Voting Station

Ahrens and Flaherty

Please vote to return to collections.

Songwriters

The Resume

    Lynn Ahrens (born October 1, 1948)
    Stephen Flaherty (born September 18, 1960)
    Wrote 'Ragtime' and 'Seussical' for Broadway
    Other musicals include 'Once On This Island,' 'Lucky Stiff,' 'A Man of No Importance,' 'Dessa Rose,' 'The Glorious Ones,' and 'Little Dancer'
    Wrote the songs for 'Anastasia (1997)' and for the Broadway show of the same name (2016)

Why they might be annoying:

    One of their credits is Rocky: The Musical.
    Lynn Ahrens wrote songs for episodes of Captain Kangaroo.
    They had the chance to be the next Ashman and Menken of the Disney Renaissance, but their big project with Disney (about singing whales) stalled out in 1992 and never got off the ground.
    Seussical is easily their most unnecessary and overrated work to also receive critical praise and financial success.
    Once On This Island, another a popular hit, leans into Haitian stereotypes to the point where it is unlikely it would be greenlit today.

Why they might not be annoying:

    Stephen Flaherty performed ragtime piano in a college dance band.
    Lynn Ahrens got her start singing and performing her songs on Schoolhouse Rock!.
    Ragtime was nominated for thirteen Tony Awards and two Grammys.
    They won the Drama Desk Award and Outer Critics Circle Award for ‘Ragtime.’
    They won a Tony for Best Original Score for ‘Once On This Island.’
    Seussical is one of the most widely performed musicals in America.
    They received two Academy Award nominations and a Golden Globe nomination for their work on ‘Anastasia.’
    Their songs and score for Anastasia both are the closest to matching Disney in terms of quality.
    They wrote the songs for Chita Rivera’s autobiographical one-woman show.
    Ahrens said of their working relationship: ‘Our lives have been very different… But our sensibilities are very similar.’

Credit: BoyWiththeGreenHair


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    For 2024, as of last weekly ranking, Out of 1 Votes: 100% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 2 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 9 Votes: 66.67% Annoying