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| LITTLE KNOWN FACT |
Celebrated and prolific composer John Kander, who with lyricist Fred Ebb created some of the most memorable Broadway musicals of the twentieth century, received what he describes as his first break in show business through a chance meeting with a member of the West Side Story orchestra. The pianist asked if Kander might be interested in filling in for him during vacations. Accepting this random assignment led to a meeting with Jerome Robbins, who hired Kander to write the dance arrangements for his next show, Gypsy. Not long after that did Harold Prince direct A Family Affair, composed by John Kander and featuring Larry Kert. The composer met Fred Ebb that same year, and a Broadway institution was born. A first-hand account of Mr. Kander’s meeting with pianist (and later conductor) Joseph Lewis can be found in Nigel Simeone’s Leonard Bernstein: West Side Story. click logo for note #O.3) |
| KANDER AND EBB ON BROADWAY Flora the Red Menace Cabaret (Larry Kert) The Happy Time 70, Girls, 70 Chicago (Chita Rivera) The Act Woman of the Year (Marilyn Cooper) Zorba The Rink (Chita Rivera) Kiss of the Spider Woman (Chita Rivera) Steel Pier The Visit (Chita Rivera) Curtains The Scottsboro Boys |
| JOHN KANDER LINKS New York Public Library Biography PBS Interview |
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