Joe DiPietro (born 1961) is an American playwright, lyricist and author."Giving Allegro a heart transplant", The Washington Times He is best known for the Tony Award-winning musical Memphis, for which he won the Tony Awards for Best Book of a Musical and Best Original Score as well as for writing the book and lyrics for the long-running off-Broadway show I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change.
Biography Born in Teaneck, New Jersey,Ouzounian, Richard. "Toxic Avenger found his bard in Bon Jovi: Band's David Bryan just wants people to sing the songs he writes", Toronto Star, December 6, 2009. Accessed December 6, 2009. "He got a crash course in how to do it when he met up with Joe DiPietro, another Jersey boy (this one from Teaneck)." DiPietro grew up in nearby Oradell,Theater; New Musical Headed For American Stage, The New York Times the son of Lou and Jean DiPietro. He attended Oradell Public School and River Dell High School, before graduating Phi Beta Kappa from Rutgers University in 1984 with a bachelor's degree in English.Doubling Down With Joe DiPietro; 2 of his shows open in area , Daily News
DiPietro is openly gay."Memphis belle" . Dallas Voice, May 10, 2012.
Work Following a run of Love Lemmings at the Top of the Village Gate in 1991, DiPietro's first produced work was I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change, written with composer Jimmy Roberts, which ran for twelve years (5,003 performances) off-Broadway at the Westside Theatre. He followed that up with 1998's comedy Over the River and Through the Woods, which played the John Houseman Theatre for 800 performances over two years.
DiPietro's work made its Broadway debut in 2005 with the Elvis Presley jukebox musical All Shook Up. The Toxic Avenger, written with Bon Jovi's David Bryan, debuted off-Broadway on April 6, 2009, and won the Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding New Off-Broadway Musical.
DiPietro and Bryan's Memphis won the 2010 Tony Award for Best Musical. It ran at the Shubert Theatre for three years (1,165 performances) and continues in touring production all over the country. DiPietro won Tony Awards for Best Book and Best Score, and the show also received the Tony, Drama Desk, and Outer Critics Circle Awards for Best Musical.
Nice Work If You Can Get It, a re-imagining of a Gershwin musical, starring Matthew Broderick and Kelli O'Hara, opened at Broadway's Imperial Theatre in 2012. The show, and DiPietro's book, were nominated for Tony Awards in 2012, and DiPietro won the Drama Desk Award for Best Book of a Musical.
Clever Little Lies ran in late 2013 at George Street Playhouse and debuted in New York's Westside Theatre in 2015 with Marlo Thomas and Greg Mullavey."Marlo Thomas Stars in Off-Broadway Marriage Comedy Clever Little Lies by Harry Haun, The New York Observer, October 1, 2015
The musical Chasing the Song, which reunited DiPietro with Bryan, was workshopped at La Jolla Playhouse in the summer of 2014. 2014 also saw DiPietro reworking the Garson Kanin play Peccadillo into Living on Love, which starred the opera star Renée Fleming and was a highlight of the 2014 Williamstown Theatre Festival.
Other recent plays include Creating Claire, which debuted at George Street Playhouse in 2010, and The Last Romance, which played the Old Globe in 2010 after debuting at Kansas City's New Theatre in 2008. and Ernest Shackleton Loves Me (with the score written by Val Vigoda and Brendan Milburn of GrooveLily fame.) Shackleton was shown as part of the PBS series Broadway on HD, on November 26, 2018.
Diana, a musical treatment of the life of Diana, Princess of Wales with lyrics and book by DiPietro, was scheduled to open on Broadway in March 2020, but was postponed due the COVID-19 pandemic. The production was filmed for Netflix and opened subsequently on Broadway in November 2021.
Plays 2025 3 Summers of Lincoln (musical) (book and lyrics)McNulty, Charles, ‘This isn’t a history lesson’: Inside the new musical about Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass, The Los Angeles Times, December 5, 2023. 'Privacy Policy'+/cookie-acquiescence block to access. 2023 Babbit, an adaptation of the novelMatthew Broderick portrays a pre-MAGA everyman in ‘Babbitt’ at La Jolla Playhouse, The Los Angeles Times 2021 What's New Pussycat? (book) featuring the songs of Tom Jones based on Henry Fielding's 1749 novel The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling 2020 Conscience (author) based on Sen. Margaret Chase Smith of Maine's early declaration in the 1950s McCarthy eraHughes, Laura Collins, "‘Conscience’ Review: The Woman Who Stared Down the Red Scare", New York Times, March 11, 2020. Retrieved 2025/11/23.Dalton, Joseph, ""Preview:‘Conscience’ brings McCarthy-era debate to Capital Region stage", Times-Union, October 29, 2025. Retrieved 2025/11/23. 2019 Diana (book and lyrics) with music by David Bryan 2017 Ernest Shackleton Loves Me with score by Val Vigoda and Brendan Milburn of GrooveLily 2014 Chasing The Song (still in workshop) (book and lyrics) with music by David Bryan of Bon Jovi 2014 Living On Love (author)Brantley, Ben, "Theater Listings for May 1-7", New York Times, April 30, 2015. Starring Renée Fleming. Retrieved 2025/11/23. 2013 Clever Little Lies (author) 2012 Nice Work If You Can Get It (Broadway) (book) 2010 Creating Claire (author) 2010 Falling For Eve (book) 2008 The Toxic Avenger book and lyrics with music by David Bryan, based on the movie 2008 Fucking Men, an adaptation of Schnitzler's La Ronde (1897)Joe DiPietro To Open Newest Play In UK 5/16, Broadwayworld, May 15, 2008 2008 The Last Romance (author) 2005 All Shook Up (Broadway) (book) 2004 Allegro (adaptation, writer) 2003 The Thing About Men (Off-Broadway) (book, lyrics) (musical version of the German comedy film by Doris Dörrie, Männer... (Men...), from 1985) with music by Jimmy Roberts 2002 Memphis (book and lyrics) with music by David Bryan of Bon Jovi 2002 Babes in Arms (adaptation, writer) 2001 They All Laughed (book) (a very loose adaptation of Oh, Kay!)Klein, Alvin, Theater; A Not-So-New Gershwin Musical, The New York Times, August 12, 2001. Retrieved 2026-05-05. 2000 Art of Murder (author) 1998 Over the River and Through the Woods (Off-Broadway) (author) 1998 Kiss at City Hall (author) 1996 I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change (Off-Broadway) (book and lyrics) with music by Jimmy Roberts 1994 The Virgin Weeps (author)Playbill Biography: JOE DiPIETRO 1991 Love Lemmings (author, lyricist)
Awards and nominations YearAward CategoryWorkResult2009Drama Desk AwardOutstanding Book of a MusicalThe Toxic Avenger2010Tony AwardBest Book of a MusicalMemphisBest Original ScoreDrama Desk AwardOutstanding Book of a Musical2012Tony AwardBest Book of a MusicalNice Work If You Can Get ItDrama Desk AwardOutstanding Book of a MusicalOuter Critics Circle AwardOutstanding Book of a Musical2015Laurence Olivier AwardOutstanding Musical ContributionMemphis2022Golden Raspberry AwardsWorst Picture Diana Worst Screenplay
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