Andy Propst
Born(1965-03-07)March 7, 1965
Urbana, Illinois, U.S.
DiedSeptember 6, 2021(2021-09-06) (aged 56)
Occupation(s)Theater critic, journalist, writer

Andy Propst (March 7, 1965 – September 6, 2021) was an arts journalist, theater critic, and writer living in Peachtree City, Georgia.

Early work as a critic

In 1998, he founded what would become one of the Internet's first major theater portals for theater news, reviews and production listings online, AmericanTheaterWeb.com. It was a site that predated[1] and inspired such sites as TheaterMania[2] and BroadwayWorld.com.[3]

The uniqueness of the site and its pioneering nature for the theater community attracted remarkable press coverage, including a feature in The New York Times.[4]

Expanding outlets

Propst continued to run the site through 2009, even as he began to write reviews and features for print publications, including Backstage, The Village Voice,[5] TimeOut NY, and The Sondheim Review.[6] He and AmericanTheaterWeb also became affiliated with XM Satellite Radio's XM 28 On Broadway Channel, and for four years, he provided daily "Broadway and Beyond" reports and served as a deejay for the channel with programs airing Monday-Friday.[7]

In 2009, he joined the staff of TheaterMania, writing news and reviews, and providing ongoing coverage of theater music available digitally and on disc.[8] He also served as Senior Editor when the site launched its iPad magazine app in 2011,[9] a position he retained until 2013. He subsequently contributed to Huffington Post,[10] and served as a writer for Sh-K-Boom/Ghostlight Records.[11]

Other affiliations

In addition to his writing, Propst served for three consecutive years as a nominator for the Drama Desk Awards (2005-2007[12][13][14]) and was secretary and judge for three years for The Village Voice's Obie Awards (2009-2011[15][16][17] ).

Propst is an alum of the Eugene O'Neill Theatre Center's National Critics Institute[18] and has returned to the program to serve as a mentor to young critics since 2008.[19] He has also been a reader[20] for and mentor at the organization's National Music Theater Conference.

Propst returned to reviewing for AmericanTheaterWeb.com and for the 2015-2016 season, once again served as a member of the Drama Desk Awards' Nomimnating Committee.[21]

Work as a writer

His first book, You Fascinate Me So: The Life and Times of Cy Coleman, was published in April 2015 by Applause Books.[22] Oxford University Press will release his second book, They Made Us Happy: The Musicals and Movies of Betty Comden and Adolph Green, in March 2019.[23] He is currently at work on The 100 Most Important People in Musical Theater History for Rowman & Littlefield.

In early 2013, Propst provided the liner notes for two-time Tony Award winner Patti LuPone's CD Far Away Places.[24] Since then he has written notes for three CDs from Harbinger Records, including Barnum Backer's Audition[25] and A Jazzman's Broadway.

References

  1. ↑ AmericanTheaterWeb.com - Whois.net - creation date: http://whois.net/whois/americantheaterweb.com
  2. ↑ TheaterMania.com - Whois.net - creation date: http://whois.net/whois/theatermania.com
  3. ↑ BroadwayWorld.com - Whois.net - creation date: http://whois.net/whois/broadwayworld.com
  4. ↑ Biersdorfer, J.D. (January 14, 1999). "For Surfers, the World's a Stage". New York Times. Retrieved June 6, 2013.
  5. ↑ "Author Archive - Andy Propst". The Village Voice. Retrieved June 6, 2013.
  6. ↑ Claire, Felicity. "Index of the First 40 Issues of "The Sondheim Review"". The Sondheim Review. Archived from the original on 2013-05-10. Retrieved 2013-06-14.
  7. ↑ "XM 28 - On Broadway". XM Satellite Radio via Internet Archive. Archived from the original on November 13, 2005. Retrieved June 6, 2013.
  8. ↑ "Author Archive". TheaterMania. Retrieved June 6, 2013.
  9. ↑ "November 2011 Issue". TheaterMania Magazine. TheaterMania. Archived from the original on May 1, 2012. Retrieved June 6, 2013.
  10. ↑ "Author Archive". Huffington Post. Retrieved June 6, 2013.
  11. ↑ "The Eclectic Sounds of Pasek & Paul's DOGFIGHT". Sh-K-Boom/Ghostlight Records. Archived from the original on August 14, 2013. Retrieved June 6, 2013.
  12. ↑ Simonson, Robert (April 28, 2005). "Drama Desk Nominations Announced April 28". Playbill. Archived from the original on June 4, 2011. Retrieved June 6, 2013.
  13. ↑ Simonson, Robert (May 21, 2006). "Harvey Fierstein to Host 2006 Drama Desk Awards May 21". Playbill. Archived from the original on June 15, 2013. Retrieved June 6, 2013.
  14. ↑ Gans, Andrew (April 26, 2007). "Nominees for Drama Desk Awards Announced; LoveMusik Garners 12 Noms". Playbill. Archived from the original on September 22, 2013. Retrieved June 6, 2013.
  15. ↑ Various writers (May 20, 2009). "The Village Voice Obies Winners". The Village Voice. Retrieved June 6, 2013.
  16. ↑ Village Voice contributor (May 17, 2010). "And The 55th Annual OBIES Awards Winners Are. . ". The Village Voice. Retrieved June 6, 2013. {{cite news}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  17. ↑ "The Village Voice's 56th Annual Obie Awards". The Village Voice. May 16, 2011. Archived from the original on July 3, 2011. Retrieved June 6, 2013.
  18. ↑ "NCI History/Application/Staff". Eugene O'Neill Theater Center. Archived from the original on June 5, 2013. Retrieved June 6, 2013.
  19. ↑ "O'Neill Center - National Critics Institute". Eugene O'Neill Theater Center. Retrieved June 6, 2013.
  20. ↑ "2016 O\u0027Neill Finalists". Retrieved September 9, 2018.
  21. ↑ "Nominating Committee & Current Members". Drama Desk Awards. Retrieved February 10, 2016.
  22. ↑ Listing for You Fascinate Me So on Amazon.com - https://www.amazon.com/You-Fascinate-Me-So-Coleman/dp/1480355909/
  23. ↑ Listing for They Made Us Happy on Amazon.com - https://www.amazon.com/They-Made-Us-Happy-Musicals/dp/0190630930/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1536526285
  24. ↑ Listing of Far Away Places CD on CD Universe - http://www.cduniverse.com/productinfo.asp?pid=8894826
  25. ↑ "Harbinger Records Releases Barnum's Backers' Audition Private Recording". 30 January 2018. Retrieved September 9, 2018.
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