It has just been announced that David Zippel, who has written lyrics for the Broadway productions of City of Angels and The Goodbye Girl and the Disney films Hercules, Mulan, and Tarzan, will now have his musical publishing interests handled by Williamson Music, a division of the Rodgers and Hammerstein Organization.
“We are thrilled to have David join our family,” said Williamson president Maxyne Berman Long of the agreement. “Our company has deep roots in the classic popular music field as established by our founders, Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II, and our ongoing representation of Irving Berlin. However, we are just as deeply committed to the future, and David’s future is especially exciting.” Said Zippel, “It’s about being in business with people who share your values, who you are proud to work with. I know that Maxyne and the Williamson staff are going to see the potential in what I do, and help me cultivate my career and represent my catalogue. It’s a perfect fit.”
Zippel is currently working on multiple projects: Buzz!, a show about the life of Busby Berkeley with music by Alan Menken and a book by Larry Gelbart; Pamela’s First Musical, based on the children’s book by Wendy Wasserstein, with a book by Wasserstein and music by Cy Coleman; N, the story of Napoleon and Josephine, with music by Coleman and a book by Gelbart; Lysistrata, with a book by Gelbart and music by Menken; and Princesses, an adaptation of the classic children’s novel A Little Princess with music by Matthew Wilder and a book by Cheri and Bill Steinkellner.