Theater Producer Vivek J. Tiwary to Adapt Will Eisner’s Graphic Novel ‘A Contract With God’ Into a Broadway Musical
- The Indian American called the author “one of the great mentors of his life,” and said the graphic novel “was a formative ground zero” for all his creative work.
Tiwary Entertainment Group, popularly known as TEG+, has acquired the stage rights to Will Eisner’s graphic novel “A Contract With God” and is adapting it into a Broadway musical. The production company is led by author and theater producer Vivek J. Tiwary. The production will include new and original songs written by Sam Hollander, Lisa Loeb, Matisyahu, Ryan Miller and Jill Sobule.
First published “A Contract With God,” first published in 1978, is commonly recognized as the very first graphic novel in history. The novel consists of four interweaving stories revolving around the lives of a group of New Yorkers who live in a fictional tenement house, many of whom are Jewish and/or immigrants.
Tiwary told Variety that for him “A Contract With God’ was “a formative ground zero for all my creative work. He said he never met Will Eisner, and “still he is one of the great mentors of my life.” Like the author, Tiwary was born in New York City, he told Variety, “a child of immigrants who grew up surrounded by immigrant dreams, both beautiful and frustrating.” He said the book “helped me understand both New York City and myself.”
Last year, Tiwary won a Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album for “Jagged Little Pill,” for which he is the lead producer, along with Neal Avron, Pete Ganbarg, Tom Kitt, Michael Parker and Craig Rosen. The principal soloists featured on the album are Kathryn Gallagher, Celia Rose Gooding, Lauren Patten, and Elizabeth Stanley. Glen Ballard is the composer, while Alanis Morissette is the composer and lyricist.
He has been associated with Broadway productions as either a financier or producer. Some of his past works include rock band Green Day’s “American Idiot,” “Raisin In The Sun,” “The Addams Family,” “A Little Night Music,” and both of Mel Brooks’ musicals “The Producers” and “Young Frankenstein.”
Before founding TEG+ and online music education/empowerment company StarPolish, Tiwary held a number of major label music-industry positions and has worked with artists covering the entire musical spectrum. Among many charitable pursuits, he is the co-founder of Musicians On Call, a nonprofit organization that uses music and entertainment to complement the healing process.
His graphic novel “The Fifth Beatle,” won numerous literary awards including the Will Eisner Comic Industry Award and two Harvey Awards. It’s a Lambda Literary Finalist for Best LGBT Graphic Novel and has been added to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Library and Archives. g student of Susan Batson/Black Nexxus Acting Studio.
He is a magna cum laude graduate of both the Wharton School of Business and the University of Pennsylvania’s College of Arts and Sciences, and a cum laude graduate of the Collegiate School in New York City. He also holds a filmmaking certificate from the New York Film Academy and is an acting student of Susan Batson/Black Nexxus Acting Studio. He was included in Gold House’s 2020 A100 List to celebrate Asians and Asian American and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) and their transformative contributions to society. He lives in New York with his inspiring wife Tracy and their children Kavi and Nandini.