to an equity production of "a bizarre political musical" calledRotunda, which had a brief run inWashington, D.C. before he graduated with aB.A. in 1976. In 1979, Zippel obtained aJ.D. degree fromHarvard Law School. At Harvard Law School, Zippel continued to pursue his ambition of writing several pop songs with singerPamala Stanley, which appeared on her 1979 debut album,This Is Hot, and collaborating on three songs withWally Harper,Barbara Cook's musical director, whose performance of the songs atCarnegie Hall in 1980 marked Zippel's New York City theatrical debut.^[1]

• City of Angels (1989), an original musical with book byLarry Gelbart and music byCy Coleman.Tony Award for Best Musical, Best Score, Best Book, Best Actor (James Naughton) Best Featured Actress (Randy Graff), and Best Set Design (Robin Wagner);Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lyrics;Olivier Awards for Best New Musical (1994), Best Musical Revival (2015); The Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Musical (1993)
• The Goodbye Girl (1993), a musical based onNeil Simon's1977 screenplay, with music byMarvin Hamlisch. Nominated for five Tony Awards including Best Musical; Drama Desk Award nomination for Outstanding Lyrics.^[1]
• The Woman in White (2004), an adaptation of the novel byWilkie Collins, with music byAndrew Lloyd Webber, book by Charlotte Jones. The music and lyrics received a Tony Award nomination for Best Original Score. The show was nominated for fiveLaurence Olivier Awards, including Best Musical.
• Liza's at the Palace (2009), script co-written withLiza Minnelli, special lyrics with music byJohn Kander andBilly Stritch; Tony Award for Best Special Theatrical Event (2009)
• Cinderella (2020), a new adaptation of theclassic story, with music byAndrew Lloyd Webber, based on the book byEmerald Fennell

• Princesses (2004), loosely inspired byA Little Princess byFrances Hodgson Burnett. Zippel conceived and directed; book by Bill and Cheri Steinkellner, music byMatthew Wilder. The musical was produced at the5th Avenue Theatre,Seattle, Washington, in August 2005, after a "developmental" production atGoodspeed Musicals' Norma Terris Theatre in fall 2004.^[2]
• The Best Is Yet To Come: The Music of Cy Coleman,^[3] Indy Award for Best Direction (2010);^[4] Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Revue (2012)
• They're Playing His Songs: The Music of Marvin Hamlisch (2013)^[5]
• The Importance of Being Earnest (In New York) (2015)^[6]

• Spamilton: An American Parody (2016),Gerard Alessandrini's off-Broadway spoof ofLin-Manuel Miranda's Broadway musicalHamilton,^[7] Off-Broadway Alliance Award for Best Unique Theatrical Experience (2017); MAC Award for Show of the Year (2017)
• Hercules (2019), an adaptation of theDisney animated film of the same name, with music byAlan Menken.

• In 1994, Zippel contributed lyrics toRichard Rich'sThe Swan Princess, with music byLex de Azevedo, and provided the singing voice of Jean-Bob the Frog.

• In 1997, he wrote the lyrics forDisney'sHercules, with music byAlan Menken, including the song "Go the Distance", which received anAcademy Award nomination forBest Original Song.

• In 1998, he wrote lyrics for Disney'sMulan, with music byMatthew Wilder. The music and lyrics received anAcademy Award nomination forBest Musical or Comedy Score and anAnnie Award forMusic in an Animated Feature Production.

• In 2008, he appeared in the filmFinding Kraftland.

• Also in 2008,Pamela's First Musical, written with Coleman andWendy Wasserstein, based on Wasserstein's children's book, received its world premiere in a concert at Town Hall inNew York City on May 18, 2008.^[8][9]

• In 2011, Zippel wrote the lyrics to the song "Star Spangled Man", which is featured in the filmCaptain America: The First Avenger.Alan Menken composed the music for the song, which was an affectionate send-up ofIrving Berlin songs from the 1940s.^[10][11]

• In 1997, Zippel composed the theme song forVeronica's Closet, a sit-com starringKirstie Alley.

• David Zippel at theInternet Broadway Database
• David Zippel atIMDb
• David Zippel profile at Filmreference

• 1954 births
• Living people
• American lyricists
• American musical theatre lyricists
• Animation composers
• Annie Award winners
• Broadway composers and lyricists
• Easton Area High School alumni
• Harvard Law School alumni
• Jewish American songwriters
• Musicians from Easton, Pennsylvania
• Songwriters from Pennsylvania
• Tony Award winners
• University of Pennsylvania alumni
• Walt Disney Animation Studios people

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