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| Mr. Richards wide ranging work as an artist is rooted in the
confluence of African American Musical Idiom and Theatrical Form. Born
in New York to a family of theatre artists and musicians, he made his
professional acting debut at the age of 6 at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre
Center's National Playwrights Conference, and his Broadway debut
originating the role of Sylvester in the first Broadway Production of
August Wilson’s Ma Rainey's Black Bottom. He received a B. A. from Yale University where he studied with Anthony Davis, and Rob Kapilow (among many others). Upon returning to New York, he took private class study in orchestration with Don Sebesky and received his M. F. A. from New York University¹s Tisch School of The Arts Graduate musical theater writing program where he currently teaches on the faculty. Opera and Musical Theatre works include; Death and The Fool (composer/co-librettist) a chamber opera based on the play by Hugo Von Hoffmanstal commissioned by The Pacific Jewish Theatre and grants from Meet The Composer and Goethe House, Sanctuary D. C. (composer) a hip-hop musical about the homeless in Washington D. C. which received a Helen Hayes nomination as Best Musical, Coyote Goes Salmon Fishing (composer/story collaboration) directed by Molly Smith at Perseverance Theatre and produced by Stuart Ostrow in Houston which received a 2001 Frederick Loewe Award, and Charlie Crosses The Nation, a jazz opera set among big band and bebop musicians immediately following World War II (composer/librettist ); a current project for which he won a Jonathan Larson Award. Scott Richards will direct a new production of Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess with Opera Delaware in May 2005. Works for Children include musical commissions from Theatreworks U. S. A.; Sundiata! The Lion King of Mali (composer/lyricist/orchestrations) and Corduroy (composer/lyricist/orchestrations), a musical based on the book by Don Freeman which is currently touring The United States, and Orchestrations for Island of The Blue Dolphins by Jennifer Geiring and Beth Blatt, and Junie B. Jones, by Zina Goldrich and Marcy Heisler. His playscores have been heard at resident theatres around the country including The Public Theatre, The Kennedy Center, The Old Globe, The Alliance, Madison Rep... Highlights include the world premiere of Lee Blessings¹s Cobb at The Yale Repertory Theatre directed by Lloyd Richards and the United States premiere of Nikos Kazantzakis¹s Christopher Columbus at The New Federal Theatre. Mr. Richards has been a Teaching Artist with Lincoln Center Institute since 1995 authoring 4 Windows on The Work for their performances. He currently lives in Manhattan with his wife, Elizabeth and his son, Cole Maxwell. 1/1/08 |