Biography
Norman L. Berman served as Composer-in-Residence at the celebrated Circle Repertory Company in New York City. At Circle Rep he composed music scores for over 20 plays ranging from premieres by Tennessee Williams, Lanford Wilson, Marsha Norman and Paul Zindel to Shakespearean and Chekhovian classics.
Norman co-composed the score to the Broadway and off-Broadway productions of the musical play Strider. He was the first composer to be awarded the Drama Desk Award in the category of Outstanding Music in a Play. He also served as orchestrator and musical director. Strider has subsequently been produced all over the world including regional theaters across the United States. It is published by Concord Theatricals.
He has also composed music for five mini-musicals with librettist, lyricist Abraham Tetenbaum for the educational touring shows produced by Enrichment Works.
For ten years Norman served as Composer-in-Residence for the Southern California based classical repertory company, A Noise Within, where he composed scores for 30 plays ranging from Sophocles to Thorton Wilder.
He has been commissioned to compose music for many prominent regional theaters across the country including, New York Shakespeare Festival, Manhattan Theatre Club, Playwrights Horizions, Brooklyn Academy of Music, New York Theatre Workshop, Roundabout Theatre, Arena Stage, Folger Theater Company, St. Louis Repertory Company, GeVa Theater, Seattle Repertory Company, Williamstown Theatre Festival, Taper Two and loads more.
Norman was commissioned by the Chelsea Theatre Center to create (along with theatre legends, Comden and Green) and to co-direct By Bernstein, a musical revue premiering Leonard Bernstein's unused songs from West Side Story, Candide, On The Town, Peter Pan and The Race To Urga.
For Manhattan Theatre Club, he conceived and directed the musical revue Unsung Cole, which premiered two dozen songs by Cole Porter. Unsung Cole was subsequently produced in New York by Circle Repertory Company and many regional theaters across the country and is published by Concord Theatricals. Norman directed various stage productions for Manhattan Theatre Club, Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, Westchester Theatre Company and more.
His score for the musical Winter Shakers was premiered by the Louisville Symphony Orchestra at the inaugural ceremonies at the Kentucky Center For The Performing Arts.
He collaborated with Alan Menken in creating the musical revue Patch, Patch, Patch, which premiered the songs of Mr. Menken. He directed the revue at the Laurie Beechman Theatre in New York City.
