| Luther
Davis |
 |
Luther Davis was inspired to
write the book for Grand
Hotel, the Musical when he wandered into a second-hand bookstore
some years ago and picked up a copy of Vicki Baum's (by then out of print)
novel. He was still enjoying his share of the fruits of his successful
collaboration with Charles Lederer, Robert Wright, and George Forrest on
the musical Kismet and thought Grand Hotel would be a worthy successor.
He negotiated for the rights, wrote a musical book, and enlisted Wright
and Forrest to create the score. Together Wright, Forrest and Davis have
organized two productions based on Vicki Baum's novel - an early and quite
different one called At The Grand for Los Angeles and San Francisco
Light Opera Associations. starring Paul Muni, and the present one.
In addition to Kismet
and Grand Hotel, The Musical, he has written the play Kiss Them
For Me (Broadway) the musical Timbuktu! (Broadway-he also produced
it) and the plays They Voted Yes and Changing The World (Regional
Theaters).
He has written fifteen movies,
many television specials, and co-produced off-Broadway Stephen MacDonald's
play Not About Heroes. He has been nominated for three Tonys and
won one, won two Mystery Writers of America Edgar Allen Poe awards, and
many Writers Guild nominations. He says he is "an earnest member" of the
Dramatists Guild, the Writers Guild of America, and the League of American
Theaters and Producers.
10/2004 |
