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Erik Della Penna

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Erik Della Penna
Background information
Born (1965-06-02) 2 June 1965 (age 60)
The Bronx, New York, U.S.
GenresAmericana, folk, musical theater, pop, rock
Occupation(s)Musician, composer, lyricist, songwriter
Instrument(s)Guitar, banjo, mandolin, lap steel, voice
WorksErik Della Penna at AllMusic
Years active1992-present
Websiteerikdellapenna.com

Erik Della Penna (born June 2, 1965) is a Tony-nominated American composer-lyricist, songwriter, and musician. He has written and recorded twelve albums of songs, has scored two films, and was the composer-lyricist for two children’s musicals, in addition to being the principal guitarist for pop singer Natalie Merchant since 2001.[1][2] For co-writing the music and lyrics for the musical Dead Outlaw with David Yazbek, he was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Original Score and won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lyrics.[3][4][5]

Early life

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Erik Della Penna was born in The Bronx and grew up on Long Island, New York. He is conservatory-trained, having received a degree in Classical Guitar from the Mannes School of Music.[2]

Career

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In 1994, Della Penna began touring with pop singer Joan Osborne on the Mercury Records label. Later, he toured and recorded with American singer-songwriter Natalie Merchant in support of several studio albums. During this time he also toured with folk singer Joan Baez and joined the international band Hazmat Modine as a guitarist and songwriter.[6] Della Penna also has his own band called Kill Henry Sugar,[7] a "metropolitan folk" duo with drummer and grammy-winning producer[8] Dean Sharenow.[2]

In February 2024, his musical Dead Outlaw opened at the Minetta Lane Theatre. It became a New York Times critic's pick[9] and earned eleven Drama Desk Award nominations, winning three.[10] It opened on Broadway at the Longacre Theatre on April 27th, 2025.[11] This production was also designated a New York Times critic's pick[12] and was nominated for seven Tony Awards in May of 2025.[13]

Composer credits

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Theater and film

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Year Title Credit Category Producer ref
2002 Toby and the Big Top Composer, Lyricist Children's musical Walden Media [14]
2009 Remnants of a War Composer Film score Pinhole Pictures [15]
2015 Kitty Hawk Composer, Lyricist Children's musical Adrienne Arsht Center [16]
Tree Man Composer Film score Jon Reiner, Brad Rothschild [17]
2024 Dead Outlaw Composer, Lyricist Musical Audible [3]
2025 Dead Outlaw Composer, Lyricist Musical Lia Vollack
Sonia Friedman 		[18]

Recorded music

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Year Title Artist Credit ref
2000 Righteous Love Joan Osborne Guitars, Composer [19]
2001 Damascus David Yazbek Guitar (Electric), Lap Steel Guitar, Composer [20]
Popular Music for Today's Active Lifestyles Kill Henry Sugar Guitars, Vocals, Composer [21]
2003 Sell This Place Guitars, Vocals, Composer [22]
2004 Love Beach Guitars, Vocals, Composer [23]
2007 Swing Back and Down Guitars, Vocals, Composer [24]
2008 Evil Monkey Man David Yazbek Composer, Guitars [25]
2009 Hot Messiah Kill Henry Sugar Guitars, Vocals, Composer
2011 Cicada Hazmat Modine Guitar, Vocals, Composer [26]
2016 Extra-Deluxe-Supreme Composer, Guitars, Vocals [27]
2020 An Evening in New York Rachelle Garnier & Erik Della Penna Composer, Guitar, Banjo, Vocals
Box of Breath Hazmat Modine Banjo, Composer, Guitar, Vocals [28]
The Mojo Manifesto Mojo Nixon Composer [29]
2021 Rainy Erik Della Penna Composer, vocals, instrumentation [30]
2023 Bonfire Hazmat Modine Vocals, Guitars, Composer [31]
Stop Time Kill Henry Sugar Vocals, Composer, Guitars

Other credits

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Year Title Artist Credit ref
1997 Chocolate Supa Highway Spearhead Guitar [32]
1999 Tears of Stone The Chieftains Guitar [33]
2001 Motherland Natalie Merchant Banjo, Bazouki, Guitar (Classical), Guitar (Electric), Lap Steel Guitar, Oud [34]
2003 The House Carpenter's Daughter Guitar, Lap Steel Guitar [35]
Seeds: The Songs of Pete Seeger, Vol. 3 Pete Seeger Guitar [36]
2005 Bowery Songs Joan Baez Banjo, Guitar, Lap Steel Guitar, Vocals [37]
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels Original Broadway Cast Guitars, Banjo, Lap Steel Guitar
2009 3 Balloons Stephen Lynch Guitar [38]
Saints and Tzadiks Susan McKeown Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric), Humming, Tres [39]
2010 Leave Your Sleep Natalie Merchant Guitar [40]
2014 Natalie Merchant Guitar (Acoustic), Guitar (Electric), Lap Steel Guitar [41]
2021 I'll Meet You Here Dar Williams Guitar (Electric) [42]
2022 Radio Waves Joan Osborne Guitar
2023 Keep Your Courage Natalie Merchant Guitar (12 String Acoustic), Guitar (Electric) [43]

Awards and nominations

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Year Nominated Work Association Category Result Ref
2024 Dead Outlaw Drama Desk Award Outstanding Lyrics Won [44]
Outstanding Music Nominated [45]
Outstanding Orchestrations Nominated [45]
New York Drama Critics Circle Best Musical Won [46]
Outer Critics Circle Award Outstanding New Off-Broadway Musical Won [47]
Outstanding Score Nominated [48]
Outstanding Orchestrations Nominated [48]
2025 Tony Award Best Original Score Nominated [49]

References

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  1. ^ "Natalie Merchant (2014)".
  2. ^ a b c Vellucci, Justin (November 13, 2018). "The "Antique-Garde" Songwriters Of New York City". American Songwriter.
  3. ^ a b Bahr, Sarah (March 20, 2024). "'Dead Outlaw,' a Mummy Musical, Is So Strange It Can Only Be True". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2024-03-22.
  4. ^ "The Tony Award Nominations". www.tonyawards.com. Retrieved 2025-05-01.
  5. ^ Russo, Gilllian (June 10, 2024). "2024 Drama Desk Award winners announced". New York Theater Guide.
  6. ^ Smullen, Sharon (April 13, 2023). "At Spencertown Academy, Rachelle Garniez and Erik Della Penna to play old and new music of New York City". The Berkshire Eagle. Archived from the original on 2024-09-23.
  7. ^ Joyce, Mike (July 3, 2003). "KILL HENRY SUGAR "Sell This ..." The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 2024-09-23.
  8. ^ "Dean Sharenow | Artist | GRAMMY.com". grammy.com. Retrieved 2025-06-22.
  9. ^ Collins-Hughes, Laura (March 11, 2024). "'Dead Outlaw' Review: Not Much of a Bandit, but What a Corpse". The New York Times.
  10. ^ Cullwell-Block, Logan (June 10, 2024). "Stereophonic Leads 2024 Drama Desk Awards With 7 Wins Including Outstanding PlayStereophonic Leads 2024 Drama Desk Awards With 7 Wins Including Outstanding Play". Playbill.
  11. ^ "Dead Outlaw". Playbill.com.
  12. ^ Green, Jesse (2025-04-27). "'Dead Outlaw' Review: This Bandit Has Mummy Issues". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2025-04-29.
  13. ^ "The Tony Award Nominations". www.tonyawards.com. Retrieved 2025-05-01.
  14. ^ "Toby and the Big Top". Cast Albums.
  15. ^ "[2]". FilmAffinity.
  16. ^ "Kitty Hawk returns to the Arsht Center for its third season". Biscayne Bay Tribune. October 10, 2019.
  17. ^ "Erik Della Penna | Composer, Actor, Music Department". IMDb. Retrieved 2025-01-22.
  18. ^ Rizzo, Frank (2025-04-27). "'Dead Outlaw' Review: Rambunctious Mummy Musical Is Weird But Wildly Entertaining". Variety. Retrieved 2025-05-02.
  19. ^ "Joan Osborne-Righteous Love". Discogs.
  20. ^ "Damascus-David Yazbek". ALLMUSIC.
  21. ^ "Kill Henry Sugar-Popular Music". Discogs.
  22. ^ "Kill Henry Sugar - Sell This Place". The Washington Post. July 3, 2003.
  23. ^ "Kill Henry Sugar-Love Beach". Discogs.
  24. ^ "Swing Back and Down-Kill Henry Sugar". ALLMUSIC.
  25. ^ "Evil Monkey Man-David Yazbek". ALLMUSIC.
  26. ^ "Cicada-Hazmat Modine". ALLMUSIC.
  27. ^ "Extra-Deluxe-Supreme-Hazmat Modine". ALLMUSIC.
  28. ^ "Box of Breath-Hazmat Modine". ALLMUSIC.
  29. ^ "The Mojo Manifesto-Mojo Nixon". ALLMUSIC.
  30. ^ "Erik Della Penna: Rainy EP (Album Review)". www.popmatters.com. 2021-07-13. Retrieved 2025-01-22.
  31. ^ "Hazmat Modine-Bonfire". Discogs.
  32. ^ "Chocolate Supa Highway-Spearhead". ALLMUSIC.
  33. ^ "The Chieftains-Tears of Stone". Discogs.
  34. ^ "Motherland-Natalie Merchant". ALLMUSIC.
  35. ^ "The House Carpenter's Daughter-Natalie Merchant". ALLMUSIC.
  36. ^ "Seeds: The Seeds of Pete Seeger". ALLMUSIC.
  37. ^ "Bowery Songs-Joan Baez". ALLMUSIC.
  38. ^ "3 Balloons-Stephen Lynch". ALLMUSIC.
  39. ^ "Saints and Tzadiks-Susan McKeown". ALLMUSIC.
  40. ^ "Leave Your Sleep-Natalie Merchant". ALLMUSIC.
  41. ^ "Natalie Merchant-Natalie Merchant". ALLMUSIC.
  42. ^ "Dar Williams-I'll Meet You Here". Discogs.
  43. ^ "Keep Your Courage-Natalie Merchant". ALLMUSIC.
  44. ^ "2024 WINNERS". 2024 Drama Desk Awards.
  45. ^ a b Rosky, Nicole. "2024 Drama Desk Awards Nominations- The Full List!". BroadwayWorld.com.
  46. ^ Miller, Deb (2024-05-14). "Winners of the 2024 New York Drama Critics' Circle Awards". DC Theater Arts.
  47. ^ Miller, Deb (2024-05-13). "Winners of the 2024 Outer Critics Circle Awards for Broadway and Off-Broadway". DC Theater Arts.
  48. ^ a b Eckmann, Sam (2024-04-23). "2024 Outer Critics Circle nominations: 'Stereophonic' and 'Suffs' receive an end-season boost". GoldDerby.
  49. ^ "The Tony Award Nominations". www.tonyawards.com. Retrieved 2025-05-01.
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