Kurt Deutsch (born Jul 26, 1966, St. Louis, Missouri) is an actor, director, record producer and film producer. He is the president and co-founder, with then-wife Sherie Rene Scott, of Sh-K-Boom Records. In 2017, the company became a division of Warner Music Group's Arts Music, he and Scott divorced, and he became Senior Vice President for Theatrical & Catalog Development for Warner Chappell Music.[1]
Sh-K-Boom/Ghostlight Records
In 2000, Deutsch founded Sh-K-Boom Records, an independent record label that aimed to bridge the gap between pop/rock and theater.[2][3] In 2004, a new musical theater subsidiary of Sh-K-Boom, Ghostlight Records, was created to focus on more traditional scores and cast recordings.[4] As of 2015, the label has over 150 albums in its catalog, including The Book of Mormon, In the Heights, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee and many more Broadway and Off-Broadway shows.[5]
Sh-K-Boom/Ghostlight Records, under Deutsch's leadership, produced and released the debut solo albums of Broadway stars, including Adam Pascal, Sherie Rene Scott, Patti LuPone, Sutton Foster and Kelli O'Hara.
Under the name Sh-K-Boom Entertainment, Deutsch was the driving force for and a producer of the 2014 film adaptation of Jason Robert Brown's The Last Five Years, written and directed by Richard LaGravenese and starring Anna Kendrick and Jeremy Jordan.[6]
As of 2017, Deutsch joined Warner Music Group as a Senior Vice President for Warner/Chappell Publishing,[7] and executive for Warner Arts on the label side.[8]
Awards and honors
As producer, Deutsch received his first Grammy Award for Best Musical Show Album in 2009 for The Original Broadway Cast Album In The Heights along with fellow producers Alex Lacamoire, Andrés Levin, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Joel Moss & Bill Sherman.[9] He has since received two more Grammy Awards for Best Musical Show Album for The Book of Mormon: Original Broadway Cast Recording[10] and Beautiful: The Carole King Musical.[11]
A full list of Grammy Award wins and nominations for Sh-K-Boom/ Ghostlight Records are as follows:
2003
- Great Joy: A Gospel Christmas
2005
- Hair – The Actors’ Fund of America Benefit Recording
- The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee – Original Broadway Cast Recording
- Dirty Rotten Scoundrels – Original Broadway Cast Recording
2006
- The Drowsy Chaperone – Original Broadway Cast Recording
2008
- (winner) In The Heights – Original Broadway Cast Recording
2009
- Hair – 2009 Broadway Revival Cast Recording
2011
- (winner) The Book of Mormon – Original Broadway Cast Recording
- Anything Goes – 2011 Broadway Cast Recording
2014[12]
- (winner) Beautiful: The Carole King Musical – Original Broadway Cast Recording
- A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder – Original Broadway Cast Recording
- Aladdin (musical) – Original Broadway Cast Recording
Sh-K-Boom and Ghostlight were awarded a special 2006 Drama Desk Award for dedication to the preservation of musical theatre through original cast albums.[13]
Acting
As an actor Deutsch appeared on Broadway in Broadway Bound, A Few Good Men and has appeared Off-Broadway and in regional theaters around the country. He was a series regular on the television series The Human Factor and Winnetka Road, and he guest starred on Sex and the City, Law & Order, Quantum Leap, Matlock, and Models Inc. His film roles included The Eye of the Storm, The First To Go, and Labor Pains. Deutsch also had an uncredited cameo appearance alongside wife Sherie Renee Scott in the film version of The Last Five Years in a casting session scene. (Scott originated the role of Cathy, played in the film by Anna Kendrick, in the original 2001 off-Broadway cast.)
References
- ↑ "Warner Music Group Establishes New Arts Division – Warner Music Group Official Blog". Warner Music Group Official Website. 6 June 2017. Retrieved 2017-10-05.
- ↑ Feldman, Adam (10 July 2007). "Sh-K-Boom time". Time Out. Retrieved 15 October 2015.
- ↑ Van Buren, Ashley (17 December 2012). "Meet Kurt Deutsch, the Man Behind the Cast Recordings of Book of Mormon, and Bring It On". Theatermania. Retrieved 16 October 2015.
- ↑ Jones, Kenneth. "New Moon Concert Cast Album Will Shine on Ghostlight Label in Fall". Playbill. Retrieved 16 October 2015.
- ↑ "Vinyl Edition of THE LAST FIVE YEARS Film Soundtrack to be Released Next Month". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved 15 October 2015.
- ↑ Wontorek, Paul. "With a Grammy Win and a Big Screen Last Five Years Launch, Kurt Deutsch is Having a Good Week". Broadway.com. Retrieved 16 October 2015.
- ↑ "Kurt Deutsch Named SVP, Theatrical & Catalog Development for Warner/Chappell Music – Latest News | Warner/Chappell Music". www.warnerchappell.com. Retrieved 2017-10-05.
- ↑ "Warner Music Group Establishes New Arts Division – Warner Music Group Official Blog". Warner Music Group Official Website. 6 June 2017. Retrieved 2017-10-05.
- ↑ "GRAMMY.com – 51st Annual Grammy Awards Nominee List". Archived from the original on December 5, 2008. Retrieved February 13, 2009.
- ↑ "Book of Mormon Wins Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album". Playbill.com. Retrieved 15 October 2015.
- ↑ "Grammys 2015: Carole King musical 'Beautiful' wins". LA Times. 8 February 2015. Retrieved 15 October 2015.
- ↑ Glasco, Kaeley. "Grammys 2015: Best Musical Theater Album nominees". AXS. Retrieved 16 October 2015.
- ↑ "2006 – Drama Desk Awards – Press Releases". Archived from the original on October 1, 2006. Retrieved November 5, 2006.
External links
- Kurt Deutsch at IMDb
- Kurt Deutsch at the Internet Broadway Database
- Kurt Deutsch discography at Discogs