Composer David Krane Shares Stories of a Varied Musical Career

You have probably heard David Krane’s work, even if you’ve actually never heard his name. A protege of Leonard Bernstein, Krane has worked on nearly 30 Broadway musicals and numerous films, including “Chicago,” “Annie” and the upcoming film version of Stephen Sondheim’s “Into the Woods.”

He coached Michelle Williams to sing like Marilyn Monroe for her highly praised film “My Week with Marilyn,” and she credits his work with leading to her recent musical theater debut in the revival of “Cabaret.”

He worked with a young Meryl Streep on a 1977 Broadway revival of Kurt Weill’s “Happy End” and then played at her wedding, before being reunited with her years later on “Into the Woods,” in which she plays the Witch. After all his experiences, he still sounds star-struck recalling his work on shows with Julie Andrews, Chita Rivera and Liza Minnelli among other luminaries.

Krane shared stories from his varied career during a New Topics program at New College Tuesday night. Under gentle questioning from New College Provost and New Music/New College artistic director Steve Miles, Krane also showed some video clips to explain what he does and talked about working with so many famous performers.