Plus: Stephen Schwartz discusses the project’s journey from screen to stage.
Original screenwriter Philip LaZebnik also reprised his role on the project, writing the book for the stage adaptation.
Can you walk us through the evolution?
Credit: Tristram Kenton
And so the book writer, Philip LaZebnik, and I drove over to see it.
Finally they decided, maybe we should develop this for ourselves.
So they enlisted Philip and myself to take a stab at write a stage version.
DreamWorks
It went through several developmental stages readings and a workshop.
All of that led us finally to the West End production.
We hope and expect this is the definitive stage production.
How did you tackle expanding the score?
Were there songs youd cut waiting in the wings?
They didn’t seem appropriate to the show either.
Ultimately, the the rest of the score is basically a new score written from scratch.
We had our drummer use those, and that’s heavily featured in the score.
With “When You Believe,” Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey leave some huge shoes to fill.
Yes, they did.
Can you tell us about adapting it for the stage and how you arrived at this new version?
He feels himself responsible for the death of his brother’s son and all the firstborn of Egypt.
He’s in a very low place of despair and despondency.
Through this song, [he realizes] that whatever else has happened, his people are now free.
Through their joy, he’s able to literally walk again.
That emotional journey is more vivid and more focused on in the stage version than in other versions.
You’ve written one of the most famous religious musicals ever,Godspell.
They’re great stories.
First of all, there are big events and big characters.
They lend themselves to both theatricality and to music.
Those are always rewarding to grapple with as a writer.
What was the most challenging song to crack?
There were a few that I found difficult.
And before he knew the truth of his own existence and background, that that was tricky.
We often seeThe Ten Commandmentson TV this time of year.
Is this near-Easter album release on purpose?
And then Easter as well.
But then we thought of it as a sort of Passover and Easter gift.
It would be nice to have it out there and share the story through the music.
Are there plans to aim for Broadway after London?
There was a lot of excitement around the show.
We were getting wonderful audience response and doing quite well, so there was discussion about what was next.
The timing that we were perhaps looking at at one time will be different now.
But the truth is we just don’t know right now.
What’s going to happen with live theater?
When it’s going to come back?
Will it come back as strongly?
Will it take a while?
But we’re very excited and proud of the show.
How do you think Broadway and theater will weather this storm?
A shutdown of this nature is unprecedented in the age of modern theater.
It’s completely unprecedented.
Yet theater survives because, I think, it’s a basic human impulse.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
