fbpx
Wikipedia

Warren Casey

Warren Casey (April 20, 1935 – November 8, 1988) was an American theater composer, lyricist, writer, and actor. He was the writer and composer, with Jim Jacobs, of the stage musical Grease.

Warren Casey
Born(1935-04-20)April 20, 1935
DiedNovember 8, 1988(1988-11-08) (aged 53)
Chicago, Illinois, US
NationalityAmerican
Occupations
Notable workGrease

Career Edit

Warren Casey was born on April 20, 1935, in Yonkers, New York to Peter L. Casey, a steamfitter, and Signe (née Ginman) Casey, a nurse. He graduated from Gorton High School, Yonkers, NY class of 1952. Casey received his Fine Arts Degree from the Syracuse University School of Visual and Performing Arts in 1957.[1]

Grease Edit

In the mid-1960s, Casey met Jim Jacobs while acting with the Chicago Stage Guild. In the late 1960s, Jacobs was at a party dismayed at the rock music he was listening to and began reminiscing about 1950s rock and roll. He eventually inquired about writing a rock and roll musical with Casey, who (unlike Jacobs) had not been a greaser in high school but shared a love of the music of the era, particularly doo-wop.[2] The two began collaborating on a play with music about high-school life during the golden age of rock 'n' roll in the 1950s. Entitled Grease, it premiered in 1971 at the Kingston Mines Theater, one of the pioneering companies of Chicago's off-Loop theater movement, in the Lincoln Park section of Chicago. Producers Ken Waissman and Maxine Fox saw the show and suggested to the playwrights that it might work better as a musical, and told them if the creative partners were willing to rework it and they liked the end result, they would produce it off-Broadway. Casey quit his day job as a department store lingerie buyer and the team headed to New York City to collaborate on what would become Grease, which opened at the Eden Theatre in downtown Manhattan, moved to Broadway, and earned him a Tony Award nomination for Best Book of a Musical. The show went on to become a West End hit, a hugely successful film, and a staple of regional theatre, summer stock, community theatre, and high school drama groups.


Later career Edit

Casey's acting credits include the original production of David Mamet's Sexual Perversity in Chicago in 1974 at the Organic Theater Company. Under Stuart Gordon's direction, Casey created the role of foul-mouthed self-styled makeout artist Bernie Litko, delivering a comically outrageous performance tinged with pathos. In the same year he fronted $1,000 to help start Victory Gardens Theater in Chicago. In 1976, he wrote Mudgett. He wrote (with Jim Jacobs) Island of Lost Coeds, a two-act musical, produced at Columbia College Chicago under the direction of Sheldon Patinkin. He also contributed incidental music to Twelfth Night in 1976 and new lyrics to June Moon in 1977.

In addition, Casey worked in the musical Cats.

Personal life Edit

Casey died of AIDS-related complications in Chicago at the age of 53.[3] At the time of his death he was writing a musical with the Brazilian performer Valucha deCastro.[1]

References Edit

  1. ^ a b web.archive.org, retrieved January 26, 2010
  2. ^ Callahan, Michael (2016-01-26). "How Grease Beat the Odds and Became the Biggest Movie Musical of the 20th Century". Vanity Fair. Retrieved 2023-06-04.
  3. ^ Williams, Albert (January 9, 2009), The Jim and Warren Show, Chicago Reader. Retrieved on March 16, 2009.

External links Edit

  • Warren Casey at the Internet Broadway Database  
  • A Remembrance at greasethemusical.co.uk
  • Biography and Papers at Chicago Public Library

warren, casey, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, april, 2023,. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Warren Casey news newspapers books scholar JSTOR April 2023 Learn how and when to remove this template message Warren Casey April 20 1935 November 8 1988 was an American theater composer lyricist writer and actor He was the writer and composer with Jim Jacobs of the stage musical Grease Warren CaseyBorn 1935 04 20 April 20 1935Yonkers New York USDiedNovember 8 1988 1988 11 08 aged 53 Chicago Illinois USNationalityAmericanOccupationsComposerLibrettistLyricistActorNotable workGrease Contents 1 Career 1 1 Grease 1 2 Later career 2 Personal life 3 References 4 External linksCareer EditWarren Casey was born on April 20 1935 in Yonkers New York to Peter L Casey a steamfitter and Signe nee Ginman Casey a nurse He graduated from Gorton High School Yonkers NY class of 1952 Casey received his Fine Arts Degree from the Syracuse University School of Visual and Performing Arts in 1957 1 Grease Edit In the mid 1960s Casey met Jim Jacobs while acting with the Chicago Stage Guild In the late 1960s Jacobs was at a party dismayed at the rock music he was listening to and began reminiscing about 1950s rock and roll He eventually inquired about writing a rock and roll musical with Casey who unlike Jacobs had not been a greaser in high school but shared a love of the music of the era particularly doo wop 2 The two began collaborating on a play with music about high school life during the golden age of rock n roll in the 1950s Entitled Grease it premiered in 1971 at the Kingston Mines Theater one of the pioneering companies of Chicago s off Loop theater movement in the Lincoln Park section of Chicago Producers Ken Waissman and Maxine Fox saw the show and suggested to the playwrights that it might work better as a musical and told them if the creative partners were willing to rework it and they liked the end result they would produce it off Broadway Casey quit his day job as a department store lingerie buyer and the team headed to New York City to collaborate on what would become Grease which opened at the Eden Theatre in downtown Manhattan moved to Broadway and earned him a Tony Award nomination for Best Book of a Musical The show went on to become a West End hit a hugely successful film and a staple of regional theatre summer stock community theatre and high school drama groups Later career Edit Casey s acting credits include the original production of David Mamet s Sexual Perversity in Chicago in 1974 at the Organic Theater Company Under Stuart Gordon s direction Casey created the role of foul mouthed self styled makeout artist Bernie Litko delivering a comically outrageous performance tinged with pathos In the same year he fronted 1 000 to help start Victory Gardens Theater in Chicago In 1976 he wrote Mudgett He wrote with Jim Jacobs Island of Lost Coeds a two act musical produced at Columbia College Chicago under the direction of Sheldon Patinkin He also contributed incidental music to Twelfth Night in 1976 and new lyrics to June Moon in 1977 In addition Casey worked in the musical Cats Personal life EditCasey died of AIDS related complications in Chicago at the age of 53 3 At the time of his death he was writing a musical with the Brazilian performer Valucha deCastro 1 References Edit a b Warren Casey biography The Estate Project web archive org retrieved January 26 2010 Callahan Michael 2016 01 26 How Grease Beat the Odds and Became the Biggest Movie Musical of the 20th Century Vanity Fair Retrieved 2023 06 04 Williams Albert January 9 2009 The Jim and Warren Show Chicago Reader Retrieved on March 16 2009 External links EditWarren Casey at the Internet Broadway Database nbsp A Remembrance at greasethemusical co uk Biography and Papers at Chicago Public Library Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Warren Casey amp oldid 1171455444, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

article

, read, download, free, free download, mp3, video, mp4, 3gp, jpg, jpeg, gif, png, picture, music, song, movie, book, game, games.