Pasek and Paul facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Pasek and Paul
Benj Pasek (left) and Justin Paul (right), 2009
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!

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

Filmography

Awards and Nominations

Year	Award	Category	Work	Result
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