Mr. Marren is a talented composer who has written for television, as well as the stage, over the past 45 years. Originally an actor and singer, he transitioned into composing in 1974 by working on several songs and then the complete score for the musical revue Games, which was produced in New York and Toronto. Shortly thereafter, he was accepted into the Lehman Engle’s BMI Music Theatre Workshop where he met Susan Birkenhead with whom he wrote the Off Broadway musical Love.
It is for this show that Mr. Marren won the 1983-84 Outer Critics’ Circle Award for his score. Based on Murray Schisgal’s play, Luv and later retitled What About Luv?, it was produced in London at the Orange Tree Theatre and, subsequently, the Lyric Hammersmith. Further productions took place in South Africa, Germany, Canada, Japan and throughout the United States. What About Luv? was recorded in London by That’s Entertainment Records with Judy Kaye recreating the role she originated Off Broadway, starring with Nathan Lane and Steve Vinovich, and in the revival at the York Theatre Company, starring with Austin Pendleton and David Green.
He has also won the Richard Rodgers Production Award and Seagram’s New Music Theatre Award for Portrait of Jennie (book and lyrics by Enid Futterman, based upon the novel by Robert Nathan), which was given its initial staged reading at the O’Neill Theater Center in New London, Connecticut. It was subsequently produced at the New Federal Theatre, The Berkshire Theatre Festival, and twice in Tokyo, where it won Best Musical.
| Credit Type | Production | Season |
|---|---|---|
| Playwright | Portrait of Jennie | 1982-83 Season |