Editing Adam Guettel (section)

=== 2000–2020: ''The Light at the Piazza'' and other work ===
In addition to writing music and lyrics for musical theatre, Guettel has written [[incidental music]] for plays such as ''Lydie Breeze'' (2000), as well as film scores. In summer 2007, Guettel composed incidental music for a production of [[Anton Chekhov]]'s play ''[[Uncle Vanya]]'' at the [[Intiman Playhouse]] in [[Seattle]], [[Washington (state)|Washington]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hernandez |first=Ernio |date=2007-06-12 |title=Samantha Mathis Stars in Lucas' New ''Uncle Vanya'' — with Music by Guettel — Beginning June 12 |url=https://www.playbill.com/article/samantha-mathis-stars-in-lucas-new-uncle-vanya-with-music-by-guettel-beginning-june-12-com-141426 |access-date=2022-03-15 |website=[[Playbill]]}}</ref>

Guettel has written bespoke songs, including several songs throughout [[Audra McDonald]]'s discography. Her 1998 album ''Way Back to Paradise'' includes his songs "Come to Jesus" (from ''[[Myths and Hymns]]''), "A Tragic Story", "Baby Moon" and "The Allure of Silence". Her [[How Glory Goes|2000 album]]'s namesake is the closing number of ''[[Floyd Collins (musical)|Floyd Collins]]'', "How Glory Goes", and also includes "Was That You". Her 2006 album is named after his song "Build a Bridge" and also includes "Dividing Day" (from ''The Light in the Piazza''). Her 2018 album, ''Sing Happy'' includes "March is a Windy Month" (from ''Millions''). In 2003, it was announced that Guettel would be writing a new piece for McDonald which would have opened [[Carnegie Hall]]'s [[Zankel Hall]],<ref>{{Cite news |title=Audra McDonald Sings New Guettel Work at Carnegie Hall in 2004 |url=https://playbill.com/article/audra-mcdonald-sings-new-guettel-work-at-carnegie-hall-in-2004-com-112465|author=Andrew Gans|date=April 4, 2003}}</ref> but this piece never came to fruition.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Tommasini |first=Anthony |date=2004-06-04 |title=MUSIC REVIEW; Catching a Broadway Star On a Fast Concert Furlough |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/04/movies/music-review-catching-a-broadway-star-on-a-fast-concert-furlough.html |access-date=2025-03-11 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

In 1999, Guettel performed a concert evening of his own work at New York's [[Town Hall]] with guests such as [[Kristin Chenoweth]], Audra McDonald, [[Billy Porter]], [[Jubilant Sykes]] and Theresa McCarthy. At first, Guettel resisted doing this concert at all, believing that his work had been heard enough in New York City, and he wanted to focus on writing something new, rather than having songs he had already written performed. It was Robert Hurwitz, the president of [[Nonesuch Records]] at the time, who insisted Guettel do the concert. Guettel has also contributed original scores to several documentary films, including ''Arguing the World'' and ''Jack: The Last Kennedy Film''. In 2004, Guettel contributed vocals to [[Jessica Molaskey]]'s [[P.S. Classics]] album ''[[Make Believe (Molaskey)|Make Believe]]'', dueting with Molaskey on his grandfather's song "Glad To Be Unhappy".

After ''Floyd Collins,'' Guettel reportedly hoped to work on a love story. [[Mary Rodgers|His mother]] suggested an adaptation that she had once pitched to [[Richard Rodgers|her father]], ''[[The Light in the Piazza (novel)|The Light in the Piazza]]'' by [[Elizabeth Spencer (writer)|Elizabeth Spencer]]. After six years working on the project,<ref name="comp" /> [[The Light in the Piazza (musical)|Guettel's musical ''The Light in the Piazza'']] opened on Broadway in 2005.  The show, which starred [[Victoria Clark]] and [[Kelli O'Hara]], met with mixed critical notices, but on June 5, 2005, Adam Guettel won the [[Tony Award for Best Original Score]] and the [[Tony Award for Best Orchestrations]]. He spent much of the period from 2005 to 2007 working on a musical adaptation of ''[[The Princess Bride (film)|The Princess Bride]]'' with original screenwriter [[William Goldman]].  As of January 2007, Guettel had written the music for ten songs for the project.  An orchestral suite from the score was performed at the Hollywood Bowl in November 2006, and [[Lincoln Center]] conducted a workshop of ''Bride'' in January 2007.  The project was abandoned when Goldman reportedly demanded 75 percent of the author's share, even though Guettel was writing both the music and the lyrics.<ref>{{cite news |last=Riedel |first=Michael |url= https://nypost.com/2007/02/16/bride-not-to-be/ |title='Bride' Not to Be While Broderick Balks at 'Producers' | work = The [[New York Post]] |date=2007-02-16 |access-date= 2015-06-03}}</ref>

In July 2009, the [[Signature Theatre (Arlington, Virginia)|Signature Theatre]] of [[Arlington County, Virginia|Arlington, Virginia]], commissioned Guettel to write a new musical for their 2011–2012 season, under the auspices of their American Musical Voices Project.<ref>{{Citation | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20101128061522/http://sig-online.org/press_releases/2009/Guettel_AMVP_7-17-09.pdf | archive-date = 2010-11-28 | url = http://sig-online.org/press_releases/2009/Guettel_AMVP_7-17-09.pdf | title = Signature theatre announces three new musical commissions and two awards as part of "American musical voices project" | publisher = Sig}}</ref> This would reportedly be a musical adaptation of the [[Danny Boyle]] film [[Millions (2004 film)|''Millions'']]. Other projects in development included an opera based on the short stories of [[Washington Irving]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Seeking the Human Spirit : Houston Grand Opera |url=https://www.houstongrandopera.org/you-at-the-opera/Musings/HGO-Announces-Six-Year-Initiative/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190210044455/https://www.houstongrandopera.org/you-at-the-opera/Musings/HGO-Announces-Six-Year-Initiative/ |archive-date=February 10, 2019 |access-date=2019-02-09 |website=Houstongrandopera.org}}</ref>

Guettel wrote the original score for the original Broadway production of the play ''[[To Kill a Mockingbird (2018 play)|To Kill a Mockingbird]]'' (2018), for which he received a [[Tony Award]] nomination.

Another major aspect of Guettel's career is his work as a teacher. Since 1995, he has taught masterclasses and seminars in musical theatre performance and songwriting, considering this to be an important complement to his work as a composer. He has led such classes at [[DePauw University]], [[DePaul University]], [[New York University]], [[Pace University]], [[Harvard University]], [[Yale University]], [[Princeton University]], [[Emerson College]], [[Elon University]], [[The Boston Conservatory]], [[Southern Methodist University]], [[Syracuse University]], [[Wagner College]] and many others.

Guettel received an honorary doctorate from [[Lehman College]] in 2007, and was made an honorary member of the [[Royal Academy of Music]] in 2019.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=About |url=https://www.adamguettel.com/about-4 |access-date=2024-09-06 |website=Adam Guettel |language=en}}</ref> He is a founding board member of Vermonters for a Clean Environment.