Henry Krieger (born February 9, 1945) is an Americanmusical theatrecomposer. He most notably wrote the music for theBroadway showsDreamgirls (1981, with lyrics and book byTom Eyen),The Tap Dance Kid (1983), andSide Show (1997).
He was nominated for theTony Award for Best Original Score for bothDreamgirls andSide Show, won theGrammy Award for Best Cast Show Album for the cast album ofDreamgirls, and received three nominations for theAcademy Award for Best Song for songs he wrote for the 2006Dreamgirlsfilm.
Born inNew York City, Krieger grew up inWhite Plains andOssining inWestchester County, New York, and attended school at theScarborough School inScarborough, New York.[1] There he played inGilbert and Sullivan'sIolanthe andRuddigore. He became interested in theatre and the dramatic arts, and he later studied creative and liberal arts at theAmerican University inWashington, D.C., andColumbia University in New York, and then he studied Graphical Arts inPontifical Xavierian University inBogotá,Colombia.[citation needed]
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While still in his twenties, Krieger began composing forOff-Off-Broadway. Eyen and Krieger first worked together on the 1975 musical version of Eyen's revueThe Dirtiest Show in Town, calledThe Dirtiest Musical in Town.[2]Nell Carter's performance in that musical inspired Krieger and Eyen to craft a musical about blackbackup singers, which they workshopped forJoe Papp but shelved when Carter dropped out in 1978 to appear inRyan's Hope. A year later, the project caught the interest of Broadway director/producer/choreographerMichael Bennett, who sponsored a workshop production ofBig Dreams, as the musical was then known, withLoretta Devine and twenty-year-old gospel singerJennifer Holliday as Carter's replacement. After several workshops, numerous rewrites and various roadblocks,[3] the show, now calledDreamgirls, came to Broadway in 1981. It was a success, and was nominated for thirteenTony Awards (including Best Score), winning six. One of its songs, "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" became a top hit, and others became popular songs. Theoriginal cast album won Krieger a Grammy Award.
Two years later, in 1983, Krieger's musicalThe Tap Dance Kid, with lyrics byRobert Lorick, opened at Broadway'sBroadhurst Theatre and went on to win two Tony Awards.
Nearly 15 years later, his next Broadway musical,Side Show, with book and lyrics byBill Russell, opened at theRichard Rodgers Theatre in 1997.Side Show received four Tony nominations, including Best Score.
In 2000, Krieger's musicalEverything's Ducky, again with Russell, opened atTheatreWorks inPalo Alto, California. The show won the 2000 Backstage West Garland Award for Best Score as well as the Will Glickman Award for Best New Bay Area Play of 2000. The musical has since had productions in St. Louis, Cincinnati, La Mirada, and Chicago. The musical was later revised and retitled toLucky Duck, debuting at theBoston Conservatory.
Krieger collaborated with Russell again onKept, based onAlexandre Dumas, fils' classic,Camille.Kept premiered at TheatreWorks in 2002. Krieger and Russell also wrote "Santa's Gonna Rock and Roll", which would serve as opening number of theRadio City Music Hall Christmas Spectacular for over a decade, and also "Take the Flame," for the opening and closing ceremonies ofGay Games IV.
In 2002, Krieger also wrote the score forThe Wonderful World of Disney's television version ofSleeping Beauty, with lyrics bySusan Birkenhead.
When thefilm version ofDreamgirls was released in 2006, the soundtrack became a number one album, and Krieger's songs from the soundtrack became hits again. Krieger wrote four new songs for the film version, and he had the distinction of beingnominated for theAcademy Award for Best Original Song three times in one year, for three of the songs: "Listen", "Love You I Do", and "Patience".
With Birkenhead, he contributed two songs toHats!, the 2007 musicalrevue of theRed Hat Society.
In 2008, he wrote the music for the musicalRomantic Poetry, which features a book and lyrics byJohn Patrick Shanley. The musical premiered atManhattan Theatre Club at New York City Center in October 2008 and featured a cast that includesJeb Brown, Jerry Dixon, Ivan Hernandez, Mark Linn Baker,Patina Miller, and Emily Swallow. According to press notes, "Connie of Woodmere has just married Fred of Newark, but her exes are back in the picture and not sure they approve of the union. Mary of Greenpoint climbs Frankie of Little Italy's fire escape with amorous erotic intent – but things go awry as she reaches for her dream."
Krieger teamed up once again with Bill Russell to write the song "We Have to Change" forSpare Some Change: NYC Artists for Barack Obama on August 11, 2008, in New York City. The song was performed byMichael-Leon Wooley.[4][5][6]
Krieger lives in New York City'sGreenwich Village with the actorRobert Joy, his partner since 1995.[7]
| Year | Category | Nominated work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Best Original Song | "Listen" | Nominated |
| "Love You I Do" | |||
| "Patience" |
| Year | Category | Nominated work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Best Original or Adapted Song | "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" | Won |
| "Listen" | Nominated | ||
| "One Night Only" |
| Year | Category | Nominated work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Best Original Music | Dreamgirls | Nominated |
| Year | Category | Nominated work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Best Original Song | "Listen" | Nominated |
| Year | Category | Nominated work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | Best Cast Show Album[8] | Dreamgirls: Original Broadway Cast Album | Won |
| 2008 | Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media[9] | "Love You I Do" | Won |
| Year | Category | Nominated work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Best Adapted Song | "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" | Won |
| "I Am Changing" | Nominated | ||
| Best Original Song | "Listen" | Won | |
| "Love You I Do" | Nominated | ||
| "Patience" |
| Year | Category | Nominated work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Best Original Song | "Listen" | Nominated |
| "Love You I Do" |
| Year | Category | Nominated work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | Best Original Score | Dreamgirls | Nominated |
| 1998 | Side Show |
