Pasek and Paul
Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, known together as Pasek and Paul, are an American songwriting duo and composing team for musical theater, films and television. Their works include "", "Dogfight", "Edges", "Dear Evan Hansen", and "James and the Giant Peach". Their original songs have been featured on NBC's "Smash" and in the films "La La Land", for which they won both the Golden Globe and Academy Award for Best Original Song for the song "City of Stars", and "The Greatest Showman". Their work on the original musical "Dear Evan Hansen" has received widespread critical acclaim and earned  them the 2017 Tony Award for Best Original Score. While Pasek usually writes lyrics and Paul usually writes music, they share credit for both elements. Both are graduates of the University of Michigan and winners of the American Theatre Wing's 2007 Jonathan Larson Grant, which honors achievement by composers, lyricists and librettists. History. Start at the University of Michigan. Pasek and Paul started working together as freshmen at the University of Michigan. Both got "background" roles in the school's musical theater production, which inspired them to write "Edges", a song cycle about the trials and tribulations of moving  into adulthood and the search for meaning. "Edges" premiered in Ann Arbor, Michigan on April 3, 2005. On May 14, 2006, the duo made their New York City premiere: a benefit concert of original songs titled "Become: The Music of Pasek & Paul". Presented by Jamie McGonnigal, performers included Gavin Creel, Cheyenne Jackson, Celia Keenan-Bolger, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, and Steven Pasquale. They also contributed to the 2006 off-Broadway musical "," which won Talkin' Broadway's 2006 Summer Theatre Festival Citation for Outstanding Original Score. In December 2006, they completed their BFA degrees in musical theatre. Musical theatre. Early projects. "Edges  proved popular on social media and within several years it had over 200 productions worldwide, with countries including Australia, South Africa, Denmark, France, South Korea, the United Kingdom, Canada, the Philippines, and the United States. Pasek and Paul wrote the score to the musical adaptation of Roald Dahl's James and the Giant Peach", which premiered in 2010 through Goodspeed Musicals. Other early works include "If You Give A Pig A Pancake" (2010) and "Duck For President" for Theatreworks USA, and "Dr. Williams", written for the Orchard Project's 24 Hour Musicals benefit. The show starred Jesse Tyler Ferguson and  Cheyenne Jackson. Pasek and Paul were featured in the 2011 documentary film "One Night Stand" about the process. They wrote the lyrics and music to the 2012 musical "Dogfight", also contributing to "A Christmas Story, The Musical", which was nominated for a Tony Award in 2013 for Best Original Score. Section::::"Dear Evan Hansen" (2015). Pasek and Paul wrote the music and lyrics to their musical "Dear Evan Hansen." The musical, inspired by the death of a fellow student while Pasek was in high school, features book by Steven Levenson. Directed by Michael Greif and starring Ben Platt, it premiered at  the Arena Stage in Washington, D.C. on July 30, 2015. It made its Off-Broadway debut in March 2016 at the Second Stage Theatre, and on Broadway on November 14, 2016, opening three weeks later at the Music Box Theatre. At the 71st Tony Awards, it was nominated for nine awards including Best Musical, Best Score, Best Book of a Musical, and Best Actor in a Musical for Platt. It won six awards including Best Musical and Best Original Score for the duo. At the 2018 Grammy Awards, "Dear Evan Hansen" won Best Musical Theater Album. The musical received the  Edgerton Foundation New Play Award and a 2016 Obie Award for Musical Theatre. The musical made its West End debut at the Noël Coward Theatre in London on November 19, 2019, following previews in October of the same year. The show was nominated for seven Laurence Olivier Awards at the 2020 ceremony and won three: Best New Musical, Best Actor in a Musical for star Sam Tutty and Best Original Score or New Orchestrations for Pasek and Paul. Television. The duo have written original music for several television shows. As of 2007, Pasek and Paul were writing music for the  Disney Channel show "Johnny and the Sprites", with songs used in six episodes and for one story in the season's premiere. Their original material was featured on season 2 of NBC's "Smash" in 2013, and have risen to the Top 25 on the iTunes Pop Charts. Pasek and Paul also wrote the original song "Runnin' Home to You" performed by Grant Gustin for "The Flash" episode "Duet", a musical crossover between "The Flash" and "Supergirl". Melissa Benoist sang it in "Supergirl"'s "Crisis on Earth-X" crossover episode. Films. Pasek and Paul wrote the 2016 song "Get Back  Up Again" for the film "Trolls", as well as five original songs for the 2016 animated direct-to-video feature "". They wrote the lyrics for the musical romantic comedy-drama film "La La Land", which had music written by Justin Hurwitz. The film, in its world premiere, was the opening film at the 73rd Venice International Film Festival on August 31, 2016. The film's track "City of Stars", with their lyrics and composition by Justin Hurwitz, won the 2017 Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song. "City of Stars" and "Audition" received nominations for Best Original Song at the  89th Academy Awards, and they won the Academy Award for Best Original Song for "City of Stars." Pasek and Paul wrote the songs for the 2017 musical drama film "The Greatest Showman". About the Barnum & Bailey Circus, the film premiered on December 8, 2017. The duo's song "This Is Me" won a Golden Globe for Best Original Song and was nominated for Best Original Song at the 90th Academy Awards. In collaboration with Alan Menken, Pasek and Paul wrote the lyrics for two new songs for Disney's 2019 live action film adaptation of "Aladdin". The film also includes  original 1992 song compositions written by Menken, Howard Ashman, and Tim Rice. Pasek and Paul will also write songs for Disney's upcoming live-action film, "Snow White". Pasek and Paul also adapted "Dear Evan Hansen" as a feature film for Universal Pictures and director Stephen Chbosky. They wrote two new songs for the film, including "The Anonymous Ones," which was written in collaboration with Amandla Stenberg for the character of Alana Beck, whom Stenberg plays in the film. They also wrote "A Little Closer" for the character of Connor Murphy, played by Colton Ryan, who reprises the role in  which he understudied in the Broadway production. Paul also composed the film's underscore with Dan Romer. It premiered at the 2021 Toronto International Film Festival on September 9, 2021, followed by a release in theaters on September 24, 2021. They will next write original songs for Sony Pictures Animation's live-action/animated adaptation of Bernard Waber's children's book "Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile". It will be released on November 18, 2022. Personal lives. Pasek is the son of Temple University professor Kathy Hirsh-Pasek. His alma mater is the University of Michigan and Friends' Central School. He is  gay. Paul's alma mater is the University of Michigan and Staples High School. Paul is married; he and his wife have a daughter, born in 2016.