Tom Attea

Playwright Composer Lyricist Librettist

Tom Attea, Playwright and Lyricist, has written 16 shows that have been produced in the publicly funded Off-Broadway theater. His last show was about a high-school drama class that decides, instead of selecting a usual classic for their annual production, they decide to write their own musical about global warming. It received a rave review: "Hooked on Happiness is a delightful new musical set in a high school drama class, with book and lyrics by Tom Attea, and music composed by Arthur Abrams…. Director Mark Marcante does a brilliant job…genius.” – James Navarrete, TheaterScene.com. His previous show, a play titled Shareholder Value, was presented in 2019 for a 4-week run at Theater for the New City. The play earned a rave review from StageBiz.com and a feature story on NY1:   “This thought-provoking play… It’s captivating … entertaining … a really tight production … great performances.” – Jacquelyn Claire. StageBiz.com   “An inside look at the human drama when everything in the board room falls apart.” – Matt McClure, New York 1.  Tom's first show, Brief Chronicles of the Time, was a contemporary revue presented by The Actors Studio, where he was a member of The Playwrights Unit for 10 years.   Thirteen musicals for which he wrote the book and lyrics and two previous full-length plays have been presented by Theater for the New City. Tom received a TNC/Jerome Foundation emerging playwright grant and is a member of The Dramatists Guild.   You can read more about him and the shows he’s written at tomattea-playwright.com. Still unproduced scripts can be found at the website, too.  One is scheduled for production at Theater for the New City in November 2020. Tom studied composition and orchestration at Juilliard, sight-singing with Helen Hobbs Jordan and voice with David Sorin Collyer, acting and directing at HB Studios, and piano with Norman Gold, John Corrigan, and Milton Kaye.   Critics have called Tom Attea’s writing “Hilarious … and simply charming.” – The Village Voice; “Delightfully funny … humorous and thoughtful.” – The Villager; and “Compelling … good storytelling” – Theater Pizzazz. “Inspiring” – InNewYork.com, and “Written with a great understanding of today’s politics” – AXS.com.   He supports his literary work as a freelance copywriter. Tom has won many awards for creative copywriting, including four Clios in one night, Gold and Silver Lions from Cannes, The Gold Telly, The Gold Mobius, and many other awards. Four of the 12 humorous commercials he wrote for Dr Pepper are in the permanent collection of The Paley Museum of Broadcasting in New York.

Highlights

Tom Attea, Playwright and Lyricist, has written 16 shows that have been produced in the publicly funded Off-Broadway theater. His last show was about a high-school drama class that decides, instead of selecting a usual classic for their annual production, they decide to write their own musical about global warming. It received a rave review: "Hooked on Happiness is a delightful new musical set in a high school drama class, with book and lyrics by Tom Attea, and music composed by Arthur Abrams…. Director Mark Marcante does a brilliant job…genius.” – James Navarrete, TheaterScene.com.

His previous show, a play titled Shareholder Value, was presented in 2019 for a 4-week run at Theater for the New City. The play earned a rave review from StageBiz.com and a feature story on NY1:   “This thought-provoking play… It’s captivating … entertaining … a really tight production … great performances.” – Jacquelyn Claire. StageBiz.com   “An inside look at the human drama when everything in the board room falls apart.” – Matt McClure, New York 1.

Tom's first show, Brief Chronicles of the Time, was a contemporary revue presented by The Actors Studio, where he was a member of The Playwrights Unit for 10 years.   

Tom received a TNC/Jerome Foundation grant as an emerging playwright.  

You can read more about him and the shows he’s written at tomattea-playwright.com.