Thanks to some wonderful folks, I will be following the journey of a new musical currently in the creative stages as it makes it's way from the paper to the stage. It's a wonderful opportunity for all to see the birth of a new work from the writing to the stage. Hope you enjoy it as much as I will.
It's a trend that seems to be more and more prevalent on Broadway. Films are being revamped for live stage musicals. And there has been some great success with shows like THE FULL MONTY, DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS, THE PRODUCERS and HAIRSPRAY.Well, get ready because the trend continues with the musical adaptation of the New Line Cinema's film SECONDHAND LIONS.
At the helm of this collaboration are Los Angeles based composer and lyricist team Alan Zachary and Michael Weiner, writing the music with book by acclaimed writer Rupert Holmes (THE MYSTERY OF EDWIN DROOD). Set in the 1950s, it tells the Story of a shy, young boy who is sent to live with his eccentric uncles for the summer and ends up relishing in the wild stories of their youth. This is Zachary and Weiner's first collaboration with Holmes. 
Zachary and Weiner's credits include the original family musical, MYSTERY OF THE DANCING PRINCESSES, which was presented at the Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera and the National Alliance for Musical Theatre Festival in New York. They also have a Disney connection which culminated in a stage musical entitled TWICE CHARMED: AN ORIGINAL TWIST ON THE CINDERELLA STORY., which premiered on the Disney Cruise Line. They also wrote an award-winning original song for Disney's animated film CINDERELLA II: DREAMS COME TRUE and are currently finishing work on CINDERELLA III. Soon, they will team up with Broadway producer Adam Epstein for an animated musical film.
A lot of folks have probably heard some of their work in their most recent national Folgers commercial. Zachary and Weiner's songwriting talent extends beyond musicals with their irreverent song for the new Folgers' national campaign commercial. Still hard at work on SECONDHAND LIONS, the guys were up for answering a few questions to give us an inside look at the new work and some background on themselves.
TJ: How did you two guys first meet?
ZACHARY AND WEINER: We attended high school together at the Oakwood School in North Hollywood, California.
TJ: Was it a good match from the start?
ZACHARY AND WEINER: Absolutely. Our sensibilities are very similar, yet different enough that we're able to challenge each other to create the best possible product we can. We began writing together in 1991, after the animated film of Beauty and the BEAST was released. We were so inspired by the confluence of all the things we loved - musical theatre, animation, and film - that we decided to write our own animated musical. We were 17 years old shopping our screenplay and six song (and very primitive) piano demo to major studios in Los Angeles. Throughout college and beyond we kept plugging away until people finally began to hire us to do what we love to do. Recently, we were at Abbey Road in London, recording a 75-piece orchestra for the songs we wrote for Disney's CINDERELLA 3, and we constantly had to remind ourselves that it was actually happening. We've been extremely lucky!
TJ: All this talent in one place! Did you guys attend school for music growing up?
ZACHARY AND WEINER: We have both studied piano and music theory since childhood. Alan majored in music at Amherst College, while Michael attended UCLA.
TJ: So SECONDHAND LIONS the Musical, how did you guys get onboard for this project?
ZACHARY AND WEINER: We were hired by Mark Kaufman, a fantastic executive at New Line Cinema, who served as executive producer on the film as well. Mark had heard our demo CD, and offered us the opportunity to "demo" some songs for the show. We sent in our demo and didn't have to wait long for a response - Mark called literally the next day with the news that both he and Michael Lynne thought we were perfect for the project.
