Sheldon Harnick Explained

Sheldon Harnick
Background:non_performing_personnel
Birth Name:Sheldon Mayer Harnick
Birth Date:30 April 1924
Birth Place:Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Death Place:New York City, New York, U.S.
Genre:Musical theater
Occupation:Lyricist
Years Active:1949–2023

Sheldon Mayer Harnick (April 30, 1924 – June 23, 2023) was an American lyricist and songwriter best known for his collaborations with composer Jerry Bock on musicals such as Fiorello!, She Loves Me, and Fiddler on the Roof.

Early life

Sheldon Mayer Harnick was born to American Jewish parents Esther (Kanter) and Harry M. Harnick, a dentist, in Chicago on April 30, 1924.[1] [2] He grew up in the Chicago neighborhood of Portage Park.[3] He took an interest in music from an early age, playing the violin as a child. He began writing music while a student at Carl Schurz High School.[4]

Musical career

After serving in the U.S. Army, Harnick graduated from the Northwestern University School of Music (1946–1949) with a Bachelor of Music degree, and worked with various orchestras in the Chicago area. He then moved to New York City and wrote for many musicals and revues.[5] He was friends with Charlotte Rae from college, and he went to see her one night at the Village Vanguard where she was singing a revue. Yip Harburg, who was one of Harnick's idols, heard she was singing a song of his and decided to come. He told Harnick that he enjoyed his writing, and urged him to continue. Harburg advised Harnick to work with a large number of composers. He also counseled him to write character and comic songs, not ballads, for Broadway. Harnick’s composition "The Merry Minuet" was popularized by The Kingston Trio.[6]

Around 1956, Harnick met Jerry Bock, forming "what is arguably the most important musical partnership of the '60s."[7] Their first musical was The Body Beautiful, running for only 60 performances in 1958, but Fiorello! (1959) ran for 795 performances and won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama as well as the Tony Award for Best Musical. Fiddler on the Roof (1964) "became one of the most cherished of all Broadway musicals."[7] Other Broadway successes for Harnick included She Loves Me (1963), The Apple Tree (1966) and The Rothschilds (1970).[1]

Harnick wrote the libretto for the opera Coyote Tales, with music by Henry Mollicone, which received its world premiere at the Lyric Opera of Kansas City in March 1998.[8] He wrote the book, music and lyrics to the musical Dragons, which was performed in 2003 at the Luna Stage in Montclair, New Jersey.[9] He wrote the lyrics and co-wrote the book with Norton Juster for the musical The Phantom Tollbooth, based on the book by Juster. The musical premiered at the Kennedy Center in 2007.[10]

Harnick released the album Sheldon Harnick: Hidden Treasures (1949–2013) in 2014, which includes recordings of song demos and pieces cut from Broadway shows from his private collection.[11] In 2020, Harnick worked on a musical adaptation of the Soviet play The Dragon by Evgeny Schwartz.[12]

Personal life

Harnick was married three times. His 1950 marriage to Mary Boatner was annulled in 1957. His marriage to Elaine May lasted only a year, from 1962 until their divorce in 1963.[1] In 1965, he married Margery Grey. They had two children and lived in an apartment at The Beresford, a building on the Upper West Side of Manhattan.[4] [13] Harnick died there on June 23, 2023, aged 99.[1]

Stage productions

Honors and awards

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Sheldon Harnick, Famed 'Fiddler on the Roof' Lyricist, Dies at 99. The Hollywood Reporter. June 23, 2023. June 23, 2023. Koseluk. Chris.
  2. Web site: Harnick, Sheldon 1924– . www.encyclopedia.com.
  3. Web site: Words into Song. Northwestern. February 12, 2016.
  4. Web site: Berkvist . Robert . Sheldon Harnick, 'Fiddler on the Roof' Lyricist, Dies at 99 . . June 23, 2023 . June 23, 2023. limited.
  5. Web site: Biography of Sheldon Harnick . MTI Shows. March 2, 2012.
  6. Web site: Sheldon Harnick Approaching 90: Fiddler Lyricist Recalls a Mentor - Playbill.com . November 7, 2013 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140222211318/http://www.playbill.com/features/article/183726-Sheldon-Harnick-Approaching-90-Fiddler-Lyricist-Recalls-a-Mentor/pg2?tsrc=nx . February 22, 2014 .
  7. Web site: Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick. Broadway:The American Musical. PBS.org. February 26, 2023.
  8. http://henrymollicone.com/catalog/coyote-tales/ "'Coyote Tales' listing"
  9. Jones, Kenneth."Sheldon Harnick's Musical, 'Dragons', Roars in NJ Starting Nov. 13; Harnick in the House for Opening", playbill.com, November 13, 2003
  10. http://www.kennedy-center.org/events/?event=KITBB "'The Phantom Tollbooth' listing"
  11. Web site: At 90, 'Fiddler' Lyricist Tells His Story. April 30, 2014. NPR.org. June 1, 2020.
  12. Web site: Checking in With Tony Winner Sheldon Harnick, Co-Creator of Fiddler on the Roof, Fiorello!, More. Gans. Andrew. April 24, 2020. Playbill. June 1, 2020.
  13. News: Home Hits the Right Notes of Comfort and Beauty. November 1, 2020. The New York Times. RE5. Kaufman. Joanne. June 23, 2023. limited.
  14. News: Tony-winning lyricist Sheldon Harnick 'Fiddler on the Roof' creator, dies at 99. Associated Press. Kennedy. Mark. June 23, 2023. June 23, 2023.
  15. News: Sheldon Harnick. Internet Broadway Database. The Broadway League. June 26, 2023.
  16. Leeds, Ryan. "Interview With Sheldon Harnick: A "Fiddler" at the York" manhattandigest.com, February 11, 2014
  17. Web site: Sheldon Harnick. Internet Off-Broadway Database. Lucille Lortel Foundation. June 23, 2023.
  18. Web site: Her First Roman - Broadway Creative Team. BroadwayWorld. June 26, 2023.
  19. Web site: Sheldon Harnick biography. Writers Theatre. June 26, 2023.
  20. Web site: Fiorello!, by Jerome Weidman, George Abbott, Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick . Winners The 1960 Pulitzer Prize Winner in Drama . 26 June 2023 . en.
  21. Web site: Sheldon Harnick. Internet Broadway Database. March 2, 2012.
  22. Web site: The University of Pennsylvania Glee Club Award of Merit Recipients . https://web.archive.org/web/20120209191432/http://www.dolphin.upenn.edu/gleeclub/MEMBERS_merit.html. February 9, 2012.
  23. Web site: Past Festivals – William Inge Center for the Arts . 2007 - Jerry Bock (1928-2010) & Sheldon Harnick .
  24. Web site: Pincus-Roth . Zachary . Inge Festival Honoring Fiddler Writers Bock, Harnick and Stein Kicks Off April 25 . . 26 June 2023 . April 25, 2007 . Jerry Bock, Sheldon Harnick and Joseph Stein, the writing team behind Fiddler on the Roof, will be honored at the 26th annual William Inge Theatre Festival in Independence, KS, which kicks off April 25..
  25. Web site: Hetrick. Adam. Bock and Harnick Receive Hammerstein Award Nov. 23; Cook, Kuhn, Kudisch and More Will Sing. Playbill. November 23, 2009. March 2, 2012. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20121013012808/http://www.playbill.com/news/article/134755-Bock-and-Harnick-Receive-Hammerstein-Award-Nov-23-Cook-Kuhn-Kudisch-and-More-Will-Sing. October 13, 2012.
  26. Web site: The 2016 Tony Awards: Winners . June 14, 2016.
  27. News: Sheldon Harnick, Northwestern Alum and Broadway Legend, Dead at 99. Trotter. Kerry. June 23, 2023. June 26, 2023. Northwestern University.
  28. Web site: Sheldon Harnick Songwriters Hall of Fame . July 16, 2022 . www.songhall.org.

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