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 Rep. Education includes a BA from Carleton College and an MFA from NYU’s Tisch Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program.

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