Frederick D. Miller (he/him) is a Pittsburgh, PA-based dramaturg, theatre historian, and playwright. He is a third-year student in the Theatre and Performance Studies PhD program at Pitt. His research explores dramaturgies of the twentieth and twenty-first century American Musical. His essay on Dear Evan Hansen is featured in Fifty Key Stage Musicals (Routledge).
Frederick is the dramaturg for the J2 Spotlight Musical Theatre Company in New York City. Recent credits include the Off-Broadway revivals of Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty’s Lucky Stiff, The Goodbye Girl (directed by original lyricist David Zippel), a revised version of Stephen Schwartz’s The Baker’s Wife, and the first NYC revival of A Class Act. Frederick is also a frequent script writer for concerts at Feinstein’s/54 Below, with recent shows including the 70th anniversary concert of Wonderful Town, Broadway Bound: The Shows That Never Came to Broadway, and the Fifty Key Stage Musicals: The Concert series.
Additionally, he enjoys a career as a freelance dramaturg; his work has informed productions at North Shore Music Theatre, Allenberry Playhouse, the Forestburgh Playhouse, Music Theatre Wichita, The Legacy Theatre, Penn State University, and Cumberland Valley High School. Credits include The Music Man, Anastasia, Fiddler on the Roof, Little Shop of Horrors, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, The Sound of Music, Young Frankenstein, The Addams Family, Ragtime, Cats, Bullets Over Broadway, Angels in America, A Little Night Music, Andrew Lippa’s The Wild Party, Cinderella, Footloose, and Beauty and the Beast.
As a playwright, Frederick’s plays have been produced by the Harrisburg Fringe Festival, Harrisburg Area Community College, and Penn State University. Credits include Headspace (HBG Fringe and Penn State), Charley/Nik/Charlie/Nick (HACC), and Stage Moms (commissioned by Mountain View Middle School). Other titles, such as Moving Day, Outcasts, and Weekend Visit, have received readings at Penn State.
Frederick has presented his work at Mid-America Theatre Conference (MATC), Association for Theatre in Higher Education (ATHE), and the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival (KC/ACTF). For MATC, he is the Graduate Student Representative as well as a member of the Conference Planning Committee. Additionally, he is a member of the Music Theatre Dance Association (MTDA) and the Dramatists Guild.
Frederick holds an MA in Theatre and Performance Studies from the University of Pittsburgh and BA degrees in Theatre and Comparative Literature from Penn State University. To learn more about his work as a dramaturg, follow his Instagram @themtdramaturg, or visit his website, frederickdmiller.com.
Research Interests
Musical Theatre History & Performance; American Theatre; Dramaturgy
Education & Training
MA, Theatre and Performances Studies, University of Pittsburgh, 2024
BA, Theatre, Penn State University, 2022
BA, Comparative Literature, Penn State University, 2022
Research Interests
Musical Theatre History & Performance; American Theatre; Dramaturgy
Education & Training
- BA, Theatre, Penn State University, 2022
- BA, Comparative Literature, Penn State University, 2022
