Mitch Leigh

Mitch Leigh (1928–2014) was an American musical theatre composer and theatrical producer best known for the musical Man of La Mancha. Leigh was born in Brooklyn, New York. He graduated from Yale in 1951 with a Bachelor of Music, and in 1952 received his Master of Music under Paul Hindemith. He began his career as a jazz musician, and writing commercials for radio and television. In 1965, Leigh collaborated with lyricist Joe Darion and writer Dale Wasserman to write a musical based on Wasserman's 1959 television play, I, Don Quixote. The resulting show, the musical Man of La Mancha opened on Broadway in 1965 and in its original engagement ran for 2,328 performances, and has been revived multiple times. Leigh both produced and directed the 1985 revival of The King and I starring Brynner featuring in his final performances as the King of Siam. Leigh won a Tony Award for composing the music for Man of La Mancha. He was also nominated for a Tony Award as the director of the 1985 revival of The King and I. He received the Contemporary Classics Award from the Songwriter's Hall of Fame for The Impossible Dream.