Musical Career
After passing the New York State Bar examination Marx enrolled at the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theater Workshop in order to meet potential clients in the entertainment industry. Here he met Robert Lopez who was also in the course.
Their first major project together, a spec Muppet movie, Kermit, Prince of Denmark, which was very loosely based on Hamlet, won them (as part of a tie) part of the $150,000 Kleban Award.
Together, they created the original concept for Avenue Q and wrote all the show's 21 songs. Avenue Q is currently running Off Broadway, in the West End, on a US National Tour, and continues to have various international productions. (It is now the 21st longest running musical in Broadway history.)
Avenue Q won the 2004 Tony Award for Best Musical. Lopez/Marx's musical score earned them a 2004 Tony Award, and another 2004 Tony Award was awarded to Avenue Q bookwriter Jeff Whitty. The musical's Original Cast Album, on the RCA/Victor label, was nominated for a Grammy Award. To date, it has sold over 150,000 copies.
Marx (and his parents) can be seen in the documentary film "ShowBusiness: The Road to Broadway", which followed the trajectories of four Tony-nominated musicals from 2004, Avenue Q, Wicked, Taboo, and Caroline, or Change. Marx, along with filmmaker Dori Berinstein and actor Alan Cumming, provided the audio commentary for the documentary's DVD.
Lopez and Marx wrote (with Debra Fordham) four songs for a musical episode of the NBC sitcom Scrubs which aired on January 18, 2007. Their song "Everything Comes Down to Poo" was nominated for an Emmy Award. Marx appeared in the episode as a pharmacist, dancing in the background during the song "We're Gonna Miss You Carla".
Marx co-wrote the theme song for the Logo Network's animated series "Rick & Steve: The Happiest Gay Couple in All the World" and contributed additional songs for the show.
Lopez and Marx have written songs for the Disney Channel TV series "Bear in the Big Blue House" and "The Book of Pooh", as well as touring stage musicals for the children's theater company Theaterworks/USA.
Read more about this topic: Jeff Marx
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