Lippa began his professional theatrical career at the
Goodspeed Opera House in East Haddam, Connecticut. He was hired in early 1992 to be the pianist for a production of ''
It's a Bird... It's a Plane... It's Superman'' but quickly rose to become the dance arranger and assistant music director. He then stayed on for the remainder of the season in that capacity. Following the Goodspeed, Lippa worked at various theatres as music director and/or pianist in addition to being an increasingly in-demand arranger. The Goodspeed produced Lippa’s first musical,
John & Jen (book by Tom Greenwald), in 1993 at the
Norma Terris Theatre in Chester, Connecticut. That production was followed by a workshop production the following year at the
Berkshire Theatre Festival and, ultimately, a nearly 6-month run at
Lamb's Theatre in New York City. The show was produced by
Carolyn Rossi Copeland. Lippa then went on to write the book, music, and lyrics for
The Wild Party. He began work in 1996, and the
Manhattan Theatre Club presented a reading of the first act later that year.
Julia Murney, who later played the lead role of Queenie, was in the ensemble of that reading.
The Wild Party had a two-week development at the
Eugene O'Neill Theater Center in Connecticut in the summer of 1997. Following that period, producers
Jeffrey Seller and
Kevin McCollum optioned the play and, with the Manhattan Theater Club, made plans for production.
The Wild Party was given its world premiere in 2000 at the Off-Broadway Manhattan Theatre Club in New York City.
The Wild Party won the
Outer Critics Circle Award for best Off-Broadway musical of the season, and Lippa won the 2000
Drama Desk Award for best music. The show was nominated for 13 Drama Desk Awards — the most of any show that year — including best new musical. In 1999, Lippa contributed three new songs to the Broadway version of ''
You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown'' and created all new arrangements. The three songs were "My New Philosophy" (to be sung by
Kristin Chenoweth), “Beethoven Day”, and the new version of the title song. Lippa also produced the original cast recording and was honored with a
Grammy Award nomination for his work on that recording. In 2001, Lippa joined Brian Crawley to create
a musical adaptation of
A Little Princess. The show premiered in the summer of 2004 at
TheatreWorks in Palo Alto, California. The recording was released on September 13, 2011, on
Ghostlight Records.
Texas State University's musical theatre department, under the direction of actress
Kaitlin Hopkins, presented a revised version of the show in concert with Lippa conducting October 16–19. Following that production,
Music Theatre International made the title available for license to theatres all over the world. In 2006, the musical
Asphalt Beach, with music and lyrics by Lippa and the book by T. C. Smith and
Peter Spears, premiered at the
American Music Theatre Project at
Northwestern University. After producing
Asphalt Beach, Stuart Oken asked Lippa to write the music and lyrics for
The Addams Family (book by
Marshall Brickman and
Rick Elice). Lippa was honored with a
Tony Award nomination (
Best Original Score) and two Drama Desk nominations (Outstanding Music and Outstanding Lyrics) for his work on
The Addams Family.
The Addams Family starred
Nathan Lane and
Bebe Neuwirth, broke attendance records in Chicago during its 2009 try-out, and by its closing on December 31, 2011, had played 725 regular performances and 34 previews at the
Lunt-Fontanne Theatre on Broadway. The US national tour began in New Orleans in September, 2011. International productions included
São Paulo (March–December 2012), Sweden (September 2012–May 2013), and Sydney, Australia (March–June 2013). The Broadway cast recording was released on
Decca Broadway, and vocal selections are available from
Hal Leonard. Lippa wrote the music and lyrics for
Big Fish, a musical based on the
2003 film and the
1998 novel. The show, with a book by
John August, premiered in Chicago, Illinois, at the
Oriental Theatre from April 2013 through May 5, 2013. It opened on Broadway at the
Neil Simon Theatre on October 6, 2013, following previews that began on September 5, 2013.
Susan Stroman directed and choreographed, with scenic design by Julian Crouch, costume design by
William Ivey Long, and lighting design by
Donald Holder.
Norbert Leo Butz starred as Edward Bloom with
Kate Baldwin as Sandra and
Bobby Steggert as Will.
Big Fish brought Lippa a Drama Desk Award nomination for Outstanding Music. ==Additional work==