John Weidman is an American librettist and television writer. He is the son of librettist and novelist, Jerome Weidman, who wrote the book for the Pulitzer Prize-winning musical, Fiorello! (1959). John Weidman gained a B.A. from Harvard University (with a major in East Asian history) and a J.D. from Yale Law School.
Weidman is known for his collaborations with Stephen Sondheim and choreographer/director Susan Stroman. Weidman first worked with Sondheim on Pacific Overtures, which opened on Broadway in 1976 and earned Weidman a Tony nomination for Best Book of a Musical. They teamed up again to write Assassins (1990) and finally Road Show, which opened Off-Broadway in 2008. Weidman first worked with Stroman on Big the Musical (1996) and he was, once again, Tony nominated for his work on the show. In 1999, he and Stroman co-created the musical "dance play" Contact, which premiered Off-Broadway before moving to Broadway in 2000. This show earned Weidman his latest Tony nomination. Most recently, he wrote the book for the 2009 musical Happiness, which Stroman directed and choreographed. In 1987, Weidman teamed up with Timothy Crouse to update the book of Anything Goes ahead of its hugely successful 1987 Broadway revival.
Away from the stage, Weidman has been a writer for Sesame Street since 1986. From 1999 to 2009 he was president of the Dramatists Guild of America.
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