The Playwrights Database
FRED EBB
(1928 - 2004)
Nationality:
USA
email:
n/a
Website:
Click here
Literary Agent:
ICM Partners
Fred Ebb (April 8, 1928 September 11, 2004) was an American musical theatre lyricist who had many successful collaborations with composer John Kander. The Kander and Ebb team frequently wrote for such performers as Liza Minnelli and Chita Rivera. - Wiki
Research: Member of the Dramatists Guild of America (as at 2015)
Buy Plays with Doollee
Each page of doollee.com has links to play/book outlets, either directly to the Publisher, through Stageplays.com and Amazon to the second hand and 1st editions of AbeBooks. These links will automatically take you to the relevant area obviating the need for further search.
AbeBooks.co.uk
AbeBooks.com
Stageplays.com
amazon.com
amazon.co.uk
amazon.ca
whether you are a Playwright who wishes to make their entry definitive, an unlisted Playwright or a User with a tale to tell - we want to hear from you.
download WORD submission template
70, Girls, 70
In this rare and rich celebration of age, a group of 70-year-olds decide to liven things up in their retirement hotel by becoming a shoplifting gang. they discover that heisting mink returns the juices of youth and converts their drab hotel into a palace. Songs include 'Coffee in a Cardboard Cup', 'Go Visit Your Grandmother' and 'yes'.
Notes:
Book by Fred ebb And Norman L. Martin; Music by John Kander; Lyrics by Fred ebb; Book Adapted by Joe Masteroff; Based on the play "Breath of Spring" by Peter Coke
1st Produced:
Broadhurst Theater, New York
15 Apr 1971
Organisations:
-
1st Published:
Samuel French, Inc
Music:
Original cast recording: Sony (30589) 1971
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: 5 Female: 7 Other: ensemble
Further Reference:
-
Top of Page
Act, The
Setting: Michelle Craig at the Hotel Las Vegas; her nightclub act and her memories
Notes:
Book by George Furth; Music by John Kander; Lyrics by Fred ebb
1st Produced:
Majestic Theater, New York
1977
Organisations:
-
1st Published:
Samuel French Inc, New York
Music:
Original cast recording: DRG (CDRG-6101) 1977
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:
-
Top of Page
And The World Goes 'round
Synopsis:
The show consists of an eclectic collection of love songs, torch songs, and acerbically witty comic numbers.
Notes:
Music by John Kander; lyrics by Fred Ebb. Conceived by director Scott Ellis, choreographer Susan Stroman and librettist David Thompson
1st Produced:
Westside Theatre, New York
18 Mar 1991
Organisations:
-
1st Published:
-
Music:
Original cast recording: RCA (09026-60904-2) 1991
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: 3 Other: -
Further Reference:
-
Top of Page
Cabaret
Cliff Bradshaw a young American writer has gone to Berlin to get inspiration. He gets lodgings at Fraulein Schneider's. Cliff goes to the Kit Kat Club and is entranced by the english singer - Sally Bowles
Notes:
Book by Joe Masteroff; Based on the play "I Am A Camera" by John Van Druten; Based on stories by Christopher Isherwood; Music by John Kander; Lyrics by Fred ebb
1st Produced:
Broadhurst Theater, New York
20 Nov 1966
Organisations:
-
1st Published:
Newmarket Press, 1999
Music:
Original cast recording: Columbia (SK 60533) 1966
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:
-
Top of Page
Chicago
Set in the Windy City in 1927, the show chronicles the exploits of a down-on-her-luck chorus girl as she goes on trial for murder, attracts a media circus, and parlays her dubious notoriety into fame and fortune. If all this sounds a bit like anything that could be found on Court TV today, chalk it up to creators Kander & ebb and Bob Fosse for being way ahead of their time.
nytheatre.com
Notes:
Book by Fred ebb And Bob Fosse; Music by John Kander; Lyrics by Fred ebb; Based on the play "Chicago" by Maurine Dallas Watkins
1st Produced:
46th Street Theater, New York, NY
03 Jun 1975
Organisations:
-
1st Published:
Samuel French Inc, New York,
Music:
Original cast recording: Bay Cities (3003) 1975
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:
135 min Musical
Parts:
Male: 9 Female: 10 Other: -
Further Reference:
-
Top of Page
Curtains
Curtains unfolds backstage at Boston's Colonial theatre in 1959, where a new musical could be a Broadway smash, were it not for the presence of its talent-free leading lady. When the hapless star dies on opening night during her curtain call, Lieutenant Frank Cioffi arrives on the scene to conduct an investigation. But the lure of the theatre proves irresistible and after an unexpected romance blooms for the stage-struck detective, he finds himself just as drawn toward making the show a hit as he is in solving the murder.
nytheatre.com
Notes:
Book by Rupert Holmes; Music by John Kander; Lyrics by Fred Ebb; Original Book And Concept by Peter Stone; Additional lyrics by John Kander And Rupert Holmes
1st Produced:
Al Hirschfeld Theatre, NY
27 Feb 2007
Organisations:
-
1st Published:
-
Music:
Manhattan 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: 8 Female: 5 Other: Flexible ensemble
Further Reference:
apply for a license: www.theatricalrights.com/contact-us/
Top of Page
Flora, The Red Menace
Is Flora a "Red menace" or just a girl in love?
Notes:
Music by John Kander; Lyrics by Fred ebb; Book by George Abbott And Robert Russell; Based on the novel "Love Is Just Around the Corner" by Lester Atwell
1st Produced:
Alvin Theater, New York
1965
Organisations:
-
1st Published:
Samuel French, NY,
Music:
Original cast recording: RCa (60821)
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: 5 Female: 4 Other: doubling
Further Reference:
-
Top of Page
From A To Z
Synopsis:
-
Notes:
Book by Woody Allen, Herbert Farjeon And Nina Warner Hook; Featuring songs by Jerry Herman, Jay Thompson, Dickson Hughes, everett Sloane, Jack Holmes, Mary Rodgers, Paul Klein, Fred ebb, Norman Martin, William Dyer And Charles Zwar; Featuring songs with lyrics by Jerry Herman, Jay Thompson, Dickson Hughes, everett Sloane, Jack Holmes, Marshall Barer, Fred ebb, Norman Martin, Don Parks, Lee Goldsmith And Alan Melville
1st Produced:
Plymouth Theatre, NY
1960
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:
-
Top of Page
Happy Time, The
Based on a play by Samuel Taylor, the musical tells the story of a French-Canadian family. the son, Bibi, a teenager, is having troubles at school; while the uncle that Bibi idolizes, Jacques, a photographer, has returned home after a long time away. Songs include "a Certain Girl" and "the Happy Time."
nytheatre.com
Notes:
Music by John Kander; Lyrics by Fred ebb; Book by N. Richard Nash; Based on the play by Samuel Taylor; Based on the book by Robert Fontaine
1st Produced:
Broadway Theatre, NY
1968
Organisations:
-
1st Published:
Dramatists Play Service, NY,
Music:
Original cast recording: RCa (61016) 1968
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: 13 performers
Further Reference:
-
Top of Page
Kiss Of the Spider Woman
Synopsis:
-
Notes:
Book by Terrence McNally; Music by John Kander; Lyrics by Fred ebb; Based on the novel by Manuel Puig
1st Produced:
Purchase, New York
1990
Organisations:
-
1st Published:
Samuel French, London, 1993
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. - - Gay, theme/character full length
Parts:
Male: - Female: - Other: -
Further Reference:
-
Top of Page
Liza
Synopsis:
-
Notes:
Music by John Kander; Lyrics by Fred ebb; Book by Fred ebb
1st Produced:
Winter Garden Theatre, NY
1974
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:
special Musical
Parts:
Male: - Female: - Other: -
Further Reference:
-
Top of Page
Madwoman Of Central Park West, The
a woman tries to tidy up her bedroom whilst writing lists of things to do, having fights with her teenage daughter and reminiscing
Notes:
written with Phyllis Newman, music by Peter Allen, Leonard Bernstein And others, from play My Mother Was A Fortune Teller by Newman
1st Produced:
Buffalo
1979
Organisations:
-
1st Published:
-
Music:
Original cast recording: DRG (5212) 1979
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:
-
Top of Page
Minnelli On Minnelli
Synopsis:
-
Notes:
Book by Fred ebb; Songs from the movies of Vincente Minnelli; Music Arranged by Billy Stritch And Marvin Hamlisch
1st Produced:
Palace Theatre, NY
1999
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:
special Musical
Parts:
Male: - Female: - Other: -
Further Reference:
-
Top of Page
Morning Sun
Synopsis:
-
Notes:
with Klein
1st Produced:
-
1963
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:
-
Top of Page
Rink, The
Synopsis:
Setting: a roller rink somewhere on the eastern seaboard. the 1970s
Notes:
Book by Terrence McNally; Music by John Kander; Lyrics by Fred ebb
1st Produced:
Martin Beck Theatre, NY
1984
Organisations:
-
1st Published:
Samuel French, NY, 1985
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:
-
Top of Page
Scottsboro Boys, The
the Scottsboro Boys explores the infamous "Scottsboro" case of the 1930s when a group of African American teenagers were unjustly accused of attacking two white women-and the boys' attempts to prove their innocence.
- nytheatre.com
Notes:
book by David Thompson; music by John Kander; lyrics by Fred ebb
1st Produced:
Organisations:
-
1st Published:
-
Music:
Original cast recording Jay Records (1421)
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: 11 Female: 2 Other: -
Further Reference:
-
Top of Page
Shirley Maclaine
Synopsis:
-
Notes:
Music by Cy Coleman; Lyrics by Dorothy Fields; Written by Fred ebb; Additional material by Bob Wells
1st Produced:
Palace Theatre, NY
1976
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:
special Musical
Parts:
Male: - Female: - Other: -
Further Reference:
-
Top of Page
Steel Pier
Stunt pilot Bill Kelly crashes but seemingly survives - he realises that he has been given a temporary reprieve of three weeks. He goes to a dance marathon where star turn Rita Racine will be one of the dancers. Rita is known as the Lindberg Lovebird as she kissed Lindbergh after he arrived back from his epic flight. Rita is secretly married to the marathon promoter - Mick - and he plans to have her win. Bill dances with Rita and they fall in love. One of the other dancers tells Rita that she has been having an affair with Mick. Mick has seen how Bill and Rita are around each other and hits on a publicity stunt - that Bill and Rita will get married whilst dancing in the marathon. But time has passed and Bill's three weeks are up. alone Rita starts packing
Notes:
Book by David Thompson; Music by John Kander; Lyrics by Fred ebb; Conceived by Scott ellis, Susan Stroman And David Thompson
1st Produced:
Richard Rodgers Theatre, NY
24 Apr 1997
Organisations:
-
1st Published:
-
Music:
Original cast recording: RCa (68878) 1997
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:
-
Top of Page
Visit, The
Synopsis:
Though written in 1956, Durrenmatt's the Visit, heralded as a masterpiece of 20th century German-language literature, seems a cross between a 19th Century meloDrama and a contemporary satire. Claire Zachanassian fled a mythical central-european town (in the original play, the town name translates as Manure). as a pregnant teen not only rejected by her lover but betrayed by the legal system from which she sought redress, Claire survived in spades, careening from prostitution through a succession of wealthy husbands to become the richest widow in the world. Her ex-lover/nemesis, anton, abandoned her to marry the town shopkeeper's daughter and thereby secure his fortune. Flash forward roughly 40 years and Claire's agents have purchased virtually all property and economic enterprise in and surrounding her hometown. Claire secretly has pulled the financial carpet out from under such that all of her former townsfolk are now impoverished, and despondently so. Thus Claire's devil's bargain: kill anton and she will endow the town collectively as well as each resident individually with wealth beyond their wildest dreams. Playwright Durrenmatt was known to represent the play as a comedy. Well, in a culture which invented the word 'schadenfreude,' this story is no doubt a barrel of laughs. Terrence McNally's adaptation is very faithful to the original, deliciously spiced with some delightful Bette Davis-like barbs for Claire to toss off.
Gary McMillan, DC theatre Scene
Notes:
Book by Terrence McNally, based on the play by Friedrich Durrenmatt (adapted by Maurice Valency); Music by John Kander; lyrics by Fred ebb
1st Produced:
-
2001
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:
-
Top of Page
Woman Of the Year
-
Notes:
Book by Peter Stone; Music by John Kander; Lyrics by Fred ebb; Based on the MGM film by Ring Lardner, Jr. And Michael Kanin
1st Produced:
Boston
1981
Organisations:
-
1st Published:
-
Music:
Original cast recording: Bay Cities ( 3008) 1981
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:
-
Top of Page
Zorba
a murder, a mine disaster and suicide. the carefree Zorba woos the courtesan Madame Hortense. His master and friend - the uptight Nikos woos a beautiful widow. and they dance
Notes:
Music by John Kander; Lyrics by Fred ebb; Book by Joseph Stein; Adapated from "Zorba the Greek" by Nikos Kazantzakis
1st Produced:
Imperial Theater, New York
17 Nov 1968
Organisations:
-
1st Published:
Hire only: musicals@samuelfrench.com,
Music:
Original cast recording: Capitol (92053) 1968
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:
-
Top of Page