ABINGDON THEATRE COMPANY
(CHAD AUSTIN, ARTISTIC DIRECTOR)
TO HONOR TONY AWARD WINNER DAVID ZIPPEL
WITH INAUGURAL ABINGDON LEGACY AWARD
AT 30th ANNIVERSARY SEASON BENEFIT GALA
MONDAY EVENING, OCTOBER 24, 2022
AT EDISON BALLROOM
(240 WEST 47th STREET)
Save the Date! Abingdon Theatre Company (Chad Austin, Artistic Director) announced today they will honor Tony Award winner David Zippel (City of Angels, Hercules) with the first annual Legacy Award for Mr. Zippel’s contributions to the theatre community as the company celebrates its 30th anniversary season at a Benefit Gala to be held on Monday, October 24th, 2022 at Edison Ballroom (240 West 47th Street). The evening will also honor ATC Board President DMW Greer for his commitment to the company in celebration of the anniversary. The evening will include cocktails, dinner and a live performance to celebrate the diverse works of Mr. Zippel. The evening’s performance will be directed by Chad Austin and include choreography by Deidre Goodwin and music direction by Nick Wilders. Casting for the performance portion of the evening will be announced at a later date.
“I am incredibly humbled to celebrate Abingdon’s 30th anniversary surrounded by massive talents like David Zippel; his influence on me as an artist and now a friend is immeasurable,” says Austin, Abingdon Theatre Company’s Artistic Director. “We also look forward to celebrating ATC’s Board President DMW Greer, for his leadership, commitment, and passion during his tenure”
Tickets can be purchased here. For information regarding sponsorships, please email kmason@abingdontheatre.org to learn more. Further details will be forthcoming.
David Zippel is a lyricist and director. His lyrics have won him the Tony Award, two Academy Award nominations, two Grammy Award nominations, and three Golden Globe Award nominations. His songs appear on over twenty-five million CDs around the world, and have been performed by many great singers including Stevie Wonder, Christina Aguilera, Mel Torme, Ricky Martin, Cleo Laine, Barbara Cook Barbra Streisand and Nancy LaMott.
He made his Broadway debut with City of Angels (music by Cy Coleman, book by Larry Gelbart), for which he received the Tony Award, the New York Drama Critics Circle Award, the Drama Desk Award and (in London) the Olivier Award and Evening Standard Award. He also wrote the lyrics to the Broadway musical The Goodbye Girl (music by Marvin Hamlisch, book by Neil Simon) for which he received an Outer Critics Circle nomination. With Andrew Lloyd Webber and bookwriter Charlotte Jones, David wrote the lyrics for The Woman in White for which he was nominated for the Olivier Award and for a Tony Award. He has written the lyrics for Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Cinderella with a new book by Emerald Fennell which is scheduled to open on the West End the summer of 2021. A stage adaptation of Disney’s animated feature Hercules, which he wrote with eight-time Oscar winning composer Alan Menken was produced by The Public Theater and opened to enthusiastic reviews at The Delacorte Theater in Central Park in 2019.
The Disney’s animated film Disney’s feature film Hercules premiered in 1997. Michael Bolton recorded “Go the Distance” from that score, which was a #1 record and nominated for an Academy Award and Golden Globe. With Matthew Wilder, he wrote the songs for Disney’s animated feature Mulan, which earned him his second Academy Award nomination. “Reflection,” from Mulan, was recorded by Christina Aguilera and is featured on her multi-platinum debut album. Christina and David collaborated again with Todd Chapman to write the song “We’re A Miracle,” which was featured as the end title song for Pokemon: The First Movie, and on its #1 soundtrack album. With Mervyn Warren he wrote the end title for the Jennifer Lopez movie The Wedding Planner. His lyrics for The Swan Princess, an animated feature with music by Lex De Azevedo, were nominated for a Golden Globe Award. With composer Andrew Lloyd Webber, he wrote the songs for the London and Broadway musical The Woman in White. With Alan Menken, David wrote the acclaimed USO sequence, “Star Spangled Man With a Plan,” for Captain America. With Liza Minnelli, David wrote the script for Liza’s at The Palace, which won a 2010 Tony Award for Best Special Entertainment. The show was recorded PBS after a run in Las Vegas.
He has contributed lyrics to the revues A…My Name Is Alice, Diamonds and, with composer Doug Katsaros, wrote the musical comedy Just So. With Wally Harper he wrote numerous songs for Barbara Cook, including “It’s Better With A Band,” which became the title song of a hit revue showcasing David’s lyrics. It’s Better With A Band has been presented Off-Broadway, at the Donmar Warehouse in London, and at the Prince Music Theater in Philadelphia.
In early 2003, Williamson Music began representing Zippel’s music publishing interests and the administration of his catalogue, In Your Ear Music. In the same year, he completed Princesses, his own adaptation of the classic children’s novel A Little Princess (music by Matthew Wilder, book by Cheri Steinkellner and Bill Steinkellner). He additionally has worked on Buzz!, a musical extravaganza about the life of Busby Berkeley (music by Alan Menken, book by Larry Gelbart); Pamela’s First Musical, based on Wendy Wasserstein’s children’s book (music by Cy Coleman, book by Wasserstein); N, the story of Emperor Napoleon and his Josephine (music by Coleman, book by Gelbart); and Lysistrata: Sex and the City State (Adaptation by Gelbart, music by Menken).
David’s credits as a director include: Princesses at The NAMT Festival, Goodspeed Musicals and The Fifth Avenue Theater in Seattle; The Best Is Yet To Come: The Music of Cy Coleman at The Rubicon Theater, for which he won a 2010 Indy Award for his direction, and Off Broadway at 59E59TH Theaters, which won the 2012 Drama Desk Award for Best Musical Revue; Pamela’s First Musical at The NAMT Festival; Elaine Paige at The American Songbook at Lincoln Center; and The Goodbye Girl at The Marriott Lincolnshire Theater. In 2013 he conceived and directed They’re Playing His Songs: The Music of Marvin Hamlisch, which was produced at The McCallum Theater in Palm Desert and played The Cape Playhouse in the summer of 2013.
A graduate of Harvard Law School, David is delighted not to practice law.
Abingdon Theatre Company is dedicated to developing and producing brave, new American work by emerging and established artists. The company provides a safe home where playwrights, directors and actors can collaborate within a supportive and nurturing environment. We search for stories about the human experience that reflect our social, political, historical and cultural diversity. We are acutely aware of the theatre’s power to unite disparate population groups through stories about common human interests, and we strive to shed light on a variety of perspectives.