Colored Lights

The autobiography, in dialogue, of the composer and lyricist of Chicago and Cabaret as well as a wise and witty memoir of forty years of American musicals.

Composer John Kander and lyricist Fred Ebb are the longest-running composer-lyricist team in Broadway history, having first joined forces in 1962. The fruits of their collaboration have helped to push American musical theater in a more daring direction both musically and dramatically. At the same time, their impact on individual performers—such as Liza Minelli, who has provided the introduction—has been substantial.

Starting with Flora, The Red Menace, their first show together (as well as their first with Liza), and continuing with such groundbreaking works as Cabaret, Chicago, and Kiss of the Spider Woman, Kander and Ebb—ably assisted by Greg Lawrence—discuss their lives and careers with wit and acuity. In exploring the creation of truly original work such as Cabaret, reflecting on what makes a song work, reviewing what they liked (and didn’t like) about the film adaptation of Chicago, and discussing the mechanics of their own collaborative process, Kander and Ebb provide a history not only of their own lives but also of twentieth century American musical theater.

Praise for Colored Lights

“Anyone who enjoys musical theater will delight in this anecdotal memoir by an accomplished musical team who began their partnership in 1962. . . . Their recollections bring the golden age of musical theater to life and reveal the nuts and bolts of creating a score for a successful musical. The two reminisce freely about stars such as Liza Minnelli, Barbra Streisand and Bob Fosse, with whom they had close working relationships.” —Publishers Weekly