Received a Tony nomination as a co-author of "Tintypes" and wrote the music for the Broadway productions of "Yentl" and "A History of the American Film." He has 9 shows produced Off-Broadway (including "The Portable Pioneer and Prairie Show"), and he has served as composer or director of scores of productions in most of America's major regional theatres, including Hartford Stage Company (where he wrote the music for many of Mark Lamos's Shakespeare productions), Lincoln Center Theatre, Arena Stage, The Guthrie Theatre, ART, La Jolla Playhouse and the Mark Taper Forum (where he was an associate artist and wrote the original music for "Angels in America"). His work as a director includes both classical and contemporary plays, as well as a focus on new opera, with two new works developed for the Metropolitan Opera Guild. His best-known musicals are probably "Elmer Gantry" and "How The Grinch Stole Christmas" (which has sold out season after season at San Diego's Old Globe Theatre). New projects include "Great Expectations," written with author John Jakes, which was produced by Goodspeed Musicals; "Joan of Arc," a music theatre piece written with Laura Harrington; "The Book of Candy," with Susan Dworkin (produced at the Passage Theatre and New Jersey Playwrights Theatre); "Gold", with Timothy Mason, commissioned and produced by England's National Theatre in 2002; and two new operas. "Guest From The Future," with libretto by Jonathan Levi, commissioned by Nine Circles Chamber Theatre, will premiere at the new Fisher Center for the Arts; and "Buwalsky," commissioned by Holland's Opera Spanga, will premiere in The Netherlands then tour the U.S. Both operas are scheduled for production in 2004. He has been a member of the Board of Directors of Theatre Communications Group, as well as the recipient of many grants and awards. He is Faculty Composer and Director of Production of the Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts.