Burt Shevelove

Burton George Shevelove was born on September 19, 1915, in Newark, New Jersey, and went on to become one of American musical theater's notable librettists, lyricists, and directors. He earned an undergraduate degree from Brown University, where in 1935 he performed in the first Brownbrokers musical, Something Bruin, and later received a master's degree from Yale. Before establishing himself in the theater, Shevelove served as a volunteer ambulance driver during World War II, after which he built experience as a writer, director, and producer in radio and television.

Shevelove's Broadway career began in 1948 with the revue Small Wonder, for which he wrote material, contributed lyrics, co-produced, and served as director. His most celebrated achievement came with A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, which opened in 1962 and earned him both the Tony Award for Best Author of a Musical and the Tony Award for Best Musical in 1963. He returned to direct the show's 1972 revival, and his libretto for the production was later drawn upon for Jerome Robbins' Broadway in 1989.

His work on No, No, Nanette, for which he revised the original libretto by Otto Harbach and Frank Mandel for the 1971 production, brought him the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Book of a Musical. He also directed that production. Among his other directing credits were Hallelujah, Baby! in 1967, Rockefeller and the Red Indians in 1968, Sondheim: A Musical Tribute in 1973, So Long, 174th Street in 1976, and Happy New Year in 1980, for which he also wrote the libretto.

Shevelove adapted Aristophanes' play The Frogs as a libretto in 1974, a work that Nathan Lane further adapted for its Broadway premiere in 2004. His additional directing work included a 1974 PBS production of June Moon and the 1975 stage production Rodgers & Hart. In his later years, Shevelove lived in London for approximately fifteen years. He died at his London apartment on April 8, 1982, survived by his mother and a sister.