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COLLABORATION: good idea or bad?

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Being a writer or a composer can be a very lonely profession. What other job requires hours of uninterrupted solitude while one awaits the inspiration of the creative muse?

For many creators, their collaborations have not only led them to extremely successful partnerships but also an incredible body of works. (Think Rodgers & Hart, Rodgers and Hammerstein, Kander & Ebb, Lerner & Loewe & Elton John and Tim Rice to name a few). These teams produced some of theatre’s most wonderful and memorable music.

Many collaborative relationships develop through the necessity of one individual requiring the skills of another. Composers often do not write their own lyrics. Lyricists are not always composers. With the right marriage of music and words, however, the songs begin to take shape.

Upon perusing a variety of musicals from the classics to those enjoying more recent popularity, it is apparent that teams have penned more scores than individuals. Also, in many cases, the collaborative teams consisted of three individuals: the composer, the lyricist, and the book writer. Often, the lyricist is also the book writer but in just as many cases, the book writer may be a playwright. (“Neil Simon penned both Sweet Charity” and “They’re Playing our Song”, for example).

Interestingly, as some teams enjoyed continued success together, other individuals did not form lasting partnerships, but rather, collaborated with different partners on different projects. One such composer, Andrew Lloyd Webber, used the poems of T.S.Elliot as his lyrics for “Cats”, was joined by Charles Hart and Richard Stilgoe & Mike Batt for “Phantom of the Opera” and collaborated with Don Black and Christopher Hampton for “Sunset Boulevard”. Webber has also worked with Tim Rice (“Jesus Christ Superstar”) and Benny Anderson and Bjorn Ulvaeus (“Chess”).

It would appear that the collaborative effort could produce results far exceeding the imagination of one individual. Teams like Rodgers and Hammerstein became so well known for their wonderfully enjoyable musical selections that musicals associated with the two would experience automatic recognition. Marvin Hamlisch and Carole Bayer Sager enjoyed much success in the 1970’s with their musical theatre pieces and their popular ballads.

It is obvious that these teams succeeded because of a respect for the talents of one another and the ability to share their creative talents. Quoting librettist and lyricist Leslie Bricusse on his collaborative relationship with composer Frank Wildhorn (they wrote all the songs for “Jekyll and Hyde”), “I was instantly enamored of Frank’s music.”