Pasek and Paul facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Pasek and Paul
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Benj Pasek (left) and Justin Paul (right), 2009
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Background information | |
Genres | Musical theatre |
Members | Benj Pasek Justin Paul |
Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, known as Pasek and Paul, are a super talented American team who write songs for musicals, movies, and TV shows. Benj usually writes the words (lyrics) and Justin usually writes the music. But they often help each other with both parts!
They both went to the University of Michigan. In 2007, they won the American Theatre Wing's Jonathan Larson Grant. This award celebrates great writers for music and theater. In September 2024, Pasek and Paul became EGOT winners. This means they have won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, and a Tony Award!
Contents
How Pasek and Paul Started
Beginning at the University of Michigan
Pasek and Paul began working together when they were freshmen at the University of Michigan. They both got small roles in a school musical. This inspired them to write their own show called Edges.
Edges is a collection of songs about growing up and finding your way in the world. It first opened in Ann Arbor, Michigan on April 3, 2005.
On May 14, 2006, they had their first show in New York City. It was a special concert of their songs called Become: The Music of Pasek & Paul. Many famous performers sang their songs. They also helped write music for an off-Broadway musical called White Noise: A Cautionary Musical in 2006. They finished their college degrees in musical theatre in December 2006.
Writing for Musical Theatre
Early Projects and Popular Shows
Their musical Edges became very popular online. Within a few years, it was performed over 200 times around the world. Countries like Australia, the United Kingdom, and South Korea put on the show.
Pasek and Paul wrote the music for a musical version of Roald Dahl's James and the Giant Peach. This show first opened in 2010. They also wrote for other children's shows like If You Give A Pig A Pancake and Duck For President.
In 2012, they wrote the music and lyrics for the musical Dogfight. They also helped write A Christmas Story, The Musical. This musical was nominated for a Tony Award in 2013 for its great music.
Dear Evan Hansen (2015)
Pasek and Paul wrote the music and lyrics for their famous musical Dear Evan Hansen. The idea for the musical came from a sad event when Benj was in high school. The story was written by Steven Levenson.
The musical first opened in Washington, D.C. on July 30, 2015. It then moved to Off-Broadway in New York City in March 2016. Finally, it opened on Broadway on November 14, 2016, at the Music Box Theatre.
At the 71st Tony Awards, Dear Evan Hansen was nominated for nine awards. It won six of them, including Best Musical and Best Original Score for Pasek and Paul. In 2018, the musical also won a Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album.
Dear Evan Hansen became the longest-running show at the Music Box Theatre. It also opened in London's West End in 2019. There, it won three Laurence Olivier Awards in 2020, including Best New Musical and Best Original Score for Pasek and Paul.
Songs for Television
Pasek and Paul have written original songs for several TV shows. In 2007 and 2008, they wrote music for the Disney Channel show Johnny and the Sprites.
Their songs were also featured on season 2 of NBC's show Smash in 2013. These songs even made it onto the Top 25 Pop Charts on iTunes!
They wrote the song "Runnin' Home to You" for a musical episode of The Flash. This song was also sung in a crossover episode with Supergirl.
More recently, they wrote songs for the Hulu show Only Murders in the Building. This included "Look for the Light," sung by Meryl Streep and Ashley Park. They also wrote a very fast, tongue-twisting song called "Which of Pickwick Triplets Did It?". This song was performed by Steve Martin and Matthew Broderick. They were nominated for an Primetime Emmy for this song in 2024.
Music for Films
Pasek and Paul wrote the song "Get Back Up Again" for the 2016 movie Trolls. They also wrote five songs for the animated movie Tom and Jerry: Back to Oz.
They wrote the words for the songs in the musical movie La La Land (2016). The music for this film was written by Justin Hurwitz. Their song "City of Stars" won a Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song in 2017. "City of Stars" also won an Academy Award for Best Original Song at the 89th Academy Awards. Another song from the film, "Audition", was also nominated.
Pasek and Paul wrote all the songs for the 2017 musical movie The Greatest Showman. This film is about the famous Barnum & Bailey Circus. Their song "This Is Me" won a Golden Globe for Best Original Song. It was also nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song.
They worked with Alan Menken to write lyrics for two new songs in Disney's 2019 live-action movie Aladdin.
Pasek and Paul also helped turn their musical Dear Evan Hansen into a movie in 2021. They wrote two new songs for the film: "The Anonymous Ones" and "A Little Closer."
They have also written songs for the movie Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile (2022) and the movie Spirited (2022). As of 2023, Pasek and Paul are writing new songs for Disney's upcoming live-action movie Snow White. They are also working on songs for a musical drama called Golden. Both films are planned for release in 2025.
Personal Lives
Benj Pasek is the son of Temple University professor Kathy Hirsh-Pasek. He went to the University of Michigan and Friends' Central School.
Justin Paul also went to the University of Michigan and Staples High School. Justin is married and has four children.
Musicals
Year | Title | Notes |
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2005 | Edges |
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2010 | James and the Giant Peach | Book by Timothy Allen McDonald |
2012 | Dogfight | Book by Peter Duchan |
2012 | A Christmas Story: The Musical | Book by Joseph Robinette |
2016 | Dear Evan Hansen | Book by Steven Levenson |
Filmography
Year | Title | Notes |
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2016 | Tom and Jerry: Back to Oz |
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Trolls | Writers of "Get Back Up Again" | |
La La Land |
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2017 | The Greatest Showman |
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2019 | Aladdin | Wrote the lyrics for two new songs with Alan Menken, including "Speechless" |
2021 | Dear Evan Hansen |
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2022 | Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile | Also executive producers |
Spirited | Also executive producers | |
2023 | Only Murders in the Building | Composed songs for Season 3's musical |
2025 | Snow White | New songs |
Golden | Wrote songs with Pharrell Williams | |
TBA | Oh, the Places You'll Go! |
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Awards and Nominations
Year | Award | Category | Work | Result |
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2007 | Dramatists Guild Fellowship (2007–2008) | N/A | N/A | Honorees |
Jonathan Larson Grant![]() |
Honorees | |||
2011 | American Academy of Arts and Letters | Richard Rodgers Award for Musical Theater | Honorees | |
ASCAP Foundation Award | Richard Rodgers New Horizons Award | Honorees | ||
Songwriter's Fellowship Award | Honorees | |||
Sundance Institute Fellowship | N/A | Honorees | ||
2013 | Drama Desk Award | Outstanding Music | A Christmas Story: The Musical | Nominated |
Lucille Lortel Award | Outstanding Musical | Dogfight | Won | |
Outer Critics Circle Award | Outstanding New Score | Nominated | ||
Tony Award | Best Original Score | A Christmas Story: The Musical | Nominated | |
2016 | The Charles MacArthur Award for Outstanding Original New Play or Musical | Dear Evan Hansen | Nominated | |
Critics' Choice Movie Award | Best Song | "Audition" (from La La Land) | Nominated | |
"City of Stars" (from La La Land) | Won | |||
Drama Desk Award | Outstanding Lyrics | Dear Evan Hansen | Won | |
Golden Globe Award | Best Original Song | "City of Stars" (from La La Land) | Won | |
Hollywood Music in Media Award | Best Song in a Feature Film | Won | ||
Houston Film Critics Society Award | Best Original Song | "Audition" (from La La Land) | Nominated | |
"City of Stars" (from La La Land) | Won | |||
Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award | Best Music | La La Land | Won | |
Obie Award | Musical Theater, Music and Lyrics | Dear Evan Hansen | Won | |
Outer Critics Circle Award | Outstanding New Score | Nominated | ||
Phoenix Film Critics Society Award | Best Song | "Audition" (from La La Land) | Won | |
"City of Stars" (from La La Land) | Nominated | |||
Satellite Award | Best Original Song | "Audition" (from La La Land) | Nominated | |
"City of Stars" (from La La Land) | Won | |||
2017 | Academy Award | Best Original Song | "Audition" (from La La Land) | Nominated |
"City of Stars" (from La La Land) | Won | |||
Tony Award | Best Original Score | Dear Evan Hansen | Won | |
Best Musical | Won | |||
2018 | Academy Award | Best Original Song | "This Is Me" (from The Greatest Showman) | Nominated |
Critics' Choice Movie Award | Best Song | Nominated | ||
Golden Globe Award | Best Original Song | Won | ||
Grammy Award | Best Musical Theater Album | Dear Evan Hansen | Won | |
Best Song Written for Visual Media | "City of Stars" (from La La Land) | Nominated | ||
Hollywood Music in Media Award | Best Song in a Feature Film | "This Is Me" (from The Greatest Showman) | Nominated | |
Primetime Emmy Award | Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics | "In The Market for a Miracle" (from A Christmas Story Live!) | Nominated | |
2019 | Critics' Choice Movie Award | Best Song | "Speechless" (from Aladdin) | Nominated |
Hollywood Music in Media Award | Best Song in a Feature Film | Nominated | ||
2020 | Laurence Olivier Award | Best Original Score or New Orchestrations | Dear Evan Hansen | Won |
2022 | Grammy Award | Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media | Dear Evan Hansen | Nominated |
Best Song Written for Visual Media | "All I Know So Far" (from Pink: All I Know So Far) | Nominated | ||
Tony Award | Best Musical | A Strange Loop | Won | |
2024 | Primetime Emmy Award | Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics | "Which of the Pickwick Triplets Did It?" (from Only Murders in the Building: Sitzprobe) | Won |
: Pasek and Paul were the youngest winners of the Jonathan Larson Grant in history.
See also
In Spanish: Pasek y Paul para niños