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Robert L. Freedman

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Robert L. Freedman
Born (1957-07-27) July 27, 1957 (age 67)
Los Angeles, California, United States[1]
NationalityAmerican
Alma materUniversity of California, Los Angeles and New York University's Tisch School of the Arts.
Occupations
  • screenwriter
  • dramatist
Notable workA Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder

Robert L. Freedman (born July 27, 1957) is an American screenwriter and dramatist. He is best known for his teleplays for Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella (1997) and Life with Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows (2001), and for his Tony-winning book and lyrics of A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder (2014).

Early life and education

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Freedman attended Los Alamitos High School, where he was the editor of the school’s newspaper. That’s where he met another influential figure in his life, a journalism teacher named Margaret Hall.[2]

He attended the University of California, Los Angeles and New York University's Tisch School of the Arts.[3] He holds Masters of Fine Arts from NYU in Dramatic Writing and Musical Theatre Writing.

Career

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Freedman won the 1994 Writers Guild of America Award for Outstanding Television Children's Show for his script for the TV movie A Deadly Secret: The Robert Bierer Story (1993).[4][5] He was the screenwriter for the TV movie Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella (1997), and received a nomination for the Writers Guild of America Award for Outstanding Children's Script.[5]

Freedman is the screenwriter and producer of the television movie Life with Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows, which was televised on ABC in 2001. The movie, about the early life of Judy Garland, was based on the book Me and My Shadows: A Family Memoir by Lorna Luft.[6] Among other awards, Freedman was nominated by the Writers Guild of America, "Adapted Long Form".[5][7] He was also nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing For a Miniseries or a Movie, a Co-Nominee for the 2001 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Miniseries.[8]

He wrote the book for the stage musical Grand Duchy, with music by John Bayless, which had staged readings at Playwrights Horizons and the Paper Mill Playhouse and premiered in Santa Barbara, California, in 2003.[9] A second performance, also in Santa Barbara, was expected spring of 2016.[10]

He wrote the book to a musical titled Campaign of the Century, with lyrics by Freedman and Steven Lutvak and music by Lutvak. It is based on the book by Greg Mitchell, and is about the smear campaign against author Upton Sinclair. It had staged readings at the Chicago Humanities Festival in 2004, the New York Music Festival in September 2005,[11] and the Beverly Hills Theatre Guild in 2006.[9]

Freedman co-wrote a one-man play with Faye Greenberg titled The Beast of Broadway, which had its premiere in 2010 at TheatreZone, Naples, Florida. The play is based in part on the book The Abominable Showman by Howard Kissell, about the producer David Merrick.[12][13]

Freedman wrote the book and lyrics to a musical version of Kind Hearts and Coronets, with music and lyrics by Steven Lutvak, directed by Ron Lagomarsino, which was presented at the Sundance Institute Theatre Laboratory, Utah, in July 2006.[14] The musical had a staged reading in the Breaking Ground Series at the Huntington Theatre in Boston in April 2006.[9] A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder, co-written with Lutvak and based on the 1907 novel Israel Rank by Roy Horniman (the source for Kind Hearts and Coronets), ultimately premiered in October 2012 at Hartford Stage in Hartford, Connecticut. The production, directed by Darko Tresnjak, transferred to the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego, California, in March 2013, and then opened on Broadway in 2014. Freedman won the Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical for this musical.[15]

Work

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Television

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Sources: The New York Times,[16] filmreference.com[17]

Theatre

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  • Grand Duchy (with John Bayless)
  • Campaign of the Century (with Steven Lutvak)
  • The Beast of Broadway: The Life and Times of David Merrick (with Faye Greenberg) (2010)
  • A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder (with Steven Lutvak)
  • Camp Rock: The Musical (with Faye Greenberg)[18]

Honors and awards

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Year Award Category Nominated Work Result
1983, 1984 ASCAP Popular Award for Musical Theatre Grand Duchy Won
1993 Edgar Award Best TV Feature or MiniSeries[19] Honor Thy Mother Nominated
1994 Writers Guild Award Outstanding Television Children's Show A Deadly Secret: The Robert Bierer Story Won
1996 Chicago International Television Festival Silver Plaque What Love Sees Won
1999 Writers Guild Award Outstanding Children's Script Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella Nominated
2001 Humanitas Prize What Makes a Family Finalist
GLAAD Award Best TV Film Won
Emmy Award Outstanding Writing for a Miniseries or Movie Life with Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows Nominated
Outstanding Miniseries Nominated
Television Critics Association Award Won
Broadcast Critics Association Award Won
Golden Satellite Award Best TV Movie or Miniseries Won
Golden Globe Award Best TV Movie or Miniseries Nominated
2002 Writers Guild Award Nominated
2006 California Musical Theatre Award Campaign of the Century Won
Edward Kleban Award (with Steven Lutvak)[9] Won
Fred Ebb Award (with Steven Lutvak)[20] Won
2014 Tony Award Best Book of a Musical A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder Won

References

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  1. ^ Robert L. Freedman | Screenwriter and Dramatist: Robert L. Freedman (Biography)
  2. ^ "Writer-producer Robert L. Freedman still 'floating' after major Tony Award win". Daily News. 2014-06-11. Retrieved 2018-05-22.
  3. ^ Viagas, Robert. "Schools of the Stars: Where the 2014 Tony Nominees Went to College – The Writers" playbill.com, April 29, 2014
  4. ^ " A Deadly Secret: The Robert Bierer Story " tcm.com, accessed June 11, 2014
  5. ^ a b c "Freedman List" Archived 2015-05-11 at the Wayback Machine wgfoundation.org, accessed June 11, 2014
  6. ^ " 'Me and My Shadows' " allmovie.com, accessed June 10, 2014
  7. ^ "54th Annual Writers Guild Awards Television and Radio Nominees Announced, News Release, January 15, 2002" Archived July 14, 2014, at the Wayback Machine wga.org, January 15, 2002, accessed June 11, 2014
  8. ^ " Life With Judy Garland: Me and My Shadows Awards" The New York Times, accessed June 11, 2014
  9. ^ a b c d Jones, Kenneth. "Holzman, Freedman, Hubbard, Needleman and Lutvak Win 2006 Kleban Awards" playbill.com, May 1, 2006
  10. ^ "News".
  11. ^ " 'Campaign of the Century' Listing" theatermania.com, accessed June 10, 2014
  12. ^ " 'The Beast of Broadway' World Premiere" theatrezone-florida.com, accessed June 10, 2014
  13. ^ Silk, Chris. Review: Garrison tames 'Beast of Broadway' Merrick at TheatreZone" marconews.com, March 5, 2010
  14. ^ Jones, Kenneth. "Playwrights Grimm, Lutvak, Freedman, Gibson, Kornbluth, Belber, Adjmi, Gardley Climb to Sundance" playbill.com, July 10, 2006
  15. ^ Purcell, Carey. "'Gent's Guide', 'All The Way', 'Hedwig And the Angry Inch', 'Raisin in the Sun' Win Top Prizes at 68th Annual Tony Awards" playbill.com, June 8, 2014
  16. ^ "Robert L Freedman filmography" New York Times, accessed June 10, 2014
  17. ^ "Robert L. Freedman Biography" filmreference.com, accessed June 11, 2014
  18. ^ " 'Camp Rock'" mtishows.com, accessed June 10, 2014
  19. ^ "Category List – Best TV Feature or MiniSeries". EdgarAwards.com. Retrieved May 29, 2022.
  20. ^ Kalafatas, Greg. "PHOTO CALL: Start Spreading the News, the 2nd Annual Fred Ebb Award is Handed Out" playbill.com, November 29, 2006
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