Kander and Ebb
Kander and Ebb is the songwriting team consisting of composer John Kander, born March 18, 1927 and lyricist Fred Ebb, born April 8, 1933.They first worked together in 1962, on Flora the Red Menace, which was produced by Hal Prince, directed by George Abbott, and with book by George Abbott and Robert Russell. It was the musical in which Liza Minnelli made her initial Broadway appearance. Kander and Ebb have since been associated with writing material for Minnelli and for Chita Rivera, and have produced special material for their appearances live and on television.
Their greatest acclaim came from the musical and film Cabaret. The musical was a major success, with a Broadway run of over 1100 performances. It won a Tony Award as the season's best musical, and its original cast recording won a Grammy. The film won eight Academy Awards. The 2002 film Chicago, based on their poorly-received musical of the same name, was also a great success, including an Oscar nomination for the two of them.
One of their best-known songs is the theme song from Scorsese's New York, New York, recorded by both Liza Minelli and Frank Sinatra.
They were recognized for their contributions to theatre and music with Kennedy Center Honors in 1998.
Their other musicals include:
- Flora the Red Menace
- The Happy Time
- Zorba
- 70 Girls 70
- The Act
- Woman of the Year
- The Rink
- Kiss of the Spider Woman
- Steel Pier
- Fosse
- Thornton Wilder's The Skin of Our Teeth
