Benj Pasek

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 films La La Land, for which they won both the Golden Globe and Academy Award for Best Original Song for the song "City of Stars", and The Greatest Showman. Their work on the original musical Dear Evan Hansen has received widespread critical acclaim and earned them the 2017 Tony Award for Best Original Score. While Pasek usually writes lyrics and Paul usually writes music, they share credit for both elements. Both are graduates of the University of Michigan and winners of the American Theatre Wing's 2007 Jonathan Larson Grant, which honors achievement by composers, lyricists and librettists.