Closer than Ever

Abstract

Lyricist Richard Maltby, Jr. and composer David Shire, two of the most gifted songwriters of our time, are revered among musical theater lovers for their groundbreaking off-Broadway revues Starting Here, Starting Now and Closer Than Ever, as well as for the Broadway musicals Baby and Big. Yet relatively little has been written about them and their work. This book sets out to increase appreciation for Maltby and Shire’s large and impressive body of work and establish their place in musical theater history. The book chronicles their six-decade partnership, giving full behind-the-scenes accounts of their musicals, interspersed with illuminating analyses of standout individual numbers. The two songwriters, engaging and articulate, are quoted liberally throughout the book in exclusive interviews. Additionally, the book covers other well-known artistic figures who feature prominently in the Maltby/Shire story, including Stephen Sondheim, Harold Prince, Francis Ford Coppola, Craig Lucas, Mike Ockrent, Susan Stroman, John Weidman, Charles Strouse, Adam Gopnik, Jason Robert Brown, and Jonathan Tunick. Attention is also given to Shire’s separate career as an Oscar- and Grammy-winning film and TV composer and Maltby’s as a Tony Award–winning director. Finally, the book explores the very nature of artistic collaboration: how songs actually get written and what enables some partnerships to last for decades. Written for a wide range of readers, the book has a broad appeal that will extend from Maltby/Shire devotees to anyone interested in the creative process and Broadway musicals in general.