Manny Riskin

Manny Riskin
Name	Manny Riskin
Birth date	1947
Birth place	Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Occupation	Playwright, Screenwriter, Composer, Lyricist
Nationality	American

Manny Riskin

Manny Riskin is an American playwright, screenwriter, composer, and lyricist noted for his musical theatre work, screen adaptations, and collaborations with regional theatres and television producers. He has written plays and musicals produced in New York, Philadelphia, and other American cities, and has contributed lyrics and book material for stage projects that intersect with television and film. His career spans collaborations with artists and institutions across Broadway, Off-Broadway, regional theatre, and public television.

Early life and education

Riskin was born in Philadelphia and raised in a milieu shaped by the cultural institutions of the mid-20th century, including the Curtis Institute of Music, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the University of Pennsylvania, and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. He studied music and literature in the Philadelphia area before moving to New York to pursue theatre, joining communities linked to the New York Shakespeare Festival, the Circle in the Square Theatre School, and the Juilliard School workshops. Early mentors and influences included figures associated with the Kennedy Center, the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, and producers who had worked on Off-Broadway revivals and regional theatre circuits.

Career

Riskin's professional career encompasses stage plays, musicals, television scripts, and screenplay work, intersecting with companies such as the American Conservatory Theater, the Goodman Theatre, the Geffen Playhouse, and the Alliance Theatre. He collaborated with directors and producers connected to the Public Theater, Roundabout Theatre Company, Manhattan Theatre Club, and the Williamstown Theatre Festival. His work has been developed in residency programs affiliated with the Sundance Institute, the New Dramatists, and the Theatre Development Fund. He participated in workshops alongside playwrights and composers linked to the Drury Lane Theatre, Royal Court Theatre, La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club, and institutions that produce musicals adapted for PBS broadcast. Riskin’s television credits include projects developed through companies related to the Public Broadcasting Service, and scripts that intersected with production offices connected to WNET, WGBH, and commercial studios with ties to Paramount Pictures and Warner Bros. Television.

He has been a member of professional organizations such as the Dramatists Guild of America, the Writers Guild of America, and collaborated with unions and collectives that interface with the Actors' Equity Association and ASCAP. Riskin’s plays have been produced by regional houses in cities including Philadelphia, New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Boston, with subsequent readings at festivals like the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and the Humana Festival of New American Plays.

Musical and theatrical work

Riskin’s output includes original musicals and adaptations, serving as lyricist, librettist, and composer at various times. He wrote books and lyrics for musicals that were developed in collaboration with composers and arrangers connected to the Broadway League, the New York Philharmonic, and off-Broadway bands who performed at venues such as Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center Plaza, and Joe's Pub. His stage works engaged performers who also worked in television series produced by companies like NBC, CBS, and ABC, and with choreographers associated with the American Ballet Theatre and Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater.

Notable productions were staged at theatres with lineages tied to the Shubert Organization, the Nederlander Organization, and non-profit theatres supported by the National Endowment for the Arts and state arts councils. Riskin’s musicals were sometimes recorded for cast albums produced in association with labels linked to Decca Records and RCA Victor. He also contributed material to anthology productions inspired by works from writers associated with the Library of Congress collections and revues that honored lyricists with ties to the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

Style and influences

Riskin’s theatrical style synthesizes influences from mid-20th-century American musical theatre and contemporary dramatic writing, drawing on precedents set by creators associated with the Great American Songbook, the Sondheim tradition, and the lyric-driven shows of writers who worked with the New York City Opera and Metropolitan Opera during crossover projects. His libretti reflect structural approaches common to writers affiliated with the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center and dramaturgs who contributed to the Royal National Theatre. Dramatic pacing and lyricism in his work display echoes of dramatists and composers who collaborated with the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival, the Lincoln Center Theater, and the American Repertory Theater.

Riskin cited influences from international and American figures connected to the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Burgtheater, and American playwrights whose works have been archived at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts. His collaborations show technical affinities with orchestrators and music directors who worked on productions premiered at the Gershwin Theatre and Avery Fisher Hall.

Personal life and legacy

Riskin maintained residences in Philadelphia and New York City while engaging in teaching and mentorship through programs aligned with the Juilliard School, the Yale School of Drama, and the New York University Tisch School of the Arts. He lectured at institutions linked to the University of Pennsylvania and conservatories with ties to the Curtis Institute of Music, and participated in panels at festivals such as the Spoleto Festival USA and the Aspen Music Festival and School. His legacy persists through productions mounted by regional companies and through protégés who are members of ensembles associated with the American Theatre Wing, the Roundabout Theatre Company, and the networks of the Dramatists Guild of America.

Category:American dramatists and playwrights Category:American lyricists Category:People from Philadelphia