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César Alvarez

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American composer, lyricist and playwright

César Alvarez (born 1980) is an American composer, lyricist and playwright. César is best known for the musical FUTURITY which they wrote with their band The Lisps. FUTURITY won the Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Musical in 2016.

Alvarez is an assistant professor of music at Dartmouth College.

Early life

Alvarez was born to a Cuban father and a Euro-American mother in Greensboro, NC. They were named for César Cauce and James Waller, who were both victims of the Greensboro Massacre.

Alvarez attended Interlochen Arts Academy and Oberlin Conservatory. They received an MFA from Bard College.

Alvarez uses they/them pronouns

Career

Alvarez spent the early years of their career performing with The Lisps. The Lisps released 4 albums between 2006 and 2012."

In 2008, Alvarez conceived of the Civil War-era science fictional musical FUTURITY as their master's thesis at Bard. In 2009, The Lisps first performed FUTURITY at the now defunct New York City venue, The Zipper Factory. FUTURITY world premiered as part of the American Repertory Theater's 2011/12 season under the direction of Sarah Benson co-commissioned by Walker Art Center. FUTURITY went on to an Off-Broadway premiere co-produced by Soho Rep and Ars Nova in 2015. That production won the Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Musical and received 4 other Lortel nominations.

In 2013 Alvarez composed original music with The Lisps for The Foundry Theater's production of Bertolt Brecht's The Good Person of Szechwan starring Taylor Mac. Alvarez and The Lisps received a Drama Desk Nomination for Outstanding Music in a Play.

In 2014 Alvarez composed original music for the World Premiere production of Branden Jacobs-Jenkins's play An Octoroon. They received another Drama Desk Nomination for Outstanding Music in a Play.

Alvarez also composed music for Soho Rep's site specific work Washeteria, Theatre for a New Audience's production of Thornton Wilder's The Skin of Our Teeth, and the documentary A Woman Like Me.

Alvarez's other musicals include The Universe is a Small Hat, The Elementary Spacetime Show and NOISE.

Alvarez was an Artist-in-Residence at The University of the Arts where they served as Founding Artistic Director of Polyphone, a festival of new musicals for five years.

Awards

References

  1. ^ "César Alvarez Is Changing the American Musical Form, and the World". AMERICAN THEATRE. 2015-10-13. Retrieved 2017-10-23.
  2. "A musical for people who don't like musicals". The Economist. Retrieved 2017-10-23.
  3. ^ Cox, Gordon (2016-05-02). "Lucille Lortel Awards: 'Guards at the Taj,' 'The Robber Bridegroom' Score Big". Variety. Retrieved 2017-10-23.
  4. "César Alvarez and Allie Martin join Music Department". 2 July 2020.
  5. "César Alvarez's "Elementary Spacetime Show" Debuts". AL DÍA News. 2016-09-12. Retrieved 2017-10-24.
  6. "César Alvarez - Lower Manhattan Cultural Council". Lower Manhattan Cultural Council. Retrieved 2017-10-24.
  7. "César Alvarez Is Changing the American Musical Form, and the World". AMERICAN THEATRE. 2015-10-13. Retrieved 2017-10-24.
  8. "1990s Motifs | Interlochen Summer Arts Camp". camp.interlochen.org. Retrieved 2017-10-24.
  9. "Alumni Composers | Composition | Conservatory | Oberlin College". new.oberlin.edu. 24 October 2016. Retrieved 2017-10-24.
  10. "Dartmouth College Faculty Bio". 16 July 2020.
  11. D'Andrea, Niki (2008-03-13). "The Lisps". Phoenix New Times. Archived from the original on 2012-10-20. Retrieved 2017-10-24.
  12. "The Lisps: Sing Along with Heartache". NPR.org. Retrieved 2017-10-24.
  13. "Listen And Watch: The Lisps On TAS In Session On WNYE 91.5 | WFUV". www.wfuv.org. Retrieved 2017-10-24.
  14. "Futurity Is A Folk-Rock-Math-Science… Musical?". Bedford + Bowery. Retrieved 2017-10-24.
  15. "At Length » Futurity". atlengthmag.com. Retrieved 2017-10-24.
  16. "An Indie Rock Musical Grows in Brooklyn". PAPERMAG. 2009-01-09. Retrieved 2017-10-24.
  17. "Interview: The Lisps - Lightspeed Magazine". Lightspeed Magazine. 2010-07-27. Retrieved 2017-10-24.
  18. "ART's new season: 'Porgy' and The Lisps". Boston.com. Retrieved 2017-10-24.
  19. Kerr, Euan. "Walker celebrates Cunningham in new performing arts season". State of the Arts. Retrieved 2017-10-24.
  20. Isherwood, Charles (2015-10-20). "Review: 'Futurity,' in a Civil War Setting, Wishes for Today's Technology". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2017-10-24.
  21. Isherwood, Charles (2013-02-08). "'Good Person of Szechwan,' With Taylor Mac, at La MaMa". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2017-10-24.
  22. "Nominations Announced for 58th Annual Drama Desk Awards; Giant and Hands on a Hardbody Lead the Pack | Playbill". Playbill. Retrieved 2017-10-24.
  23. Cox, Gordon (2015-04-23). "Drama Desk Nominations: 'Hamilton' Leads the Polls (FULL LIST)". Variety. Retrieved 2017-10-24.
  24. Soloski, Alexis (2015-03-30). "Review: Soho Rep's 'Washeteria,' Staged in a Brooklyn Storefront". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2017-10-24.
  25. Brantley, Ben (2017-02-28). "Review: In 'The Skin of Our Teeth,' the End of the World as We Know It". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2017-10-24.
  26. "'A Woman Like Me': Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2017-10-24.
  27. "Building the Future with Gaming and Participatory Theater - Extended Play". Extended Play. 2015-01-28. Retrieved 2017-10-24.
  28. "Philly Fringe: 'Spacetime Show' probes teen suicide with humor, music, physics". Philly.com. Retrieved 2017-10-24.
  29. "Fringe reviews: 'The Elementary Spacetime Show,' 'Switched!' and 'The Chairs' : Shapiro on Theater : Arts & Entertainment : WHYY". WHYY. Retrieved 2017-10-24.
  30. "Making some 'Noise'". Herald Community Newspapers. Retrieved 2017-10-24.
  31. "Polyphone". The American Theatre Wing. Retrieved 2017-10-24.
  32. "Polyphone Is Bigger and Better the Second Time Around". AMERICAN THEATRE. 2016-04-07. Retrieved 2017-10-24.
  33. "UArts Appoints Director of Polyphone Festival". 2019-10-10.
  34. "America Theatre Wing". The American Theatre Wing. Retrieved 2017-09-27.
  35. "Off Broadway Alliance Announces 2016 Award Winners". TheaterMania.com. Retrieved 2017-10-24.
  36. "César Alvarez and Isabella Dawis Awarded Kleban Prize for Musical Theatre".
  37. "Among the 2022 Guggenheim Fellows, 4 Theatremakers". American Theatre. Theatre Communications Group. 2022-04-08. Retrieved 2022-04-09.

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