1. John-Michael Tebelak was an American playwright and director.
17 Facts About John-Michael Tebelak
1. 2.
John-Michael Tebelak is best known for creating the musical Godspell, based on the Gospel of Saint Matthew, with the composer Stephen Schwartz, who wrote the music.
3.
John-Michael Tebelak's parents were Genevieve and John Tebelak, and he had one sister.
4.
John-Michael Tebelak first produced Godspell as his master's thesis, under Lawrence Carra, at Carnegie Mellon University in December 1970.
5.
John-Michael Tebelak had been studying Greek and Roman mythology, but became fascinated by the joy expressed in the Gospels, with the deadline for his thesis two weeks away.
6.
John-Michael Tebelak attended an Easter Vigil service in 1970 at Pittsburgh's St Paul Cathedral, wearing his usual overalls and a T-shirt.
7.
John-Michael Tebelak then directed productions of Godspell at La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club, the Cherry Lane Theatre, the Promenade Theatre, and on Broadway.
8.
John-Michael Tebelak was named Theatre Man of the Year by Elliott Norton of the Boston Record American, and Most Promising Director of 1971 by the New York Drama Desk.
9.
John-Michael Tebelak was named an Outstanding Ohioan by then-Governor John J Gilligan.
10.
John-Michael Tebelak directed Lope de Vega's Fuenteovejuna in Madrid in 1975.
11.
John-Michael Tebelak co-wrote the 1973 film version of Godspell with David Greene.
12.
John-Michael Tebelak was dramaturge for the Cathedral of St John the Divine in New York City and staged liturgical drama there.
13.
In 1980, John-Michael Tebelak was sued in New York State Supreme Court by his former live-in companion, Richard Hannum.
14.
John-Michael Tebelak returned to his hometown of Berea, Ohio, to direct the 10th anniversary production of Godspell at the Berea Summer Theater in the summer of 1980.
15.
John-Michael Tebelak subsequently directed Cabaret there in the summer of 1981.
16.
John-Michael Tebelak directed a revival of Godspell at La MaMa in 1981 and then another revival production billed as the 10th anniversary reunion production in Los Angeles in December 1981 with the majority of his original New York cast.
17.
John-Michael Tebelak died at his home in Manhattan, New York City on April 2,1985, of a heart attack.