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Biography
Born and raised in Louisiana, Roger was encouraged as a pianist, songwriter and singer from an early age. His mother was a pioneering and flamboyant minister and piano player, his two brothers were R&B recording artists and country & gospel music an integral part of his childhood. But drawn more to Hindemith and Bartók, at 16 he left his roots behind to study violin and viola at the University of Southern California and soon after moved to Manhattan to explore voice, theater and composition. After premiering song cycles using poetry of James Agee, Robert Frost and Dorothy Parker, early in 1980 Anderson was boldly paired with lyricist and DC Comics author Lee Goldsmith to write Shine, a musical about a bootblack. Based on the works of Horatio Alger and developed for Broadway by 20th Century Fox, much of the making and (at the time) infamous “un-making” of Shine are documented in Supporting Player, an autobiography by Richard Seff.
In 1981, Tennessee Williams personally granted permission to Roger to adapt his play Twenty-Seven Wagons Full of Cotton into a one-act opera, entitled Blue Mountain, with a libretto by Chuck Blasius.
The joyful collaboration with Lee Goldsmith continued with several other works including Chaplin, Beside the Seaside, Quality Street, Goodbye My Fancy and Eldorado (an experimental work for Circle Rep). As a team, they are recipients of numerous honors including the Carbonell Award for Chaplin, several ASCAP awards and the Broadway USA Award for Shine! (published by Concord Theatricals). As a young composer, he was privileged to collaborate with and be mentored by such master talents as Ernest Kinoy, Michael Smuin, Joe Layton, Vivian Matalon and Hal Prince.
In 2007, Chaplin made its UK premiere with directors Martin Connor and Bill Deamer at the Guildford School of Acting at the University of Surrey.
His musical Abe, commissioned in 2008 by The Muddy River Opera Company in Quincy, Illinois, had its Lincoln Bicentennial premiere in February 2009 and is now licensed and published by Concord Theatricals. Abe is a mature and powerful musical about Lincoln's life prior to his presidency.
Roger with Lee Goldsmith, circa 1980s
Shine! garnered new praise, strong reviews and awards of excellence as part of NYMF 2010 and the new version with orchestrations is now available for licensing by Concord Theatricals.
In June 2012, the original 1981 Broadway-bound version of Chaplin had its London premiere at The Barbican Centre, Silk Street Theatre, produced by The Guildhall School of Music and Drama. The musical was given a lavish production, including new orchestrations for 27 musicians.
Roger designed sound and composed incidental music for several productions in New York City, including Of Lives and Leaves at The Red Room, Andrew Reaches the Other Side, We Were There, Red and Tan Line and Two Spoons at The Bank Street Theater, Accidentally, Like A Martyr at The Wild Project and again at The Paradise Factory, as well as I Could Say More at The Hudson Guild Theatre (see Other Side Productions).
Roger has recently completed a restored version of his and Lee Goldsmith's musical Quality Street, based on the 1901 comedy by J. M. Barrie. Currently, he is at work on completing their early unfinished musical Ladykiller, inspired by the noir classic The Bride Wore Black by Cornell Woolrich.
In his parallel life, Roger has an accomplished career as an IT consultant, whose clients include Citicorp, JPMorganChase, HSBC, Morgan Stanley, Actors' Equity Association, The Actors Fund, BroadwayCares, Samuel French, The New School and The Association of Theatrical Press Agents and Managers, among others. He also developed progressive computer training curriculum and taught at The Actors' Work Program, Borough of Manhattan Community College, Baruch College and The New School.
There are no productions for this artist in the Season Schedule of Performances which currently only dates back to 1991.
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Artist Information
All information is derived from OPERA America's Season Schedule of Performances and titles databases which date back to 1991. OPERA America is constantly updating this data. If you feel that a work or an artist has been omitted or that information is incorrect, please use the linked forms below. Title Information Form Artist Information Form
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