Quick Facts
Biography
Matthew Sklar (October 7, 1973) is a composer, whose works have appeared on Broadway as well as in regional theatres. He has conducted or accompanied several Broadway musicals. Sklar is also known for his collaborations with composer Chad Beguelin, having written music for their Broadway shows The Wedding Singer (which earned him a 2006 nomination for Tony Award for Best Original Score) and for Elf the Musical.
Biography
Early life
A native of Westfield, New Jersey, Sklar is the middle child of Dr. Talbot Sklar, a pediatric dentist, and Susan Sklar. He attended Edison Intermediate School and graduated from Westfield High School in 1991. He was active in the high school's music and drama programs, and also participated in the Westfield Summer Workshop. Sklar credits his start in composing to his Music Teacher, Kristine Smith-Morasso at Edison, who asked him to write a song for his 8th grade graduation. On a whim, he sent the song to Walt Disney Productions, which recorded it for the Mickey Mouse Club.
He graduated with honors in 1991 from the Juilliard School Pre-College Division as a composition major. His piece Symphonics, for full orchestra, was premiered at Lincoln Center by the Juilliard Pre-College Orchestra, conducted by Sklar. He then studied at New York University from 1991-1995.
Work
He has been a pianist, conductor, and dance music arranger for many productions including Shrek, 42nd Street, Miss Saigon, Les Misérables, Nine and Caroline, or Change. He has been working on Broadway since the age of eighteen.
He made his Broadway debut as a composer for the new musical The Wedding Singer, with Chad Beguelin writing the lyrics. He was nominated for the 2006 Tony Award for Best Original Score for The Wedding Singer. He also composed the music for the musical Elf, which broke box office records five of the nine weeks of its limited engagement on Broadway at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre in 2010–11, and returned to Broadway in the 2012–13 holiday season. Sklar co-produced the original Broadway cast albums for both shows.
He has composed the music for several original musicals, which include The Rhythm Club (Signature Theatre, 2000), Judas and Me (Off-Off-Broadway, 2009),and Wicked City (1997).
He composed the music for the new musical Half Time, based on the film Gotta Dance, with lyrics by Nell Benjamin and the book by Chad Beguelin and Bob Martin. Additional music is by Marvin Hamlisch. Directed and choreographed by Jerry Mitchell, the musical premiered at the Bank of America Theatre in Chicago on December 13, 2015, running through January 17, 2016. The show will receive its East Coast Premiere at the Tony-Award-Winning Paper Mill Playhouse on May 31, 2018, running through July 1, 2018. "
He composed the music for a new musical, The Prom. Based on a concept by Jack Viertel, the book is by Bob Martin and Chad Beguelin, lyrics by Beguelin, and directed and choreographed by Casey Nicholaw. The musical premiered at the Alliance Theatre, Atlanta, Georgia, on August 18, 2016 in previews.
Broadway credits
As composer:
- Elf – Original music
- Shrek – Dance arrangements
- The Wedding Singer – Original music - Tony Award nominee
Other credits:
- Caroline, or Change – associate conductor
- Nine – rehearsal pianist, associate conductor
- Oklahoma! (2002 revival) – rehearsal pianist
- 42nd Street (2001 revival) – associate conductor
- Putting It Together – assistant conductor
- Annie Get Your Gun (1999 revival) – rehearsal pianist
- On the Town (1998 Revival) – rehearsal pianist
- Titanic – associate conductor
- Miss Saigon – assistant conductor, replacement
- Les Misérables – associate conductor, replacement
Awards
- the ASCAP Richard Rodgers New Horizons Award
- 2003 - the Gilman Gonzalez-Falla Musical Theater Award with Chad Beguelin
- 2000 - the Jonathan Larson Performing Arts Foundation Award (with Chad Beguelin)
Nominations
- 2006 Tony Award, Best Original Score, The Wedding Singer – Nominee
- 2006 Drama Desk Award, Outstanding music
- 2015 Emmy Award, outstanding-music-direction for the NBC stop-motion animated NBC special Elf: Buddy's Musical Christmas