New York City Children's Theater    Critical Reception    Other Theater Music    Early Jazz Exponent    Published Instrumental Music    Columnist for The Savvy Screener    Upcoming CD    Education  
1. References

Charles Louis "Charlie" Greenberg is a composer and arranger of instrumental and vocal arrangements^[1] for classical, jazz, contemporary and musical theater productions. His career spans more than 40 years. His compositions have been performed at Off-Broadway venues including the Vineyard Theater, Circle Repertory, Symphony Space, Lincoln Center Summer Festival, Eugene O’Neil Theater Foundation, Westbeth Theater, [https://live.stanford.edu/ Stanford Lively Arts], Tribeca Performing Arts, Abrons Performing Arts Center, [https://www.newyorkcitytheatre.com/theaters/clurman-theater/theater.php 42nd Street’s Clurman Theater] and Mint Theater.

New York City Children's Theater

In 1996, Greenberg began a long-time collaboration with librettist and lyricist, Barbara Zinn Krieger^[2]. Together, they have staged numerous productions for the [https://nycchildrenstheater.org/about-nycct/production-history/ New York City Children's Theater], including [https://nycchildrenstheater.org/shows-and-programs/little-kit-1997-1999/ Little Kit] (1997 & 1999) [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6eCKris9Hs Butterfly] (2008 & 2012), [https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/jose-limon-making-artist-19672/ Jose Limon: The Making of an Artist] (2009), [https://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/23/theater/reviews/23sky.html Sky Boys] (2011) and [https://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/12/theater/review-young-charles-dickens-musically-mixes-fact-and-fiction.html Young Charles Dickens], a 2016 nominee for Best Family Show by the Off-Broadway Alliance^[3]. He was the New York City Children’s Theater "Family of Artists" honoree in 2013^[4].

Greenberg has also written incidental music for The Emperor's New Clothes and other Magical Stories, which is scheduled to open at the Clurman Theater on November 24, 2018^[5]

Critical Reception

Greenberg's contributions to the New York City Children's Theater have been well-received by The New York Times, Time Out New York, and other publications.

For example, The New York Times reviewer Laurel Graeber wrote that Sky Boys was "buoyed by Charles Greenberg's winning music, which includes both Gershwin-esque passages and American Indian influences, Sky Boys reveals the Empire State Building as so much more than just a familiar silhouette." Graeber also said of Young Charles Dickens: "Charlie Greenberg, the show’s accomplished composer, has written music with somber and stirring undertones for the transition to Charles’s stint as a child laborer, and music-hall-style numbers for lighter moments."^[6]

Time Out New York's Raven Snook wrote of Sky Boys: "But it's the songs that shine as brightly as the steel beacon itself. Charles Greenberg's melodies recall Stephen Flaherty (of Ragtime fame), and ‘30s composers like Gershwin and Berlin, with just a touch of Sondheim."

Other Theater Music

Greenberg wrote the incidental music for Circle Repertory's premiere of A.R. Gurney's Who Killed Richard Corey (1976) and performed in the production.^[8] He also collaborated with Camille Saviola on the 1993 theater lab production of The Chocolate Ambassador at the Vineyard Theater^[9], and was the composer and lyricist for the 1987 staged reading of A Month in the Country, directed by Steve Gomer, also at the Vineyard Theater.

In addition to productions for the New York City Children's Theater, Greenberg also worked with Krieger on Dickens and Nelly (2015), the story of an illicit love affair between British novelist Charles Dickens and actress Ellen "Nelly" Ternan.^[10] It was performed as a staged reading at William Patterson University's Playwright Festival.^[11]

Greenberg was also both composer and lyricist for Trouble at the Golden Garter Dancehall (1982-1983) at the [https://www.hhplayhouse.com/ Hunterdon Hills Playhouse].

Early Jazz Exponent

In the 1980s, Greenberg formed the Hunterdon Hills Playhouse Early Jazz Orchestra, a band which recreated early jazz recordings. The group played Greenberg's transcriptions of music by Jelly Roll Morton's Red Hot Peppers, King Oliver's Original Creole Jazz Band, the Original Memphis Five and the Original Dixieland Jazz Band. The HHP Early Jazz Orchestra was promoted at the New Jersey Jazz Festival and on Joe Franklin's radio and television shows.^[12]

Published Instrumental Music

Greenberg has received commissions for compositions for string, wind and brass ensembles. His works are published through [https://artofsoundmusic.com/index.php?main_page=advanced_search_result&selectType=Composer,Arranger&keyword=Greenberg artofsoundmusic.com].

Columnist for The Savvy Screener

Greenberg writes about film and television music, as well as other entertainment topics, for "The Score," a regular column in the online publication, [https://thesavvyscreener.com/author/charlie-greenberg/ The Savvy Screener].

Upcoming CD

The 14-track "Catchy-AS-Catch-Can" will be released through Elijon Music in March 2019. The CD will feature original songs, lyrics and instrumentals. The disc will include performances by pianist [https://www.caldwell.edu/academics/academic-departments/music/music-faculty/warren-helms Warren Helms], along with 13 singers and instrumentalists.

Education

Greenberg holds an MA in composition from the Aaron Copeland School of Music (formerly the music department of Queens College). While there, he also studied privately with George Perle (composition) and [https://www.nytimes.com/1999/09/10/arts/jan-gorbaty-84-polish-pianist-known-for-chopin-performances.html Jan Gorbaty (piano)].

References

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