Biography

Won Broadway's 1998 Tony Award as Best Original Musical Score, her lyrics with music by collaborator Stephen Flaherty, for "Ragtime." She had previously been twice nominated in 1991 for "Once on this Island": as Best Book (Musical), and, also in collaboration with Flaherty, as Best Score (Musical).

Wrote and sang some of Schoolhouse Rock's most recognizable tunes including Interplanet Janet, The Great American Melting Pot, and A Noun is a Person, Place, or Thing. She had a rather fortuitous, unconventional start. McCaffrey and McCall hired her as a secretary when she was just 22, and right out of college. Bored with her daily typing tasks, Ahrens often brought a guitar to the office to play during down time. One day, producer George Newall heard her strumming and asked her to try writing a song for the series. "The Preamble" was a hit and she wrote more songs for Schoolhouse Rock. This led to her getting more jobs as a freelance composer and singer which really launched her career and eventually included award-winning work for Broadway and movies.

She was nominated for a 2004 Laurence Olivier Theatre Award for Best New Musical of 2003 season for "Ragtime", performed at the Piccadilly Theatre.

She and Stephen Flaherty also wrote the libretto for the off-Broadway hit, "Dessa Rose", starring LaChanze.

Stephen Flaherty and her musical, "Once on This Island", at the Porchlight Music Theatre in Chicago, Illinois was nominated for a 2009 Joseph Jefferson Award for Best Production of a Musical-Midsize.