Daniel Messé

Daniel Messé is the founder and principal songwriter of the band Hem, which began in 2001 with their debut album, Rabbit Songs. In 2009, the Public Theatre tapped Hem to score their summer Shakespeare in the Park production of Twelfth Night (starring Anne Hathaway and Audra McDonald, directed by Daniel Sullivan) for which they earned a Drama Desk Nomination. Along with Craig Lucas (book) and Nathan Tysen (co-lyrics), Daniel wrote the music and lyrics for the musical adaptation of the French film Amélie, which debuted on Broadway in 2017 (directed by Pam McKinnon) after successful runs at Berkeley Rep and Los Angeles’ Ahmanson Theatre. Daniel has written four musicals for TheatreWorks USA with collaborator Mindi Dickstein (book, lyrics). Awards for theatre include a Kleban Prize for Lyrics, a Jonathan Larson Grant from the American Theatre Wing, the ASCAP/Frederick Loewe Award, and an E.Y. “Yip” Harburg Fellowship. Currently, Daniel is at work on a new theatrical song cycle inspired by Twain’s Huck Finn (You Don’t Know About Me Without You). He is also working together again with Craig Lucas (book) along with Sean Hartley (co-lyrics) on adapting Craig’s play, Prelude to a Kiss, for South Coast Repertory Theatre. Education includes a BA from Carleton College and an MFA from NYU’s Tisch Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program.

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   RECENT NEWS:

• Hem is back in the studio with new songs! Recording begins November 16th, 2023.

• Amélie heads to Asia. Details soon...

• New Works Provincetown has just commissioned a new full-length musical based on the film "Love is Strange"; book by Craig Lucas, music by Daniel Messé, and lyrics by Nathan Tysen & Daniel Messé.

• The London Cast Recording of Amélie has been nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album!

• South Coast Rep announces Prelude to a Kiss will premiere in spring of 2024.