Born in New York, Ebb went to school at both New York University and Columbia, where he received a master' degree in English literature. The lyricist got his start in the theater writing for revues, one of which, "From A to Z," had a short run on Broadway in 1960.
Ebb was brought together with Kander in the 1960s by music publisher Tommy Valando and one of their first collaborations, the song "My Coloring Book," was recorded by Barbra Streisand.
The team was hired by producer Harold Prince and veteran director George Abbott to write the score for "Flora, the Red Menace," starring a 19-year-old Minnelli. The show, which opened on Broadway in 1965, was not a success, but Kander and Ebb were signed to do Prince's next musical, a show based on Christopher Isherwood's "Berlin Stories" and the play "I Am a Camera."
Called "Cabaret," it opened in November 1966 and ran for 1,165 performances, immediately establishing Kander and Ebb as musical-theater songwriters to watch. The production, set in pre-World War II Germany, featured a huge mirror which reflected back into the audience and featured a sexually provocative master of ceremonies, played by Joel Grey, who taunted and teased the audience in song.
"Cabaret" has been revived twice on Broadway — in 1987 with Grey repeating his role as the lascivious master of ceremonies and again in 1998 by the Roundabout Theatre Company in an environmentally staged production which ran until early this year.
The revival of "Chicago," which opened on Broadway in 1996, also has outlasted the original. The first production, starring Verdon and Rivera and directed by Bob Fosse, opened on Broadway in 1975 and, despite a two-year run, was overshadowed by another hit show of that year, "A Chorus Line."
But "Chicago," a sardonic, cynical take on murder and mayhem in the 1920s, came into its own with the 1996 revival, which featured Ann Reinking and Bebe Neuwirth. It is still running at the Ambassador Theatre, having recently passed performance number 3,250. [AP] Cabaret is one of my favorite musicals: great songs, dripping with atmosphere and innuendo, an underlying sense of menace which contrasts beautifully with determined escapism within the cabaret, the music integrates seamlessly within the story. Astonishing.
Ebb was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1983.
More on Ebb here.
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1 - Margaret
In honour of the recent passing of FLORA's lyricist Fred Ebb, the Drama Centre is proud to present Kander and Ebb's first Broadway musical. The show was described by one reviewer at its recent Scottish premiere as "as masterful a piece of musical theatre as their later work." Director Laura MacDonald points out, "It was Kander and Ebb's work on Flora that got them hired to write Cabaret the following year."
You'll be enthralled as our cast of nine talented, up-and-coming performers sing and dance their way through the exciting and memorable FLORA, THE RED MENACE score, full of infectious and intelligent Kander and Ebb show-stoppers such as "All I Need Is One Good Break," "The Flame" and "Sing Happy."
FLORA, THE RED MENACE runs November 17-21 and 24-28, 2004 at the Studio Theatre. 4 Glen Morris Street. Wed-Sat 8PM ($15/$10), Sun 2PM (Pay-What-You- Can).
Tickets available by calling the Drama Centre Box Office at 416-978-7986, or at the door.