Jeff Marx

American musical composer and lyricist

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Jeff Marx

Marx at the 58th Tony Awards

Background information
Born|  (1970-09-10) September 10, 1970 (age 54)
United States
Genres| Musical
Occupations| Composer

Musical artist

Jeff Marx (born September 10, 1970) is an American composer and lyricist of musicals. He is best known for creating the Broadway musical Avenue Q with collaborator Robert Lopez.

## Early life

[edit]

Marx grew up in Hollywood, Florida. He attended Pine Crest School in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Following graduation, he attended the University of Michigan, where he was a member of the Men's Glee Club. He also holds a juris doctor degree from the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law and is a member of the New York State Bar Association, but he does not practice law.

## Musical career

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After passing the New York State Bar examination Marx enrolled at the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theater Workshop in order to meet potential clients in the entertainment industry. Here, he met Robert Lopez who was also in the course.

Their first major project together, a spec Muppet movie, Kermit, Prince of Denmark, which was very loosely based on Hamlet, won them (as part of a tie) part of the $150,000 Kleban Award.

Together, they created the original concept for Avenue Q and wrote all the show's 21 songs. Avenue Q ran over six years on Broadway and then moved Off-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 2004 Tony Award for Best Musical. Lopez/Marx's musical score earned them a 2004 Tony Award, and another Tony Award was awarded to Avenue Q bookwriter Jeff Whitty. The musical's Original Cast Album, on the RCA/Victor label, was nominated for a Grammy Award.

Marx (and his parents) can be seen in the documentary film ShowBusiness: The Road to Broadway, which followed the trajectories of four Tony-nominated musicals from 2004, Avenue Q, Wicked, Taboo and Caroline, or Change. Marx, along with filmmaker Dori Berinstein and actor Alan Cumming, provided the audio commentary for the documentary's DVD.

Lopez and Marx wrote (with Debra Fordham) four songs for a musical episode of the NBC sitcom Scrubs 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 on Avenue Q, Marx said: "It took us five years to write Avenue 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 the Logo Network's animated series Rick & Steve: The Happiest Gay Couple in All the World and contributed additional songs for the show.

Lopez and Marx have written songs for the Disney Channel TV series Bear in the Big Blue House and The 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 show D.L. Hughley Breaks the News.[4]

Marx was an original collaborator with Lopez and South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone on the 2011 Broadway musical The 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 told Broadway 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 with Mervyn Warren on a song called "You Have More Friends Than You Know" for the It Gets Better organization. The song was featured on the television program Glee 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 support The 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 titled Home Street Home premiered in San Francisco. It was co-written by Marx with Fat Mike of punk band NOFX, and activist and dominatrix Soma Snakeoil.[6]

## Other work

[edit]

Marx has also written the book How To Win A High School Election.

## References

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1. ^ "'Avenue Q' To Exit 15-Year New York Run: Closing Date Announced" December 11, 2018". Deadline. December 11, 2018. Retrieved 2020-12-20.
2. ^ "Stage Stars Nab 2007 Emmy Nominations, Broadway.com Buzz". Broadway.com. 2012-08-01. Retrieved 2013-12-05.
3. ^ a b The New York Times, Diagnosis: Acute Case of Broadway Melodium Tremens, Tuesday, January 16, 2007.
4. ^ "Jeff Marx sings Kwanzaa song "White Kwanzaa" on "D.L. Hughley Breaks The News" 12/13/08". YouTube. 2008-12-13. Archived from the original on 2021-12-12. Retrieved 2013-12-05.
5. ^ Boroff, Philip (June 6, 2016). "THE BOOK OF MORMON'S EARLY-DAY WRITER". Broadway Journal. Retrieved September 10, 2022.
6. ^ Hetrick, Adam (February 20, 2015). "Streets Hit the Stage in Home Street Home, New Musical by Avenue Q Tony Winner Jeff Marx, Premiering Tonight". Playbill. Retrieved September 10, 2022.

## External links

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* The Official Avenue Q website Archived 2006-05-28 at the Wayback Machine
* Avenue Q merchandise: cd, program, posters, etc.
* Jeff Marx at the Internet Broadway Database
* Production: Avenue Q \- Working in the Theatre Seminar video at American Theatre Wing.org, September 2003
* The Official website for the song "You Have More Friends Than You Know"
* Marx's book How To Win A High School Election Online
* Jeff Marx interviewed on a free podcast from Masterworks Broadway
* Jeff Marx at IMDb

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Tony Award for Best Original Score

1947–1975|

* Street Scene by Kurt Weill (1947)
* Kiss Me, Kate by Cole Porter (1949)
* South Pacific by Richard Rodgers (1950)
* Call Me Madam by Irving Berlin (1951)
* No Strings by Richard Rodgers (1962)
* Oliver! by Lionel Bart (1963)
* Hello, Dolly! by Jerry Herman (1964)
* Fiddler on the Roof by Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick (1965)
* Man of La Mancha by Mitch Leigh and Joe Darion (1966)
* Cabaret by John Kander and Fred Ebb (1967)
* Hallelujah, Baby! by Jule Styne, Betty Comden, and Adolph Green (1968)
* Company by Stephen Sondheim (1971)
* Follies by Stephen Sondheim (1972)
* A Little Night Music by Stephen Sondheim (1973)
* Gigi by Frederick Loewe and Alan Jay Lerner (1974)
* The Wiz by Charlie Smalls (1975)

1976–2000|

* A Chorus Line by Marvin Hamlisch and Edward Kleban (1976)
* Annie by Charles Strouse and Martin Charnin (1977)
* On the Twentieth Century by Cy Coleman, Betty Comden, and Adolph Green (1978)
* Sweeney Todd by Stephen Sondheim (1979)
* Evita by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice (1980)
* Woman of the Year by John Kander and Fred Ebb (1981)
* Nine by Maury Yeston (1982)
* Cats by Andrew Lloyd Webber and T. S. Eliot (1983)
* La Cage aux Folles by Jerry Herman (1984)
* Big River by Roger Miller (1985)
* The Mystery of Edwin Drood by Rupert Holmes (1986)
* Les Misérables by Claude-Michel Schönberg, Herbert Kretzmer, and Alain Boublil (1987)
* Into the Woods by Stephen Sondheim (1988)
* No Award (1989)
* City of Angels by Cy Coleman and David Zippel (1990)
* The Will Rogers Follies by Cy Coleman, Betty Comden, and Adolph Green (1991)
* Falsettos by William Finn (1992)
* Kiss of the Spider Woman by John Kander and Fred Ebb / The Who's Tommy by Pete Townshend (1993)
* Passion by Stephen Sondheim (1994)
* Sunset Boulevard by Andrew Lloyd Webber, Don Black, and Christopher Hampton (1995)
* Rent by Jonathan Larson (1996)
* Titanic by Maury Yeston (1997)
* Ragtime by Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens (1998)
* Parade by Jason Robert Brown (1999)
* Aida by Elton John and Tim Rice (2000)

2001–present|

* The Producers by Mel Brooks (2001)
* Urinetown by Mark Hollmann and Greg Kotis (2002)
* Hairspray by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman (2003)
* Avenue Q by Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx (2004)
* The Light in the Piazza by Adam Guettel (2005)
* The Drowsy Chaperone by Lisa Lambert and Greg Morrison (2006)
* Spring Awakening by Duncan Sheik and Steven Sater (2007)
* In the Heights by Lin-Manuel Miranda (2008)
* Next to Normal by Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey (2009)
* Memphis by David Bryan and Joe DiPietro (2010)
* The Book of Mormon by Trey Parker, Robert Lopez and Matt Stone (2011)
* Newsies by Alan Menken and Jack Feldman (2012)
* Kinky Boots by Cyndi Lauper (2013)
* The Bridges of Madison County by Jason Robert Brown (2014)
* Fun Home by Jeanine Tesori and Lisa Kron (2015)
* Hamilton by Lin-Manuel Miranda (2016)
* Dear Evan Hansen by Benj Pasek and Justin Paul (2017)
* The Band's Visit by David Yazbek (2018)
* Hadestown by Anaïs Mitchell (2019)
* A Christmas Carol by Christopher Nightingale (2020/21)
* Six by Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss (2022)
* Kimberly Akimbo by Jeanine Tesori and David Lindsay-Abaire (2023)
* Suffs by Shaina Taub (2024)
* Maybe Happy Ending by Will Aronson and Hue Park (2025)

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