Benj Pasek

Pasek and Paul
Benj Pasek (left) and Justin Paul
Background information
Genres	Musical Theatre
Website	pasekandpaul.com
Members	Benj Pasek Justin Paul

Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, known together as Pasek and Paul, are an American songwriting duo and composing team for musical theater, films, and television. Their works include A Christmas Story, Dogfight, Edges, Dear Evan Hansen, and James and the Giant Peach. Their original songs have been featured on NBC's Smash, and in the film La La Land, for which they won both the Golden Globe and Academy Award for Best Original Song for the song "City of Stars".

Both artists are graduates of the University of Michigan and winners of the American Theatre Wing's 2007 Jonathan Larson Award, which honors achievement by composers, lyricists and librettists.

Their work on original musical Dear Evan Hansen has received widespread critical acclaim and earned them the Tony Award for Best Original Score.

Pasek and Paul started working together as freshmen at the University of Michigan where they completed their BFA degrees in musical theatre in December 2006. Both got "background" roles in the school's musical theater production, which inspired them to write the series of songs turned into a show, Edges. While Pasek usually writes lyrics and Paul usually writes music, they opted to share credit for both elements of the songwriting.

Edges is a song cycle about the trials and tribulations of moving into adulthood. It examines the search for love, commitment and meaning. Edges premiered at the Kerrytown Concert House in Ann Arbor, Michigan on April 3, 2005. Social media created a dedicated fan base nicknamed "Edge-heads". It has had over 200 productions worldwide in Australia, South Africa, Denmark, France, South Korea, the United Kingdom, Canada, the Philippines, and across the United States.