Paul Gemignani has been the music director for more than 40 Broadway and West End shows, including Follies, Pacific Overtures, Candide, A Little Night Music, Sweeney Todd, Evita, Dreamgirls, Merrily We Roll Along, Into the Woods, Sunday in the Park with George, Crazy For You, Passion, High Society, and Kiss Me Kate. Mr. Gemignani has made recordings with the American Theatre Orchestra in addition to many cast albums; appeared as guest conductor with numerous orchestras; and is a regular guest conductor at the New York City Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Royal Opera Company, and the New York City Ballet. His film work has included Sweeney Todd starring Johnny Depp, Kramer vs. Kramer, Reds, and Eyewitness. Mr. Gemignani received the 2001 Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theater, the Los Angeles Drama Critics Award (1994), and a special Drama Desk Award (1989) for “consistently outstanding musical direction and commitment to the theater.” In 2003 he was awarded an honorary doctorate of musical arts from the Manhattan School of Music; in 2006 he received a Prime Time Emmy Award for Best Musical Direction for a Great Performances presentation of South Pacific; and the Drama League of New York honored him for Distinguished Achievement in Musical Theatre in 2008. Mr. Gemignani served as the music director of the New York Philharmonic’s concert performance of Stephen Sondheim’s Follies in September 1985; in May 2008 he was the conductor and music supervisor of the Orchestra’s semi-staged performances of Camelot; and in March 2010 he conducted the Philharmonic’s production of SONDHEIM: The Birthday Concert, which aired on PBS and was released on DVD in November 2010. On January 24, 2011, he was inducted into the American Theatre Hall of Fame. 

Tony, Emmy, and Screen Actors Guild award–winning actor Nathan Lane most recently starred in The Iceman Cometh at Chicago’s Goodman Theatre. In fall 2012, he made recurring guest-star appearances in CBS’s The Good Wife.

Broadway audiences have long embraced Mr. Lane as one of the shining lights of the theater. He starred in Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot, David Mamet’s November, Neil Simon’s The Odd Couple, and Stephen Sondheim’s adaptation of The Frogs, for which Mr. Lane wrote the book. For his portrayal of Max Bialystock in the Tony Award–winning musical The Producers, Mr. Lane won the Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, and Tony Awards for Best Actor in a Musical. He also earned a Golden Globe nomination for his performance in the film version of The Producers. In 1996 his performance in A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum earned him Tony, Outer Critics Circle, and Drama Desk Awards. Mr. Lane’s other Broadway appearances include The Addams Family; Terrence McNally’s Love! Valor! Compassion! (Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, and Obie Awards); Neil Simon’s Laughter on the 23rd Floor; and Guys and Dolls (Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards and Tony Nomination).

Mr. Lane starred as Albert in Mike Nichols’s film The Birdcage, earning him a Screen Actors Guild Award and a Golden Globe Nomination. He won great acclaim as the voice of Timon in Disney’s The Lion King and appeared in the films Stuart Little, Trixie, Love’s Labours Lost, Addams Family Values, Frankie and Johnny, and Nicholas Nickelby.

Mr. Lane earned an Emmy nomination for his recent guest appearance on Modern Family, and he has been recognized with two Daytime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program for The Lion King’s Timon and Pumbaa and Teacher’s Pet.