Robert Lopez

Robert Lopez is the songwriter behind three of the biggest Broadway hits of the 21st century: Avenue Q, The Book of Mormon, and Frozen. He is also the first person to win an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony at least twice each. This page walks through his shows in order and suggests where to begin.

Who Robert Lopez is

Lopez was born in Manhattan on February 23, 1975. He has written almost all of his work with partners: Jeff Marx on Avenue Q, Trey Parker and Matt Stone (the creators of South Park) on The Book of Mormon, and his wife, Kristen Anderson-Lopez, on Frozen, Coco, and other Disney projects. The couple married in 2003.

His style is built on loving parody. Avenue Q borrows the sound and puppets of children's television to sing about rent, jobs, and adult disappointment. The Book of Mormon spoofs classic Broadway numbers while telling a sincere story about faith and friendship. With Anderson-Lopez he writes big, emotional character songs, like Let It Go and Remember Me, that work both on screen and on stage. Across all of it, his songs tend to be extremely catchy and very funny, with a real feeling underneath the jokes.

Lopez's stage shows in order

Avenue Q, with music and lyrics by Lopez and Marx and a book by Jeff Whitty, opened Off-Broadway at the Vineyard Theatre and moved to Broadway in 2003, where it beat Wicked for the Tony for Best Musical. Finding Nemo: The Musical, written with Anderson-Lopez, opened at Disney's Animal Kingdom in 2007.

The Book of Mormon opened on Broadway in 2011, won nine Tony Awards, and is still running. Frozen, adapted by Lopez, Anderson-Lopez, and screenwriter Jennifer Lee from the 2013 Disney film, opened on Broadway in 2018 with many new songs added to the film's score. The couple's musical Up Here premiered at La Jolla Playhouse in 2015 and was later adapted as a television series.

On screen, Lopez and Anderson-Lopez wrote songs for Winnie the Pooh (2011), Frozen (2013), Coco (2017), and Frozen II (2019). Lopez also wrote songs for the children's series The Wonder Pets, which earned him Daytime Emmy Awards.

Legacy and where to start

Lopez completed the EGOT in 2014 when Let It Go won the Academy Award for Best Original Song. When Remember Me from Coco won in 2018, he became the first person to win all four awards at least twice. His Tonys are for Best Original Score for Avenue Q (2004) and for both Best Original Score and Best Book for The Book of Mormon (2011).

Families should start with Frozen, which adds new songs and more backstory for Elsa and Anna to the film everyone knows. Avenue Q and The Book of Mormon are both for adults only, with strong language and frank humor. Of the two, Avenue Q is the gentler and sweeter introduction, while The Book of Mormon is the bigger, bolder satire.

Robert Lopez: frequently asked questions

All Broadway composers