William Elliott studied at the University of Chicago, the Manhattan School of Music and The Juilliard School. From 1971 to 1978 he was the resident musical director at La MaMa E.T.C. in New York. He received an Obie Award for his musical theatre work C.O.R.E.F.A.X..

He created vocal arrangements for the Broadway production of Ain’t Misbehavin’ by Fats Waller, which ran from 1978 to 1982 and earned Elliot an Obie Award. His musical adaptation of Gilbert & Sullivan’s Pirates of Penzance, which he also conducted, was produced by the Public Theater and played on Broadway for over a year. The original cast included Linda Rondstadt, Rex Smith, Angela Lansbury, George Rose and Kevin Kline. Pirates was made into a feature film directed by Wilford Leach.

Elliott wrote incidental music for productions of Othello, Henry V, Mother Courage and Summer Evening at the Public Theater, and adapted and conducted Non Pasquale, based on the opera by Donizetti, for performances produced by the Public Theater at Delacorte Theater in Central Park in 1983.

He received a Rogers and Hammerstein Foundation Award and grants from the National Endowment for the Arts.

William Elliot died of AIDS in Los Angeles at the age of 41 on October 22, 1985.

—Nurit Tilles

WORKS:

MUSICAL THEATRE

C.O.R.E.F.A.X.

INCIDENTAL MUSIC

Othello
Produced at The Public Theater

Henry V
Produced at The Public Theater

Mother Courage
Produced at The Public Theater

Summer Evening
Produced at The Public Theater

ARRANGEMENTS & ADAPTATIONS

Ain't Misbehavin' (Fats Waller)
Vocal arrangements by William Elliott
Original Broadway run: May 9, 1978 - Feb. 21, 1982
Broadway revival: Aug. 15, 1988 - Jan. 15, 1989
Original cast recording released by RCA (1978)

The Pirates of Penzance (Gilbert & Sullivan)
Musical adaptation by William Elliott (conductor)
Original cast included Linda Rondstadt, Rex Smith, Angela Lansbury, George Rose and Kevin Kline
Produced by The Public Theater at Delacorte Theater in Central Park (1981)
Broadway run: Jan. 8, 1981 - Nov. 28, 1982
Recording released by Elektra
Feature film (1982) directed by Wilford Leach

Non Pasquale (Donizetti)
Musical adaptation by William Elliott (conductor)
Produced by The Public Theater at Delacorte Theater in Central Park (1983)

La Boheme (Puccini)
Music supervised and conducted by William Elliott
Produced by The Public Theater (1984)

UNCOMPLETED WORKS:
Unknown

WRITINGS:
Unknown

DISCOGRAPHY:
Ain't Misbehavin', original Broadway cast, RCA (1978).
The Pirates of Penzance, original Broadway cast, Elektra 85-752993.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

• "Papp's Victorian Wonderlands: High Spirits" by Jack Kroll, Newsweek, January 19, 1981 (review of Pirates of Penzance).
• "Non Pasquale will present Donizetti in Central Park" by Carol Lawson, New York Times, May 20, 1983.
• "William Elliott Dead: Broadway Conductor" (obituary), New York Times, October 24, 1985.
• "Composer, Arranger William Franklin Elliott" (obituary) by Barbara Booth, Charlotte Observer, January 1, 1986.
• Joe Papp: An American Life by Helen Epstein. New York: Little Brown and Company, 1994.

PERFORMING RIGHTS AFFILIATION:
Unknown

RESOURCES:
Tribute site:
thecity.sfsu.edu/~rrw/ElliottIndex.html

Other research on Elliott:
home.pacbell.net/mtorget/ElliottResearch.html

MUSICAL EXECUTOR:
Unknown

OTHER CONTACTS:
Unknown