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Scott Witman | |
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 Wittman in 2011 | |
| Born | Scott Wittman (1954-11-16)November 16, 1954 (age 71) |
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| Years active | 1995–present |
Scott Wittman (born November 16, 1954) is an American director, lyricist, composer, and writer forBroadway, concerts, and television. He is best known for his collaborations with composerMarc Shaiman on works such asHairspray andSmash. Wittman has received twoTony Awards nominations, winning one, along with twoGrammy wins, onePrimetime Emmy Award from four nominations, and anAcademy Award nomination.
Wittman was raised inNanuet, New York, graduated fromNanuet Senior High School in 1972 and attendedEmerson College inBoston for two years before leaving to pursue a career in musical theatre in New York City. While directing a show for aGreenwich Village club he met songwriter and composerMarc Shaiman, and the two became collaborators and professional partners. While Shaiman wrote for television shows, includingSaturday Night Live, Wittman directed concerts for such artists asBette Midler,Christine Ebersole,Raquel Welch,Dame Edna Everage, andLypsinka, among others.[1]
In 2002, Shaiman and Wittman wrote the music and lyrics for the musicalHairspray, which opened on Broadway in that year after a try-out atSeattle's5th Avenue Theater. The show was an adaptation of the 1989John Watersfilm and starredMarissa Jaret Winokur as Tracy Turnblad withHarvey Fierstein as Edna Turnblad. The show was a box office success, selling $1.7 million in tickets on its first day of sales.[2] The production opened to critical acclaim, with specific praise for Wittman andShaiman's score, with theNew York Times claiming it is full of "canny, deliriously tuneful songs."[3] The pair won theDrama Desk Award for Outstanding Lyrics, theTony Award for Best Original Score,[4] and aGrammy Award. The production also won the 2002Tony Award for Best Musical, and ran for seven years. In 2011, the musical was performed atNanuet Senior High School, where Wittman attended high school.[5]
In addition toHairspray, Wittman conceived, wrote lyrics for, and directedMartin Short: Fame Becomes Me and conceived and directedMatters of the Heart, a solo concert byPatti LuPone in 2000.[6] For the latter, the New York Times praised Wittman's staging, noting "the results are often sublime, occasionally odd and always intriguing."[7]
From 2005 to 2008, Shaiman and Wittman worked onCatch Me If You Can, a musical adaptation of the 2002Steven Spielbergfilm, together withTerrence McNally. The production had its regional tryout in 2009 atSeattle's5th Avenue Theatre, the same theatre where the pair premieredHairspray. The show opened to generally positive reviews, though some Seattle critics noted it needed work.[8][9] The musical opened on Broadway in April 2011 to mixed reviews, closing later that year after 32 previews and 170 performances.[10]
In 2010, Wittman's lyrics in original songs for the82nd Academy Awards was nominated for thePrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Special, marking his first Emmy nomination.[11]
They again worked together onCharlie and the Chocolate Factory the Musical, which premiered in 2013 on the West End at theTheatre Royal Drury Lane to positive reviews.The Guardian called it "a lavish bonanza of a musical", and it was nominated for the 2014Laurence Olivier Award for Outstanding New Musical.[12] The production was then reworked under new directorJack O'Brien, and opened at theLunt-Fontanne Theatre on Broadway on April 23, 2017, starringChristian Borle.[13]
In 2013, Wittman and Marc Shaiman co-wrote the score forBombshell, a musical about Marilyn Monroe within the context of the NBC television showSmash.[14] A soundtrack was released later that same year, and Wittman received his second and thirdPrimetime Emmy Award nominations forOutstanding Original Music and Lyrics for "Let Me Be Your Star" and "Hang the Moon." The former was also nominated for the 2013Grammy Award for Best Song Written for Visual Media.
Wittman and Shaiman's collaboration transferred to film in 2018, writing nine original songs forMary Poppins Returns.[15] He and Shaiman were nominated for theAcademy Award for Best Original Song for the song "The Place Where Lost Things Go".
In 2021, Wittman and Shaiman wrote a song entitled "Save the City" for theMarvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) in-universe Broadway production, titledRogers: The Musical featured in the first episode ofHawkeye, "Never Meet Your Heroes".[16] It was released as a single on November 24, the day the episode became available onDisney+.[17]
In 2021, Wittman and Shaiman wrote the music and lyrics for a newmusical adaptation ofSome Like It Hot, which was set to premiere at theCadillac Palace Theatre in Chicago, but was cancelled due to theCOVID-19 pandemic. It eventually premiered on Broadway in 2022 at theShubert Theatre, with a book byAmber Ruffin andMatthew Lopez. The production starredJ. Harrison Ghee,Christian Borle andAdrianna Hicks, directed byCasey Nicholaw. The show opened to critical acclaim, with Shaiman and Wittman's score garnering praise--Deadline called their work "a modern sensibility that knows what it likes and what it wants to do."[18][19] The show received 13 2023Tony Award nominations, includingBest Original Score for Wittman and Shaiman andBest Musical, winning four. The show's original cast album won the 2023Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album, Wittman's second win.
In 2023, Wittman andMarc Shaiman wrote original songs, alongsidePasek and Paul for the TV seriesOnly Murders in the Building. Variety called their collaboration an "unforgettable moment,"[20] and the four won the 2024Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics for their song, "Which of the Pickwick Triplets Did It?"
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Greg the Bunny | Main Theme Composer | 2 episodes | [21] |
| 2007 | Hairspray | Lyricist | Feature film | |
| 2009 | 63rd Tony Awards | Arranger | ||
| 2012 | Smash | Lyricist | 15 episodes | |
| 2016 | Wiener-dog | Feature film | ||
| Hairspray Live! | NBC live taped special | |||
| 2018 | Mary Poppins Returns | Feature Film | ||
| 2020 | Bombshell in Concert | Concert film | ||
| 2023 | Only Murders in the Building | Lyricist, co-writer | Hulu series |
| Year | Title | Role | Venue | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Patti LuPone on Broadway | Director, Conceiver | Broadway,Walter Kerr Theatre | [22] |
| 2000 | Matters of the Heart | Broadway,Vivian Beaumont Theatre | ||
| 2002 | Hairspray | Lyricist | Broadway,Neil Simon Theatre | |
| 2006 | Martin Short: Fame Becomes Me | Director, Conceiver, lyricist | Broadway,Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre | |
| 2011 | Catch Me If You Can | Lyricist | Broadway,Neil Simon Theatre | |
| 2017 | Charlie and the Chocolate Factory | Broadway,Lunt-Fontanne Theatre | ||
| 2022 | The Music Man | Additional lyrics | Broadway,Winter Garden Theatre | |
| Some Like It Hot | Lyricist | Broadway,Shubert Theatre | ||
| 2025 | Smash | Broadway,Imperial Theatre |
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