Big Interview: Maury Yeston

Maury Yeston is an American composer, lyricist, author and teacher. 

After joining the creative team during out-of-town tryouts in Boston in 1989, Maury wrote several new songs for Grand Hotel which went on to transfer to Broadway where it won five Tony Awards. His contribution to Grand Hotel‘s score was nominated for a Tony and two Drama Desk Awards, and the Donmar Warehouse production picked up an Olivier Award.

Grand Hotel is currently being revived at the Southwark Playhouse by producer Danielle Tarento and director Thom Southerland, the same team who staged Maury’s musical Titanic at the Southwark Playhouse in 2013. The trio are hoping to reunite on a London revival of Death Takes a Holiday in the near future.

In addition to winning a Tony Award for Best Score for Titanic, Maury won a Tony Award and two Drama Desk Awards for his music and lyrics to Nine. Just a few of Maury’s other shows include Phantom, Death Takes A Holiday and the first entirely American full length ballet, Tom Sawyer: A Ballet In Three Acts which premiered in Kansas City. 

I recently sat down with Maury, who made a trip to London to see Grand Hotel, to discuss his thoughts on Southerland’s new production of Grand Hotel, how he originally came to join the musical’s creative team and the spectacular opening number ‘The Grand Parade’. We also talked about the new musical he’s writing, his advice for young writers, the golden age of musicals plus much, much more…

Were you impressed by this production of Grand Hotel?

Yes! Of course at the Southwark Playhouse everything is compressed. It’s shocking when you think the ordinary time frame for mounting a musical would be three or four week’s rehearsal and then two or three weeks of previews, but they just do it and the standard is so high!

Danielle Tarento produces world premiere of Gods and Monsters at the Southwark Playhouse

It has been announced that Danielle Tarento is producing the world premiere of Gods and Monsters.

Directed and written by Russell Labey, the production will open at the Southwark Playhouse on 10th February 2015 (previews from 5th February) and run for a limited five-week season until 7th March 2015.

Frankenstein director James Whale, long forgotten by the studios and in reclusive Hollywood retirement has fallen victim to a series of strokes. The only demons he fights now are in his head. Handsome new gardner, Clayton Boone, becomes an unlikely friend and unwitting player in Whale’s grand finale.