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Jeff Marx | |
|---|---|
 Marx at the58th Tony Awards | |
| Background information | |
| Born | (1970-09-10)September 10, 1970 (age 55) |
| Genres | Musical |
| Occupations | Composer |
Jeff Marx (born September 10, 1970) is an Americancomposer andlyricist ofmusicals. He is best known for creating theBroadway musicalAvenue Q with collaboratorRobert Lopez.
Marx grew up inHollywood, Florida. He attendedPine Crest School inFort Lauderdale, Florida. Following graduation, he attended theUniversity of Michigan, where he was a member of theMen's Glee Club. He also holds ajuris doctor degree from theBenjamin N. Cardozo School of Law and is a member of theNew York State Bar Association, but he does not practice law.
After passing the New York State Bar examination Marx enrolled at theBMI Lehman Engel Musical Theater Workshop in order to meet potential clients in the entertainment industry. Here, he metRobert Lopez who was also in the course.
Their first major project together, a specMuppet movie,Kermit, Prince of Denmark, which was very loosely based onHamlet, won them (as part of a tie) part of the $150,000 Kleban Award.
Together, they created the original concept forAvenue Q and wrote all the show's 21 songs.Avenue Q ran over six years on Broadway and then movedOff-Broadway where it ran another nine years before closing on April 28, 2019.[1] It continues to have various international productions.
Avenue Q won the 2004Tony Award for Best Musical. Lopez/Marx's musical score earned them a 2004Tony Award, and another Tony Award was awarded toAvenue Q bookwriterJeff Whitty. The musical's Original Cast Album, on the RCA/Victor label, was nominated for aGrammy Award.
Marx (and his parents) can be seen in the documentary filmShowBusiness: The Road to Broadway, which followed the trajectories of four Tony-nominated musicals from 2004,Avenue Q,Wicked,Taboo andCaroline, or Change. Marx, along with filmmaker Dori Berinstein and actorAlan Cumming, provided the audio commentary for the documentary's DVD.
Lopez and Marx wrote (withDebra Fordham) four songs for amusical episode of theNBC sitcomScrubs which aired on January 18, 2007. Their song "Everything Comes Down to Poo" was nominated for an Emmy Award.[2] Marx appeared in the episode as a pharmacist, dancing in the background during the song "We're Gonna Miss You Carla".The New York Times reported that the episode "energized a cast and crew that, at a point when most situation comedies are sputtering along or dead, have recently been doing some of their best work."[3] In comparing it to his work onAvenue Q, Marx said: "It took us five years to writeAvenue Q ... There were a million readings and previews and staged readings. With this thing, we wrote the songs in a week. They rehearsed for a week. They filmed it in a week, and it was done. It was liberating, and a collaborative effort that created a much more feel-good way of working."[3]
Marx co-wrote the theme song for theLogo Network's animated seriesRick & Steve: The Happiest Gay Couple in All the World and contributed additional songs for the show.
Lopez and Marx have written songs for theDisney Channel TV seriesBear in the Big Blue House andThe Book of Pooh, as well as touring stage musicals for the children's theater company Theaterworks/USA.
On December 13, 2008, Marx premiered a new song he wrote, "White Kwanzaa", on the CNN showD.L. Hughley Breaks the News.[4]
Marx was an original collaborator with Lopez andSouth Park creatorsTrey Parker andMatt Stone on the 2011 Broadway musicalThe Book of Mormon. However, Marx departed the show before its premiere. "I worked with them on it and then we split up and made a deal," Marx toldBroadway Journal in 2016. "I don't want to say more than that except that I'm extremely happy the show has been so successful!"[5]
Marx collaborated withMervyn Warren on a song called "You Have More Friends Than You Know" for theIt Gets Better organization. The song was featured on the television programGlee on April 18, 2013. Marx recorded his version of the song and made it available for download with a portion of the proceeds going to supportThe Trevor Project. Marx has also made a karaoke version of the song available for those who want to perform their own version and help spread the song's message, and has featured other versions on the song's website.
In 2015, a stage musical titledHome Street Home premiered in San Francisco. It was co-written by Marx withFat Mike of punk band NOFX, and activist and dominatrix Soma Snakeoil.[6]
Marx has also written the bookHow To Win A High School Election.
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