Rusty Magee

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
Rusty Magee
New York City, New York, U.S.
Occupation(s)Comedian, actor, composer/lyricist
SpouseAlison Fraser (1984–2003; his death)
Children1

Benjamin Rush "Rusty" Magee (August 6, 1955 – February 16, 2003) was an accomplished comedian, actor and composer/lyricist for theatre, television, film and commercials.[1]

Biography

Early life

Magee was born in

Yale School of Drama after working there for three years as Musical Consultant for the Yale Repertory Theatre
and the Yale School of Drama.

Career

In 1981, Magee and friend Rob Barron wrote 1919: A Baseball Opera,[2] based on the infamous Black Sox Scandal. The musical premiered in June 1981 at Yale Repertory Theater and was reviewed in Sports Illustrated by Robert Creamer.

Magee eventually moved to New York, where he became an accomplished composer and lyricist for theatre, television, and film and commercials. He was also an established comedian who lampooned popular musicians and musical genres. He often concluded his act with a rendition of

West Bank Cafe Downstairs Theatre Bar in New York City. The theatre was known for cultivating raw, undiscovered talent and many renowned playwrights such as Aaron Sorkin, Warren Leight and Alan Ball
had works staged at the West Bank Cafe early in their careers.

In 1986, Magee appeared in a bit part (as a comedian named Ronnie) in Woody Allen's film

Servant of Two Masters and Molière's The Imaginary Invalid. Magee once again collaborated with Lewis Black on The Czar Of Rock And Roll, a musical based on the real-life story of singer Dean Reed. The show was staged at Houston's famous Alley Theatre in 1990. Two years later, Magee began working with RENT composer Jonathan Larson, Bobby Golden and Paul Scott Goodman on a new musical called Sacred Cows, an irreverent retelling of the Creation Myth. %5D
The musical was never staged, but a demo recording (sung mostly by Larson and Magee) was released on iTunes over 20 years later.

In 1995, Magee wrote the music and lyrics for

The Manhattan Theatre Club in 1997, and is published by Samuel French
.

With Moonwork Theatre Company, Magee composed music for Off-Broadway adaptations of

The Irish...And How They Got That Way. The full musical was recorded by PBS and released on video; a cast album was also released on the Universal Music Group label. Magee collaborated again with Bobby Golden, writing songs for Nickelodeon's animated series The Wubbulous World of Dr. Seuss, as well as Out of the Box on the Disney Channel. Golden and Magee's song "Road To Victory" was featured in the documentary film New School Order. Magee wrote songs for Arthur: A Live Adventure, a musical based on the "Arthur" children's books by Marc Brown and the PBS animated series Arthur. It was presented at Radio City Music Hall in New York City in May 2000 as well as at theaters nationwide. Magee, with Billy Aronson (co-conceiver of RENT) wrote the children's opera Flurry Tale, which was produced by American Opera Projects/Family Opera Initiative in New York City. %5D

His cabaret anthem, "New York Romance", was performed at

.

Family

In 1984, he married actress Alison Fraser; the couple had one son, Nathaniel.

Sweet Appreciation and Death

A year before Magee died, a celebration of his life and work was held at the West Bank Cafe in Manhattan. The concert was hosted by Lewis Black and featured Magee's songs performed by Rebecca Luker, Alison Fraser and Mary Testa. Rupert Holmes serenaded the honoree with creep-song "

colon cancer, aged 47 and is interred at Forest Hills Cemetery
in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Accolades and Affiliations

He belonged to

ASCAP. In 2000, Magee was awarded the "Coming Up Taller" Humanitarian Award from then-First Lady Hillary Clinton at the White House for his work at the 52nd St. Project, a theatre company in Hell's Kitchen. [1]

Legacy and Tributes

In the fall of 2008, Alison Fraser and Mary Testa performed a tribute show called Together Again at the West Bank Cafe's Laurie Beechman Theatre.[3]

A YouTube archive of Magee's work was launched in 2013 and was featured in a Playbill.com article.

On January 20, 2019, another tribute concert called Rusty Revisited was performed at 54 Below, featuring Tony Award winner Daisy Eagan.[4]

In December 2023, Magee and Billy Aronson's children's opera Flurry Tale was adapted as Vinteryra and performed at Malmö Opera.[5]

References

  1. ^ New York Times obituary
  2. ^ "1919: A Baseball Opera by Rusty Magee (1981)". 1988.
  3. ^ Holden, Stephen (25 November 2008). "Show Tunes in Zany, Chatty, Romantic and Distinctly New York Hues". The New York Times.
  4. ^ "Feinstein's/54 Below Will Hold Rusty Magee Tribute Show". 20 December 2018.
  5. ^ "Vinteryra". 15 November 2022.

External links