Russell's first musical to be produced is Fortune, which ran Off-Broadway at the Actors' Plahouse from April 27, 1980 to November 23, 1980.
According to The New York Times reviewer, John Corry, it "marked the maturity of the gay musical", and he commended the "literate" lyrics.
[2] Russell wrote the book and lyrics for the song cycle Elegies for Angels, Punks and Raging Queens, with music by Janet Hood, which originally ran Off-Off-Broadway in 1990 and in the West End in 1993.
[6][7] He wrote the concert adaptation of the musical Call Me Madam for the New York City Center Encores!
[15] Russell and Janet Hood have teamed again to write the musical Unexpected Joy, which received private readings in March 2012.
[19] He received an honorary degree of doctor of humane letters from Morningside College in 2003[20] and from the Boston Conservatory in May 2007.
He attended Morningside College, Sioux City, Iowa for two years with a major in theater before transferring to the University of Kansas.