#1401
Posted: 6/4/05 at 10:49am
"In their Own Words"--David Yazbek and Jack O Brien. I love what David says about Norbert!
David Yazbek
Best Original Score Written for the Theatre, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
Q: Everybody in your cast is a star. What is it like to write for them?
David Yazbek: It's very relaxing because you know that when you write a song it's going to be handled well and it's not just that these people are stars, they're also extremely intelligent actors and great comedians. So they understand the timing, they understand how to land jokes. And it's a pleasure!
Q: Were any of these songs written for these particular actors?
Yazbek: Yes, some of them were. Once we got to San Diego and doing the show, I got to write new songs and I knew who I was writing for. I knew what they were good at and what their styles were. The 11-o'clock number, "Dirty Rotten Number," I knew I was writing for John Lithgow with all his style, and I could almost see him dancing to it. And Norbert Leo Butz, who by then had impressed me as an incredibly energetic and somewhat lunatic performer.
Q: How about "Great Big Stuff"?
Yazbek: "Great Big Stuff" I wrote before the show was cast, but I can't imagine anyone doing it better than Norbert Leo Butz. I mean my demo was pretty good but Norbert kills that song--and I mean that in a positive way.
Jack O'Brien
Best Direction of a Musical, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
Q: What was the most fun moment to stage?
Jack O'Brien: I think lunch. Lunch was pretty funny. You know, we all laughed from the moment we met. And at all the subsequent rehearsals we kept slapping each other and kidding each other and showing off for each other, and so one thing didn't stick out until it started to come together by itself. And I think that's the truth about comedy. It's amazing that people laugh at the same time. I mean you can be moved a lot of different ways but there's only one way to laugh--which is out loud. So it's kind of a mirror. When that happens, when you get that one, you know you're right.
Q: Sondheim says that comedic songs are the most difficult to write, and this show is comedy song after comedy song. Did that make these numbers difficult to stage?
O'Brien: It depends on how well the joke lands in the song. David Yazbek is a kind of freak genius about making people laugh. He leaves air in his songs for you to laugh, so you don't lose the next joke. So no, you just find the truth of them, of David's stuff, and let the rest take care of itself.
Q: Can you talk about what it's like to work with John Lithgow?
O'Brien: The thing about John, and I have to say this, is he's the funniest guy. He's such a gentleman and he's such a hub around which this play takes place. He makes it possible for anybody to be funny. So basically I just stay out of his way and encourage him. He's a dear friend, and I let him do what he wants to do because he is amazing. Amazing!
David Yazbek
Best Original Score Written for the Theatre, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
Q: Everybody in your cast is a star. What is it like to write for them?
David Yazbek: It's very relaxing because you know that when you write a song it's going to be handled well and it's not just that these people are stars, they're also extremely intelligent actors and great comedians. So they understand the timing, they understand how to land jokes. And it's a pleasure!
Q: Were any of these songs written for these particular actors?
Yazbek: Yes, some of them were. Once we got to San Diego and doing the show, I got to write new songs and I knew who I was writing for. I knew what they were good at and what their styles were. The 11-o'clock number, "Dirty Rotten Number," I knew I was writing for John Lithgow with all his style, and I could almost see him dancing to it. And Norbert Leo Butz, who by then had impressed me as an incredibly energetic and somewhat lunatic performer.
Q: How about "Great Big Stuff"?
Yazbek: "Great Big Stuff" I wrote before the show was cast, but I can't imagine anyone doing it better than Norbert Leo Butz. I mean my demo was pretty good but Norbert kills that song--and I mean that in a positive way.
Jack O'Brien
Best Direction of a Musical, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels
Q: What was the most fun moment to stage?
Jack O'Brien: I think lunch. Lunch was pretty funny. You know, we all laughed from the moment we met. And at all the subsequent rehearsals we kept slapping each other and kidding each other and showing off for each other, and so one thing didn't stick out until it started to come together by itself. And I think that's the truth about comedy. It's amazing that people laugh at the same time. I mean you can be moved a lot of different ways but there's only one way to laugh--which is out loud. So it's kind of a mirror. When that happens, when you get that one, you know you're right.
Q: Sondheim says that comedic songs are the most difficult to write, and this show is comedy song after comedy song. Did that make these numbers difficult to stage?
O'Brien: It depends on how well the joke lands in the song. David Yazbek is a kind of freak genius about making people laugh. He leaves air in his songs for you to laugh, so you don't lose the next joke. So no, you just find the truth of them, of David's stuff, and let the rest take care of itself.
Q: Can you talk about what it's like to work with John Lithgow?
O'Brien: The thing about John, and I have to say this, is he's the funniest guy. He's such a gentleman and he's such a hub around which this play takes place. He makes it possible for anybody to be funny. So basically I just stay out of his way and encourage him. He's a dear friend, and I let him do what he wants to do because he is amazing. Amazing!
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