Rick Knight

Rick Knight is a self-taught keyboardist and composer, born in Tampa. He grew up listening to pop music from The Beatles to Barbra Streisand and began playing piano by ear at age 10 emulating the styles of Carole King, Steely Dan and the Carpenters. He performed in local bands and plays through his teens and twenties. His first work, The Rainbow Room, is an amalgamation of experiences Rick had as a moonlighting cabaret singer in Southern California during the late eighties. One of the songs, "Needs of the Common Man" was nominated in 1999 for a GLAMA award in the same category with Sandra Bernhardt in the same category (neither of whom won).

In the late 90s, faced with the death of both parents, he took a five month sabbatical from corporate life, during which the play and the first four musical numbers came to fruition. All fourteen songs on the CD were composed, arranged, and performed by Rick with guest vocalists Tom Ochoa (Chaz) and Robin Mink (Sonia). The play had a workshop performance in San Francisco in 1998. Rick believes that one day it will find its rightful place on an Off-Broadway stage.

While living in Santa Cruz, Rick was a performer and musical director for the AIDS Benefit show "A Gay Evening in May" for two years. He also performed keyboards on Melanie Redman's debut album Valentine, produced by the late Kenny Edwards.

In November 2010, Rick was musical director for the cabaret show "Love and Pain and the Whole Damn Thing" featuring the vocals of Liz McKendry and directed by Spider Duncan Christopher at The Metropolitan Room in midtown Manhattan. Rick contributed four songs to the repertoire, two of which are featured in his new musical A Cruise Line.

In the realm of musical theater, he most admires the work of Rodgers and Hammerstein, Kander and Ebb, Bacharach and David, Stephen Schwartz and Stephen Sondheim. In film, he greatly admires the work of Michael LeGrand, Alan Menken and Alan and Marilyn Bergman.

It is his desire to create artistic works of impeccable quality and provide a full spectrum of audience appeal. His latest show, "A Cruise Line" will have crossover draw to theater going audiences of varied cultures, sexual orientations and generations. The goal is to create a theatrical masterpiece that will resound in the hearts of the audience creating new understanding of brotherly love and healing among our communities and the nations of the world. Lofty, maybe. Possible, always.