Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, known together as Pasek and Paul, are an American songwriting duo and composing team for musical theater, films and television.[1][2][3][4][5]
While Pasek usually writes lyrics and Paul usually writes music, they share credit for both elements.[6] Both are graduates of the University of Michigan[7] and winners of the American Theatre Wing's 2007 Jonathan Larson Grant,[8] which honors achievement by composers, lyricists and librettists.
In September 2024, the duo became the 20th and 21st EGOT winners.
History
Start at the University of Michigan
Pasek and Paul started working together as freshmen at the University of Michigan.[9] Both got "background" roles in the school's musical theater production, which inspired them to write Edges, a song cycle about the trials and tribulations of moving into adulthood and the search for meaning. Edges premiered in Ann Arbor, Michigan on April 3, 2005.[7]
In December 2006, they completed their BFA degrees in musical theatre.
Musical theatre
Early projects
Edges proved popular on social media[13] and within several years it had over 200 productions worldwide, with countries including Australia,[14] South Africa,[15]Denmark,[16][17] France,[18]South Korea, the United Kingdom,[19] Canada,[20] the Philippines,[21] and the United States.[22]
Pasek and Paul wrote the score to the musical adaptation of Roald Dahl's James and the Giant Peach, which premiered in 2010 through Goodspeed Musicals.[23] Other early works include If You Give A Pig A Pancake (2010) and Duck For President for Theatreworks USA,[24] and Dr. Williams, written for the Orchard Project's 24 Hour Musicals benefit. The show starred Jesse Tyler Ferguson and Cheyenne Jackson. Pasek and Paul were featured in the 2011 documentary film One Night Stand about the process.[25] They wrote the lyrics and music to the 2012 musical Dogfight,[26] also contributing to A Christmas Story, The Musical, which was nominated for a Tony Award in 2013 for Best Original Score.[27]
Dear Evan Hansen (2015)
Pasek and Paul wrote the music and lyrics to their musical Dear Evan Hansen. The musical, inspired by the death of a fellow student while Pasek was in high school, features book by Steven Levenson. Directed by Michael Greif and starring Ben Platt in the title role, it premiered at the Arena Stage in Washington, D.C. on July 30, 2015.[28][29][30] It made its Off-Broadway debut in March 2016 at the Second Stage Theatre,[31] and on Broadway on November 14, 2016, opening three weeks later at the Music Box Theatre. At the 71st Tony Awards, it was nominated for nine awards including Best Musical, Best Score, Best Book of a Musical, and Best Actor in a Musical for Platt. It won six awards including Best Musical and Best Original Score for the duo. At the 2018 Grammy Awards, Dear Evan Hansen won Best Musical Theater Album.[32] The musical received the Edgerton Foundation New Play Award and a 2016 Obie Award for Musical Theatre.[33] The show broke box office records at the Music Box Theatre and became the longest-running production to play the venue in Broadway’s history.[34]
The duo have written original music for several television shows. In 2007 and 2008 Pasek and Paul wrote music for the Disney Channel show Johnny and the Sprites,[12] with songs used in six episodes and for one story in the season's premiere.
Their original material was featured on season 2 of NBC's Smash in 2013,[36] and have risen to the Top 25 on the iTunes Pop Charts.
Pasek and Paul wrote the 2016 song "Get Back Up Again" for the film Trolls,[43] as well as five original songs for the 2016 animated direct-to-video feature Tom and Jerry: Back to Oz.[44]
Pasek and Paul also adapted Dear Evan Hansen as a feature film for Universal Pictures and director Stephen Chbosky. They wrote two new songs for the film, including "The Anonymous Ones," which was written in collaboration with Amandla Stenberg for the character of Alana Beck, whom Stenberg plays in the film. They also wrote "A Little Closer" for the character of Connor Murphy, played by Colton Ryan, who reprises the role in which he understudied in the Broadway production.[53] Paul also composed the film's underscore with Dan Romer.[54] It premiered at the 2021 Toronto International Film Festival on September 9, 2021, followed by a release in theaters on September 24, 2021.[55][56][57]
