Why Michael Friedman Was The Best Musical Theater Composer You Had Probably Never Heard Of

Ben Brantley: “I don’t think Mr. Friedman” – who died last week at age 41 – “was accorded his due as an innovator. He wrote so fluently in so many styles, that it was tempting to dismiss him as a pastiche artist. … He was willing to let his music blend into the background in a way seldom associated with musical theater artists, who like to stamp their signatures big on a production.”