Laurence "Larry" O'Keefe

Laurence “Larry” O’Keefe was born in 1969 to Daniel and Deborah O’Keefe. Laurence, along with his two brothers, pursued a career as a writer. O’Keefe attended Harvard College and wrote for the Harvard Lampoon while studying anthropology. While at Harvard, O’Keefe began performing in Hasty Pudding Theatricals drag burlesque shows. He composed Suede Expectations and wrote a libretto for Romancing the Throne for productions at Harvard. O’Keefe went on to study composition and film scoring at Berklee College of Music in Boston and received a masters in composition for film and television from the University of Southern California.

O’Keefe’s first major production was Bat Boy: The Musical (2001), which ran Off-Broadway and received eight Drama Desk Nominations. Bat Boy has gone on to be produced internationally in South Korea, Japan, Scotland, and beyond. His next hit was Legally Blonde: The Musical (2007) which he wrote along with his wife, Nell Benjamin. They received a Drama Desk nomination for Outstanding Music and Lyrics, as well as a Tony nomination for Best Score. O’Keefe’s next big production came with Heathers: The Musical (2014). This cult-classic show had an Off-Broadway run in 2014 and had a production in the West End in 2018.

O’Keefe also writes music for movies, television and concerts. He works as the head of the Music Department for Harvard University and teaches masterclasses across the USA at schools such as NYU, Berklee College of Music, and Yale University.