Тim Rice – 80: The Нero and His Many Anniversaries. Part II

The first part of this interview is available here.

Tim Rice has been lucky to work with many talented composers and musicians throughout his long creative life. In addition to Andrew Lloyd Webber (Jesus Christ Superstar, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Evita, The Wizard of Oz, The Likes of Us), he has collaborated with Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus (Chess), Alan Menken (Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, King David), Elton John (The Lion King, Aida, The Road to El Dorado), Michel Berger (Tycoon, an English adaptation of the French rock opera Starmania), Francis Lai, Vangelis, Stuart Brayson, as well as such iconic figures of modern musical culture as Elvis Presley, Freddie Mercury, Paul McCartney, Graham Gouldman, etc. He is the author of the lyrics of more than one and a half thousand songs, many of which have become immortal hits.

In one of his interviews, Rice said that initially, he considered his creative union with Andrew Lloyd Webber to be a potential analog of the legendary “…Gilbert and Sullivan duo – forever and till we finally finished boring the pants off the nation.” Tim recalls: “…Andrew wanted to do Cats, which didn’t need lyrics. And then he went off into a slightly different form of musical, more conventional, in a way. But I thought it was a pity we didn’t stick together longer… Then once I had the chance to work with Björn [Ulvaeus] and Benny [Andersson], Alan Menken, and Elton [John], I was glad I had the experience of working with these people because it was different. And I think I’ve done better stuff. It is in no way related to Andrew – I wouldn’t like to make any comparisons there at all, but because I was working with different people, different formats, different inspirations – different creations came out of it.”

Tim’s collaboration with Alan Menken and Elton John, when working on animated musicals, which later received stage adaptations, deserves special attention.

Musicals based on animated films have been actively appearing on Broadway since the 90s of the last century. The success of Beauty and the Beast, which opened on Broadway in 1994, also paved the way for theatrical productions of such movie musicals as Walt Disney Animation Studios’ Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, King David, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Tarzan, The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, Frozen, DreamWorks Animation’s Shrek the Musical, The Prince of Egypt, and 20^th Century Fox Animation’s Anastasia.

Some shows turned out to be more successful than others, but one undoubted advantage can be noted: musicals became a big and desirable part of family outings, and the young spectators were familiar with the original stories, sang along with their favorite characters and admired the miracle of the cartoon characters coming to life on stage.

Beauty and the Beast. The Musical, Australian Cast/ Photo Credit by Daniel Boud

     Tim Rice joined the process of creation of the stage version of Beauty and the Beast. The Musical, continuing the work of Howard Ashman (1950-1991), the author of the lyrics for the animated film of the same name. Composer Alan Menken, realizing the problem of combining Rice’s texts with lyrics written by Ashman, made several necessary changes to the score, being able to achieve the impossible: he successfully combined two different writing styles – that of Ashman and Rice. In addition, while working on the stage adaptation of the animated film, Menken expanded the musical material to ensure the disclosure of the characters’ nature and the dynamics of the action. When it comes to their collaboration with Tim, Alan Menken said the following: “I had to finish the project [Beauty and the Beast] with Tim Rice. I loved working with Tim of course! If I had to go to anyone in that type of situation…it had to be Tim. Tim is such a wonderful person and lyricist. Such a dear friend. I can’t say enough about Tim. When it comes to working with Howard – he had never written a musical as a lyricist before we met. To think of the sophistication and power of what he brought to the table the very first time – with Rosewater and then with Little Shop of Horrors. Little Shop, for example, just keeps going and going and going. And it still feels very contemporary. Howard was the most brilliant lyricist of our generation.” When asked about the differences in the approach of the two authors, Menken replied: “Howard was very intense. Tim is different. He is so graceful, so generous, so cool. I remember we were on stage – it was either at the Golden Globes or the Oscars, and I was giving my speech… I look over and see Tim standing there with Jon Bon Jovi and he’s getting Jon’s autograph for his daughter… And I’m standing there trying to remember who to thank…(laughs) Tim is very disarming! Any lyric that comes from him has such depth, such emotional wisdom to it. Tim Rice can create magic, it’s amazing. Especially for women – you can witness that in Evita, or Chess. Or King David – the oratorio that we wrote – he is just a wonderful lyricist.”

For the Broadway premiere of the musical Beauty and the Beast (1994), Linda Woolverton adapted her screenplay into the musical’s libretto, expanding and deepening the character of the Beast. Menken and Rice have written six new songs to complement the eight featured in the cartoon. The wonderful French fairy tale Beauty and the Beast, staged by director Robert Jess Roth, with production design by Stan Meyer and choreography by Matt West, was warmly welcomed by the audience, who “would not let go of the show” for almost fourteen years, thanks to its catchy melodies, heart-warming songs, bright costumes and set, securing it a place in the Top 10 Longest-Running Broadway shows. The West End production, which opened three years after the Broadway one, didn’t last that long, but numerous national tours in the United States and Great Britain, international productions, and revivals have allowed tens of millions of spectators around the world to immerse themselves into the magical world, where Good overcomes Evil, and The Walt Disney Company – to believe in the promising possibilities of self-producing stage versions of its animated film musicals.

We asked Tim Rice if there are differences in perception of a song being played off-screen against the background of an animated picture and a song being performed live on a theatre stage.

Lisa Monde: When it comes to working with Disney, you’ve created such musicals as Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, and Aladdin. Those are the films that we all know, that we all grew up with and later on they appeared live on stage. How do you feel about staged productions of Disney musicals?

Tim Rice: Well, I think some worked well and some didn’t. And that’s true for almost every musical. Or almost every film, if you think about it. Yes, the film was the starting point, obviously, for all of these Disney musicals. And I thought The Lion King original animated film was mighty good. I was involved in the creative process from the very beginning, which was a privilege. And I was there to see The Lion King go from one little meeting with three or four people, one drawing of the lion and a vague story, to the legend that it became. And that was very exciting. When the film came out, it was a mega-hit, and the records did well – we won an Oscar for it. And then I learned they were going to make a stage show. I was honestly surprised. The reason behind it was really that Beauty and the Beast was the first musical they did. It was a great show and a great film. The film had nothing to do with me, though. But the musical worked well on stage because it had a good story and wonderful songs. And then they decided, insanely, I thought at first, to do The Lion King on stage. And that worked because it was staged so wonderfully, and people knew the songs. I’m all for a good musical theatre version of each Disney film. But you can’t guarantee success. You never quite know if you’ve done something good until the show opens and then it’s too late to change anything.

LM: The approach with the musical The Lion King was very smart because it wasn’t really “an animated film on stage”. It was done in a different style, with the beautiful African theme reflected in everything – the costumes, the set, the choreography…

TR: Yes, yes… I mean, the thing about animated films is that the entire storyline can suddenly change or disappear. A character can get cut out of the plot just like that… And that’s easy to do with the animated film because the cartoon character doesn’t have an agent. So, the screenplay was constantly changing, but I was part of that process.

The Lion King Musical Buyi Zama as Rafiki/ Photo Credit by Deen Van Meer

LM: Did you write the lyrics to Elton John’s ready-made music, or did he write the music to your lyrics?  

TR: Elton John usually writes music when he’s got the words. It was different for me, but it worked very well for The Lion King because my songs had to fit into the screenplay, which I hadn’t written. And all these songs… there are just so many: I Just Can’t Wait to Be King – one of these classic “I-want-songs…” Each song was a masterpiece. Once we all agreed the lyrics looked okay, we’d send them off. And sometimes, when I got the tune back, I might change something slightly, but the tunes Elton came up with were wonderful. Circle of Life… Wow!

LM: It is believed that the musical film + the stage version of The Lion King has surpassed even The Phantom of the Opera commercially! Isn’t this a success?

TR: The Lion King is fantastic. But I can’t take much credit for the show apart from helping make the film a hit.

After the Broadway premiere in 1997, the musical The Lion King did not leave the stage for the following twenty-seven years. The show appeared on West End two years later, and there the performances are currently underway. Numerous tours and international productions are multiplying from year to year. For the stage productions, as in the case of Beauty and the Beast, Alan Menken and Tim Rice composed additional songs (for example: The Morning Report, Endless Night, One by One), individual melodies were rewritten, and new scenes were added. And, although the number of hit songs in this musical is unprecedented, its uniqueness is ensured by other components that should not be forgotten.

The stage version of the Disney animated film The Lion King entered the history of the world musical theatre largely thanks to the director – Julie Taymor. Her bold decisions quickly resonated with the audience and were highly appreciated by the professional community. The eclectic fusion of African styles and performance techniques created by Taymor allowed the animation characters to “expand their stage characters” through the in-depth psychological characteristics of the main heroes, starting with Simba. The task of psychologization was solved using flashbacks, demonstrating the events of the past, which allowed the characters to relive them in the present and, as a result, overcome irrational fears. Simba, Nala (the main female character), and Rafiki (who became the embodiment of the strong female leading character and “the power of nature” in the stage version) were turned by Taymor into  “three-dimensional” characters: they seem to be part of the real world, they think and feel,  have their own beliefs and desires, they have motives and their own “code of honor.” The director’s decision not to hide the actors’ faces under masks, but to allow the audience to see both the performers and the masks at the same time, largely ensures this effect. The actor, “reviving” his or her character, demonstrates interaction with the puppet, which contributes to the increase of dramatic tension. Masks reflect the character of the hero, one also cannot forget the different functionality in the vertical (human) and horizontal (animal) positions of the actors’ bodywork to transform animals into human-like characters. The mask and puppet designer Michael Curry, along with the director, have accomplished a fantastic amount of work, creating such masterpieces as the looks for Timon, Pumbaa, Zazu, and others. The production involves about two hundred puppets (marionettes, shadow puppets, masks, and full-size wooden puppets) of various sizes, which depict twenty-five species of animals, birds, fish, insects, as well as various representatives of the flora of the savannah (grass, flowers, leaves, etc.). Unique costumes were created for the live show, many of which require complex technical devices to operate them, locking mechanisms, etc. The scenic designer Richard Hudson found a way to combine various creative techniques. Together with the lighting designer Donald Holder, they managed to create a stunningly beautiful show, in the prologue of which – Circle of Life – the audience is overwhelmed by the unforgettable atmosphere of the awakening savannah, in which wildlife transforms into something both wild and human.

Aladdin. The Musical, Broadway/ Ensemble / Photo Credit by Deen Van Meer

In addition to Beauty and the Beast, Tim Rice once again had the opportunity to work on a joint project with Alan Menken, Howard Ashman, and librettist Chad Beguelin on the animated film Aladdin, which premiered in 1992. Aladdin’s journey to Broadway under the auspices of Disney Theatrical Productions took twelve years. Several additional songs for the stage version were written by Tim Rice, including A Whole New World, which earned Menken and Rice an Oscar.

Lisa Monde: The musical Aladdin is running on Broadway. Some spectators love it, and some believe, that the animated film is better because you can do more in an animated film than you can on stage.

Tim Rice: I think it’s fine.

LM: They love staging Aladdin in schools and children’s theatre groups, in different countries one can witness professional but very “liberal” versions. Were those the changes made with your approval?

TR: Certainly not with Aladdin. I only wrote a couple of songs for Aladdin anyway. The short answer is, that I approve of the concept of getting young children to perform Aladdin. That’s great.

Sir Tim Rice, EGOT/ Photo from Tim Rice’s personal archive/ http://www.timrice.co.uk/bio

 Tim Rice is still actively working today, and he is no stranger to the issues of developing the musical as a form of theatrical art in the near and distant future. He is also interested in the possibilities of using new technologies in productions, concerned about the existence of digital musical theatre, the limits of reasonable use of immersiveness, and much more.

 The answers within the framework of the blitz poll at the end of the interview with Sir Tim Rice will allow the readers to get better acquainted with the EGOT, the winner of an Emmy Award, five Grammys, three Oscars, three Tonys, three Golden Globe Awards, two Laurence Olivier Awards, and many other international prestigious awards in the field of music, the Knight of the British Empire – Sir Tim Rice.

Lisa Monde: What is your favorite musical out there in the world of musical theatre?

Tim Rice:  I’d say My Fair Lady, West Side Story, Oliver! – those are the three I really love.

LM: What is your favorite musical if you had to choose from the ones you’ve created?

TR:  Chess in a way, because that musical is more personal… but I think that technically the best one might be Evita.

LM: Which one of the musical theatre composers do you think has had the most impact on the development of musical theatre as a genre?

TR: Well, Andrew’s [Andrew Lloyd Webber] had a lot of impact, no doubt about it. The musicals he wrote were truly influential, and through his work, he’s kind of influenced himself, I believe.

LM: Which musical of yours do you consider most innovative?

TR: When Jesus Christ Superstar came out – that was an influence and an introduction to rock music.

LM: Who’s your favorite musical theatre composer of all time?

TR: Well, lyrically, I would say Alan Jay Lerner and Cole Porter. There are so many great composers…A lot of them are great, some – even greater than great, like Richard Rogers and Oscar Hammerstein.

LM: Who is your favorite musical theatre lyricist that inspires you?

TR: Well, I think to a great extent, it’s the rockers: Paul Simon, Jerry Leiber, Chuck Berry, Eddie Cochran – people like that. Once again, I love Alan Jay Lerner. Stephen Sondheim. His West Side Story was one of the best shows he’s ever written, I think, lyrically. Howard Ashman was a wonderful lyricist. He wrote some amazing songs, but I believe his problem was getting the right subject matter to work with. I think Beauty and the Beast, and Aladdin – are fantastic. The Little Mermaid is simply sensational. The lyrics in these shows are superb!

LM: Out of the characters that you have created in your shows, which character is your favorite?

TR: Oh, Pumbaa!

We congratulate Tim Rice on his anniversary and wish him to keep bringing joy to us, spectators and listeners, as much as possible with his kind, life-affirming, full of sparkling humor, as well as serious, thought-provoking, and emotional songs!