Martin Charnin

Martin Charnin
Name	Martin Charnin
Birth date	June 15, 1934
Birth place	New York City
Death date	July 6, 2019
Death place	Los Angeles
Occupation	Lyricist, director, librettist, producer
Years active	1950s–2019

Martin Charnin

Martin Charnin was an American lyricist, director, librettist, and producer best known for creating the conceit and lyrics for the Broadway musical Annie. He worked across Broadway, television, and regional theater, collaborating with composers, directors, producers, and performers throughout the United States and internationally. His career connected him to numerous artists, institutions, and productions in American musical theater and television.

Early life and education

Born in New York City in 1934, Charnin grew up amid the postwar cultural life of Manhattan, influenced by Broadway and radio. He attended schools in New York City and later studied performance and writing while interacting with institutions such as Juilliard School and workshops associated with The New School and the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. Early encounters with producers and directors in venues like Carnegie Hall and off-Broadway companies exposed him to the work of figures including George Gershwin, Irving Berlin, Cole Porter, Richard Rodgers, and Oscar Hammerstein II, whose legacies shaped his theatrical outlook. He began writing and arranging for cabaret and television programs tied to networks such as NBC, CBS, and ABC.

Career

Charnin's professional life spanned television, Broadway, and regional theatre, beginning with work on variety shows and children's programming for NBC Television and CBS Television Network. He collaborated with composers and lyricists including Charles Strouse, Stephen Sondheim, Jerry Herman, Andrew Lloyd Webber, and Marvin Hamlisch while working with directors like Harold Prince, Gower Champion, Michael Bennett, and Jerome Robbins. His television credits intersected with performers and programs featuring Carol Burnett, Ed Sullivan, Jack Paar, Muppets, and variety specials linked to Tony Awards broadcasts and Emmy Awards ceremonies. On stage he worked with producers such as David Merrick, Hal Prince, Cameron Mackintosh, and companies including The Manhattan Theatre Club, Lincoln Center Theater, Goodman Theatre, and La Jolla Playhouse.

Charnin wrote lyrics and libretti while directing productions featuring actors and singers like Andrea McArdle, Ann Reinking, Bernadette Peters, Chita Rivera, Sutton Foster, Tyne Daly, and Betty Buckley. He contributed to workshops and developmental programs run by New York Shakespeare Festival, The Public Theater, SDSU's National New Play Festival, and university theater departments at Yale School of Drama, NYU Tisch School of the Arts, and Carnegie Mellon University.

Major works and productions

Charnin is best known for creating the concept and lyrics for Annie, the hit musical with music by Charles Strouse and a book by Thomas Meehan, which premiered at Goodman Theatre and moved to Broadway's Neil Simon Theatre in 1977. Annie starred Andrea McArdle in the original production and featured characters connected to cultural references like Little Orphan Annie and publications such as the New York Daily News. The show's songs, including "Tomorrow", became standards covered by artists and ensembles associated with Frank Sinatra, Barbra Streisand, Aretha Franklin, and major orchestras like the New York Philharmonic.

Other theatrical credits included revues and musicals for off-Broadway houses linked to Playwrights Horizons, songs for television specials involving Babe Ruth-era nostalgia segments, and collaborations with composers performed at venues such as Kennedy Center, Royal Festival Hall, Sydney Opera House, West End, and touring companies managed by producers like Michael White and Prince Edward Theatre affiliates. He directed regionally for institutions like Arena Stage, Ahmanson Theatre, Huntington Theatre Company, and international festivals that showcased American musicals.

Awards and honors

Charnin's work earned recognition from theatrical and broadcasting institutions, including multiple Tony Awards nominations associated with productions he helped craft, as well as honors from the Outer Critics Circle and the Drama Desk Awards. He received citations from municipal arts councils in New York City and Los Angeles and acknowledgments from organizations such as the Songwriters Hall of Fame, ASCAP, Dramatists Guild of America, and the American Theater Wing. Television honors included involvement in programs recognized by the Emmy Awards and mentions in retrospectives by institutions like the Museum of Television and Radio.

Personal life

Charnin maintained residences in New York City and Los Angeles while remaining active in cultural circles that included agents, managers, and collaborators from companies like William Morris Agency, CAA, and theatrical unions such as Actors' Equity Association and Stage Directors and Choreographers Society. He worked with family members and mentees who later joined faculties at Yale School of Drama, NYU Tisch School of the Arts, University of California, Los Angeles, and regional conservatories. His social and professional circles included entertainers and cultural figures like Carol Channing, Ethel Merman, Norman Lear, Garry Marshall, Mel Brooks, and multimedia producers affiliated with Disney Theatrical Group.

Legacy and influence

Charnin's legacy endures through revivals and adaptations of Annie on Broadway, in the West End, on tours staged by organizations such as Nederlander Organization and Nederlander Productions, and in film adaptations produced by companies like Columbia Pictures and Sony Pictures Entertainment. His lyrics and theatrical approach influenced generations of lyricists and directors associated with institutions like Broadway League, American Theatre Critics Association, Royal Shakespeare Company guest directors, and academic programs at Juilliard School and Yale School of Drama. Retrospectives and archives held by Library of Congress, Billy Rose Theatre Division, New York Public Library, and university special collections preserve his papers and recordings for study by scholars, students, and practitioners connected to theaters including Goodman Theatre, Lincoln Center, and Kennedy Center.

Category:American lyricists Category:American theatre directors Category:1934 births Category:2019 deaths