Bio

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Drew Fornarola is a songwriter, playwright and director from New York City.  He has written for DreamWorks' Shrek and VeggieTales franchises, and is the founding artistic director of STARRING BUFFALO.   Film: VeggieTales Noah's Ark (DreamWorks Animation) starring Wayne Brady; STRAIGHT (Cinepolis Cinematic Release, Prime Video) starring Alejandro Speitzer, 1 Night in San Diego (Hulu, Metropolitan Entertainment)  starring Alexandra Daddario, High School Zoomsical (MTShorts and Broadway Unlocked) starring Ryann Redmond.  Off-Broadway Theater: STRAIGHT (NY Times Critics' Pick,  recently adapted into a major motion picture);  Ghost of John McCain (SoHo Playhouse, MAC Award Nom for Song of the Year),  Molly Shannon’s Tilly The Trickster (Atlantic Theater Company, with Saturday Night Live's Molly Shannon); Awesome Allie: First Kid Astronaut (McGinn Cazale Theater, pub. TRW), Uncle Pirate (2 off Broadway runs, pub Samuel French) Regional & Festival Theater: Fauci & Kramer (2024 Artvoice Award for Best New Play), Claudio Quest (winner of six NYMF Awards for Excellence, LA Ovation Award Nom for Best Score); Tiananmen (Phoenix Theater Company, Biller Foundation Social Impact Grant); Thucydides (pub Samuel French); Hershey's Unwrapped (over 1,000 performances at Hershey's Chocolate World, 2019 IAAPA theme park show of the year); COLLEGE The Musical (MTVu Award, Hippodrome State Theatre, Dramatic Publishing Company).  Concerts: Lincoln Center, 54 Below, Kaufman Music Center (NYC), Broadway au Carre (Paris), London Theatre Workshop (London), Bar Fedora (Los Angeles), among others.  Recent Directing: Little Shop of Horrors starring Tony Award-Winner Matt Doyle, Sunday in the Park... Starring Tony Award-Nominee Josh Young, and the world premiere of Fursona Non-Grata by Jeff Goode (2023). Teaching:  Salve Regina University (2020-2021), Broadway Dreams Foundation faculty (2014-2018), ​ Shine Theater Arts Project (2020-present), Stoneman Douglas Songwriting Initiative, guest lectures around the country.  Other: Drew provided string arrangements for #1 charting Japanese band CREAM, and his score for Buddy Thomas' Devil Boys from Beyond (New World Stages) is available for licensing from Samuel French. He was the co-creator and host of the critically acclaimed Madame Mathieu's Soiree, an avant-garde variety show that ran at The Duplex in the West Village from 2017 until the venue closed in 2023.   Education:  B.A. Princeton, J.D. Fordham, BMI Musical Theatre Workshop.