THE BAKER'S WIFE
Book by JOSEPH STEIN
Music & Lyrics by STEPHEN SCHWARTZ
Based on the film La Femme du Boulanger by Marcel Pagnol and Jean Giono
Directed by GORDON GREENBERG
In a quiet French village, a baker and his wife bring fresh bread…and fresh gossip. But when temptation stirs and hearts wander, the whole town gets caught up in a swirl of romance, mischief, and melody. The Baker’s Wife brings Stephen Schwartz’s soaring score, including the iconic “Meadowlark,” in its first major New York appearance. Sweet, surprising, and full of heart, this long-awaited production celebrates love in all its perfectly imperfect recipes.
Presented by special arrangement with the Menier Chocolate Factory (David Babani, Artistic Director) and Creative Partners Productions.
This production of THE BAKER’S WIFE was licensed by Music Theatre International (www.mtishows.com).
THE ARTISTS
STEPHEN SCHWARTZ (Music & Lyrics) wrote the music and lyrics for the current Broadway hit Wicked and has also contributed music and/or lyrics to Godspell, Pippin, The Magic Show, The Baker’s Wife, Working (which he also adapted and directed), Rags, Children of Eden, and the upcoming The Queen of Versailles. For film, in addition to the two-part adaptation of Wicked, he wrote the songs for The Prince of Egypt and collaborated with Alan Menken on the songs for Disney’s Pocohontas, The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Enchanted. In the classical field, he collaborated with Leonard Bernstein on the English texts for Bernstein’s Mass, and his opera, Seance on a Wet Afternoon, was produced at Opera Santa Barbara and New York City Opera. Mr. Schwartz has been inducted into the Theatre Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame and has been given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Awards include three Academy Awards, four Grammy Awards, and a special Tony Award for his support of young theatre artists.
JOSEPH STEIN (Book) grew up in the Bronx, received a B.A. from City College, and earned a master’s in social work from Columbia. He spent years as a psychiatric social worker, writing on the side, before becoming a Broadway playwright. He wrote the libretto for Fiddler on the Roof (Tony Award, Drama Critics Circle Award), which in its original run received ten Tony Awards, including one for becoming the longest-running show of its time.
His other musicals include Zorba (Tony nomination, Drama Critics Circle Award), Rags (Tony nomination), The Baker’s Wife (Olivier Award nomination), Take Me Along (Tony nomination), Juno, Irene, The King of Hearts, All About Us, and Enter Laughing: The Musical (Lucille Lortel nomination). He co-authored Carmelina with Alan Jay Lerner and collaborated with Will Glickman on Mr. Wonderful (starring Sammy Davis, Jr.), The Body Beautiful, and Plain and Fancy, a show that ran for 24 years at a venue in Indiana now named the Joseph Stein Stage.
His plays include Enter Laughing, Before the Dawn, and Mrs. Gibbons’ Boys. Stein began his career in television and radio, writing for The Sid Caesar Show, Your Show of Shows, and The Henry Morgan Show, and for personalities such as Zero Mostel, Tallulah Bankhead, and Jackie Gleason. He made his Broadway debut contributing to the revues Lend an Ear (featuring Carol Channing) and Alive and Kicking.
He wrote the screenplays for Enter Laughing and Fiddler on the Roof (Writers Guild Award nomination), a film that won the Golden Globe and received eight Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture. His honors include the Dramatists Guild of America Lifetime Achievement Award, the Oscar Hammerstein Award for Lifetime Achievement, and induction into the Theatre Hall of Fame. After his death in 2010, Broadway theaters dimmed their lights in tribute.
GORDON GREENBERG (Director) has directed on Broadway, Off-Broadway, in London’s West End, written for television and stage, and developed, directed and produced new works for arts institutions across America. Directing work includes the Broadway productions of The Heart of Rock and Roll (James Earl Jones) and Irving Berlin’s Holiday Inn (also co-writer with Chad Hodge, Studio 54, Roundabout, Universal, PBS Great Performances), the West End production of Guys and Dolls with Rebel Wilson (Savoy & Phoenix Theatres, Olivier Award nomination), Dracula, A Comedy of Terrors (also co-writer with Steve Rosen; Menier Chocolate Factory, New World Stages, Old Globe), The Baker’s Wife (Menier), Crime and Punishment, A Comedy (also co-writer with Steve Rosen, Old Globe), Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf (Geffen Playhouse, L. A. Drama Critics Award), Piaf/Dietrich (Mirvish Toronto, Dora Award), Jacques Brel… (Zipper Theatre, Drama Desk, Drama League, Outer Critics Award noms), Barnum (Menier), Working (Drama Desk Award, adapted with Stephen Schwartz and Lin-Manuel Miranda), Floyd Collins (Signature), Tangled (Disney), Ebenezer Scrooge’s Big ‘Your Town Here’ Christmas Show (also co-writer with Steve Rosen, Old Globe, George Street), Secret of My Success (also co-writer with Steve Rosen, Universal, Paramount Theatre), and regional work at Williamstown, Paper Mill, Chichester, Huntington, Dallas Theatre Center, MUNY, Goodspeed, Asolo. For television, he created the NBC television series “Most Talkative” (Co-Executive Producer/Writer with Blumhouse and Andy Cohen) and original movie musicals for The Disney Channel and Nickelodeon. Current projects include a new musical about Picasso (directing & co-writing with Stephen Schwartz & Caridad Svich), Single White Female (A.T.G.), Seven Shakespeares based on the manga (Tokyo Broadcast System, Gorgeous Entertainment), The Wedding Banquet (Ang Lee, Hua Musicals), Ghost Tour, The Play, Rope, and a new commission for the Old Globe with co-writer Steve Rosen. Education: Stanford University, R.A.D.A., NYU Film School. He is also Artistic Director of the Broadway Teachers Workshop.