Robert Lopez (Composer)

Biography

Robert Lopez is a songwriter whose most notable works include The Book of Mormon, Avenue Q and the Oscar Winning movie Frozen.

Career

Robert Lopez is an American-Filipino songwriter who was born on 23rd February 1975 in Manhatten. He studied at Yale University where he received a B.A. in English after attending Hunter College High School. After Yale he went to the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theater Workshop where he met Jeff Marx. Marx and he hooked up and created a project called Kermit; Prince of Denmark. This was a parody for the Muppets of Hamlet, but the Jim Henson Company decided not to take the project any further although it had been considered.

In 1999 Marx and Lopez started working on the musical Avenue Q. Inspired partly by the music and comedy elements of South Park Marx and Lopez set out to create a 'Sesame Street' environment focussing on the puppets dealing with adult life. The show originally played Off-Broadway but transferred to the 'John Golden Theatre' in July 2003. It won Lopez and Marx the Tony Award for Best Musical in 2004.Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx, creators of Avenue Q

In 2006 Lopez worked on the children's television series Wonder Pets on the music front, a production that won him a Daytime Emmy Award in both 2008 and 2010, whilst in 2007 Lopez and Marx collaborated again, this time on four songs for the 123rd episode of Scrubs, the episode being titled 'My Musical'. The song 'Everything comes down to Poo' recieving another Emmy nomination.

2005 saw a collaboration with Lopez's heroes Trey Parker and Matt Stone (who created South Park). Lopez had met them at a production of Avenue Q and after that current season of South Park had been completed they met and discussed ideas, the result was The Book of Mormon. The musical comedy won the Tony Awards for Best Book of a Musical and Best Original Score in 2011 as well as landing the 'Best Musical' award after its 2011 premiere at the 'Eugene O'Neill Theatre'.

In 2013 Lopez and his wife Kristen Anderson Lopez (who he'd met during his time at the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop) created the songs for the Walt Disney Animated Feature Frozen which has had enormous global success. It landed the two of them the Oscar for Best Original Song (2013) as well as the Golden Globe award for the same category. This now means that Lopez is one of only 12 members of the 'EGOT Club', which is the people who have won an Emmy, a Grammy (for The Book of Mormon's cast album), an Oscar and a Tony Award. Lopez and his wife are currently writing a new musical entitled Up Here as well as working on material for a new Disney movie.Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson Lopez collecting their 2013 Academy Award

Selected list of Musicals and Movies for which Robert Lopez has created songs;

  • Avenue Q (2003) [Musical] co-songwriter : Jeff Marx
  • The Book of Mormon (2011) [Musical] co-songwriters : Matt Stone, Trey Parker
  • Frozen (2013) [Movie] co-songwriter : Kristen Anderson Lopez

Robert Lopez Musicals & Movies on The Accompanist

Avenue Q | Frozen

Robert Lopez Collaborators on The Accompanist

Jeff Marx | Kristen Anderson Lopez