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Don Black

DON BLACK

  (1938 - )
Nationality:    English
email:    Click here to contact     Website:    Click here

Literary Agent:    n/a

Don Black has worked extensively in the Theatre and film industry. He has previously collaborated with Andrew Lloyd Webber on Tell Me On A Sunday, Aspects of Love and Sunset Boulevard, the latter also with Christopher Hampton. His other Theatre credits include Billy, Bar Mitzvah Boy, Bombay Dreams, Dracula the Musical and Bonnie and Clyde. Black has contributed songs to many films including Born Free, the Italian Job, Dance With Wolves, Out of Africa, True Grit, To Sir, With Love and five James Bond films. As well as Lloyd Webber, he has previously collaborated with John Barry, Quincy Jones, Jule Styne, Henry Mancini, Michael Jackson, Michel Legrand and Marvin Hamlish amongst others. His work has received numerous awards internationally, in 2007 he was inducted into the Songwriter's Hall of Fame and in 1999 he was awarded the OBe.

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below is a list of Don Black's plays - click on a Play Title for more information

         Abbacadabra         Aspects Of Love         Bar Mitzvah Boy         Billy         Bombay Dreams         Bonnie And Clyde         Budgie         Dance of the Vampires         Dear Anyone         Dracula, The Musical         Everything's Terrific, Help!         Feather Boy         Merlin         Mrs Henderson Presents         Romeo And Juliet         Song And Dance         Stephen Ward         Sunset Boulevard         Tell Me On A Sunday
Abbacadabra

Synopsis:
This musical was adapted from a French album, on which a modern fairy tale used the songs of abba with new lyrics. Three children find themselves trapped in a video game with fairy tale characters, Cinderella, aladdin, Pinocchio, and the Beast, who are trapped by the wicked witch Carabosse.

Notes:
written by David Wood And Don Black. Abba Songs

1st Produced:

Organisations:
Lyric Theatre and Cameron Mackintosh

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Musical

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Aspects Of Love

Aspects Of Love
1964 Alex aged 34 reflects on his life. 1947 at the age of 17 he met the actress Rose Vibert. He took her to his Uncle George's villa. When George hears that his nephew has broken into his villa he goes there. He comes across them rehearsing a scene from a play. When it comes time for dinner Rose puts on a dress she has found. It belonged to George's first wife Delia. When he sees her in it he collapses.

Notes:
Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber; Lyrics by Don Black And Charles Hart; Based on the novel by David Garnett; Book Adapted by Andrew Lloyd Webber

1st Produced:

Organisations:
Really Useful Group

1st Published:
-   

Music:
Original cast recording:Polydor (841126) 1989

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Musical

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Bar Mitzvah Boy

Bar Mitzvah Boy
elliott Green thinks he will be unable to cope with the adult world and runs away from his bar mitzvah

Notes:
by Jack Rosenthal; Music by Jule Styne; lyrics by Don Black

1st Produced:
Her Majesty's Theatre, London     31 Oct 1978

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   

Music:
Original cast recording: Sony (SMK 53498) 1978

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Musical

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Billy

Billy
Billy Fisher has a dull job as an undertaker's assistant. He dreams and lies about his life. In one dream he is president of a small european country. In another he is captain of the english football team. He also dreams of being Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly

Notes:
Music by John Barry; lyrics by Don Black; book by Dick Clement; Ian La Frenais. Based on the book "Billy Liar" by Keith Waterhouse

1st Produced:
Theatre Royal Drury Lane, London     01 May 1974

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   

Music:
Original cast recording: Sony 1974

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Musical

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Bombay Dreams

Synopsis:
Setting: Paradise Slum; Shanti & akaash's home; Miss India Pag.; "Diamond in the Rough" set; akaash's new apt.; Indian Film awards; akaash's mansion; "Bombay Dreams" set; Taj Royale Beach Hotel; Juhu Beach

Notes:
Music by A.R. Rahman; Lyrics by Don Black; Book by Meera Syal And Thomas Meehan; Based on An idea by Shekhar Kapur And Andrew Lloyd Webber

1st Produced:
Apollo Victoria Theatre     2002

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Musical

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Bonnie And Clyde

Synopsis:
The Depression. Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow meet. They want excitement and love and are soon on a spree of bank robberies and murder

Notes:
Music by Frank Wildhorn; lyrics by Don Black; book by Ivan Menchell

1st Produced:
La Jolla Playhouse, San Diego     01 Nov 2009

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Musical

Parts:
Male:  14            Female:  7            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Budgie

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
Written by Willis Hall And Ted Willis; lyrics by Don Black; music by Mort Schuman

1st Produced:
Cambridge, London     18 Oct 1988

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   

Music:
Original cast recording: MCa (DMCG-6035) 1988

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Musical

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Dance of the Vampires

Synopsis:
Professor Abronsius and his assistant Alfred go to a remote village hunting vampires

Notes:
Music and lyrics by Jim Steinman; additional lyrics Don Black; book by David Ives; Michael Kunze; Jim Steinman. Based on "Tanze Der Vampire" by Michael Kunze; Jim Steinman and on the movie "The Fearless Vampire Killers" screenplay by Gerard Bracht; Roman Polanski

1st Produced:
Minskoff Theatre, New York     09 Dec 2002

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Musical

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Dear Anyone

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
Music by Geo Stephens; lyrics by Don Black; book by Jack Rosenthal

1st Produced:
-     08 Nov 1983

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   

Music:
Studio cast recording: DJM (DHJ-20541)

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
-

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Dracula, The Musical

Dracula, The Musical
-

Notes:
adapted From "Dracula" by Bram Stoker. Music by Frank Wildhorn; lyrics by Don Black and Christopher Hampton

1st Produced:
Playhouse, La Jolla, Ca     2001

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   

Music:
Concept album: GlobalVision Records 2007

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Musical

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Everything's Terrific, Help!

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
Book by Phil Willmott; Lyrics Don Black; Music Geoff Stephens

1st Produced:
Civic Hall, Guildford, Surrey     15 Jul 1998

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Musical

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Feather Boy

Synopsis:
Robert has a difficult home life and a miserable time at school, but when his art teacher proposes a project about the firebird myth, which demands a visit to a local old people's home, things change. Robert meets edith, a broken hearted old lady, who se

Notes:
Book by Nicky Singer And Peter Tabern, lyrics by Don Black, Music by Debbie Wiseman. part of Shell Connections

1st Produced:
Cottesloe, London     2006

Organisations:
BlaTheatre Companyhington Mill School, Hove

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Musical

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Merlin

Synopsis:
the young Merlin an apprentice wizard learning his craft

Notes:
Music by elmer Bernstein; lyrics by Don Black; book by Richard Levinson; book by William Link

1st Produced:
Mark Hellinger Theatre, New York     1983

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Musical

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Mrs Henderson Presents

Synopsis:
It's London, 1937, and recently-widowed eccentric, Laura Henderson, is looking for a way of spending her time and money when her attention falls on a run-down former cinema in Great Windmill Street. Hiring feisty impresario Vivian Van Damm to look after the newly renovated Windmill Theatre, the improbable duo present a bill of non-stop variety acts. But as war looms something more is required to boost morale and box office. . . When Mrs Henderson comes up with the idea of The Windmill Girls  glamorous young women posing as nude statues  audiences flock. And as the Blitz hits London, The Windmill provides a refuge for all, boasting the spirit-raising slogan "We Never Close".

Notes:
book by Terry Johnson, lyrics by Don Black, music by George Fento and Simon Chamberlain. Based on the motion picture original screenplay by Martin Sherman produced by Heyman Hoskins and Pathe

1st Produced:

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
musical

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  8            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Romeo And Juliet

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
lyric by Don Black; book by David Freeman

1st Produced:
Piccadilly, London     2002

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Musical

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Song And Dance

Synopsis:
The first half, "Tell Me on a Sundav" is given over to a one-woman show by Marti Webb. Don Black's lyrics about an English girl who spends most of her time in the States either grizzling for Mum, Muswell Hill and Tizer or getting herself into a mess over a "variety of boy-friends. Th. second half is a semi abstract ballet to Lloyd Webber's variations on Paganini's A minor Caprice No 24. The idea -little flirtations and quarrels between young people is as old as Nijinsky's "Les Biches" or Ashton's" Les Rendezvous" but it provides the acrobatic Wayne Sleep and an athletic team of dancers with amusing material. especially when they all break into tap.

Notes:
Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber; Lyrics by Don Black

1st Produced:
Palace Theatre, London     07 Apr 1982

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Musical

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  1            Other:  dancers

Further Reference:

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Stephen Ward

Synopsis:
STePHeN WARD charts the rise and fall from grace of the society osteopath. Friend to film stars, spies, models, government ministers and aristocrats, his rise and ultimate disgrace coincided with the increasingly permissive lifestyle of London's elite in the early 1960's. the musical centres on Ward's involvement with the young and beautiful Christine Keeler and their chance meeting in a West end night club which led to one of the biggest political scandals and trials of the 20th century.

Notes:
music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, with book and lyrics by Christopher Hampton and Don Black

1st Produced:

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
musical

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Sunset Boulevard

Sunset Boulevard
Setting: Los Angeles. 1949-50. Sunset Boulevard is a small scale musical based on the classic Billy Wilder movie about Hollywood illusions and delusions

Notes:
Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber; Book by Don Black And Christopher Hampton; Lyrics by Don Black And Christopher Hampton; Based on the film by Billy Wilder

1st Produced:
Adelphi, London     12 Jul 1993

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   

Music:
Original cast recording: Polydor (519767) 1993

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Musical

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Tell Me On A Sunday

Synopsis:
about a young english hatmaker trying to make it on her own in New York City. Songs include "Take That Look Off Your Face," "Unexpected Song," and the title tune

Notes:
lyrics by Don Black, music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, Jackie Clune (additional contributions)

1st Produced:

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Musical

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:

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