Jeff Marx and The Book of Mormon

[sundayclothes2]

Any idea why Jeff Marx didn't do Book of Mormon with Robert Lopez?
A Playbill article from 2004 indicates that he was attached to the project.


Edit: A friend just told me that allegedly Bobby and Jeff are no longer on speaking terms. Any idea what happened there? What is he up to these days? He disappeared after Avenue Q.
Article

[Anthony Fremont]

[PalJoey]

No, it was not.

(Thanks for deleting that nasty post, Anthony Fremont.)

[emo_geek]

I too would love to know the honest story behind this. I think it would be hilarious if he teamed up with the Family Guy people and bring a show to broadway.

[somethingwicked]

As the Playbill article recalls, Marx was originally involved in THE BOOK OF MORMON. He departed shortly after they began initial work on it, and he and Lopez haven't been friendly since.

Jason Moore (who directed AVENUE Q) also was attached and then let go, although that happened very late in the developmental process. He recalled in a New York Times piece last year that they couldn't break his contract, so they offered him a deal so low in pay that they knew he'd leave voluntarily, which he did.

[Kad]

If I recall, there was also a tiff with New York Theatre Workshop, where the show was originally to premiere.

[sundayclothes2]

I thought Jason Moore was let go because he refused to co-direct. Does anyone know what choreographer was attached before Casey?

[somethingwicked]

Kad, the falling out with New York Theater Workshop was a relatively simple one. The show was supposed to premiere that (as you said,) and then the final workshop was received so rapturously that Scott Rudin pulled it from their season and fast-tracked it to Broadway. Because the show hadn't actually been produced there, NYTW retained no financial stake in it, and they felt betrayed that they were left with a gaping hole in their programming incredibly late in the game with nothing to show for it. Hopefully, the fact that the most Tony-nominated play and musical this year both generated from their theater softens the blow a bit.

I may be speaking out of turn, but I believe Marx's anger at Lopez generated from the fact that he was having difficulty getting along with Trey Parker and Matt Stone, who increasingly wanted more and more creative control that Marx felt wasn't entirely collaborative. Instead of backing him up, Lopez sided with Parker and Stone, and Marx walked (and severed their friendship) because of it. I'm sure the immense success the show has had without him has only made it worse. Sadly, the whole thing is very Frank and Charley from MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG.

I don't think Jason Moore would have been opposed to the idea of co-directing with Parker if it would have been an equal partnership, but at the time that suggestion was brought to the table, he felt as if it was something he had to agree to in order to keep any involvement with the show at all (which it was,) and he felt like just basically retaining a credit when they no longer trusted his vision was pointless. He's been vocal about wishing he'd been given a settlement to walk away, but he's also said he wishes the show well. I know he went and saw it right around the time of the Tonys last year.

[orangeskittles]

"Very Frank and Charley"? That's a pretty judgmental assessment of Lopez. Unless you were in the room, maybe tone down the editorializing.

[somethingwicked]

Maybe tone down the attitude. You're the one making your own literal inferences. "Very" Frank and Charley doesn't mean "exactly" Frank and Charley, and the comparison was neither meant to be literal nor negative in regards to Lopez. Neither of them were at fault.

Like Frank and Charley, Marx and Lopez were close friends who experienced early success together, but when they reached a certain level of notoriety, one was willing to make professional sacrifices the other wasn't, and their relationship crumbled because of it.

That's where it begins and ends.

[orangeskittles]

Please, it's a Broadway message board. Don't draw the comparison to a musical plot where a composer sells out his best friend for Hollywood fame and fortune if you don't want people to infer the character judgment. I thought it was an unnecessary comment in an already invasive discussion.

[JoanBennett]

somethingwicked, you were not out of line.

Don't let the bullies get ya down.

[newintown]

I've heard it from so many varied sources that it seems to me common knowledge that Lopez and Marx (and Jeff Whitty) fought quite a lot during the Avenue Q process; I know people would love to see everything as an MGM cliché, but fights, hostility, and broken friendships are not unusual in the development of commercial theatre.

Several people who know the pair well also note that Lopez was the primary creative talent of the pair, although Marx was adept at getting the work noticed (no small accomplishment). This appears to be backed up by the fact that Lopez has written several projects since Q, while we've heard nothing from Marx.

[SonofRobbieJ]

Somethingwicked might be out of line because that is a VERY skewed version of what happened. Very, very, very skewed.

[sundayclothes2]

I've heard it from so many varied sources that it seems to me common knowledge that Lopez and Marx (and Jeff Whitty) fought quite a lot during the Avenue Q process

I remember them talking about that in the documentary, Show Business but it seemed to be Lopez/Marx vs. Whitty.

I do find it strange that the two were once the toast of Broadway and being tauted around as the next Menken and Ashman, and now nearly 10 years later, one has an even bigger hit while the other seems to have disappeared. But maybe not that uncommon...?

[DAME]

For what it is worth.. I have met Jeff Socially here in Los Angeles. He always seems happy, has gotten in really good shape and seems to be flourishing in the television industry.

[Bettyboy72]

It's seems from ShowBusiness that Marx made Whitty's life hell. Whitty has also said separately that Marx was a nasty piece of work, quite cruel at times. Also, Marx states in the doc that he doesn't read or write music, so that fell on Bobby too. He is only shown in the doc giving his input on lyrics he doesn't like. It seems like he had a nice ride in Avenue Q but he was dependant on Lopez.

Maybe the creative team didn't want someone on the team who didn't have the needed musical abilties.

Hopefully, now that he is healthier and in CA he is happier and more open.

[AndImLinc]

You have tiny bits and pieces of the real story but not the most interesting part. Personalities matter, and don't $ and power always play a part? As wicked proved not everyone is invisible.

[JohnyBroadway]

I too would love to know the honest story behind this. I think it would be hilarious if he teamed up with the Family Guy people and bring a show to broadway.

- I would actually love to see what the Family Guy team could do with a Broadway Musical. While I love Mormon I've always perfered Family Guy over South Park

[LUKEWARS]

Although, I don't THINK there is anywhere to find a detailed explanation of this topic online...the link that i am pasting does include jeff marx vaguely discussing "how they kicked him out" and how it was a very tough process..it's towards the end of the video and its also very brief..i think it's just fair to assume that they had many creative differences while working on the show, and unfortunately jeff got the boot...on the plus side though, he gives a very wonderful talk and seems positive.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Jtx7HmBAgs
Jeff Marx

[AndImLinc]

So I guess a lot of it is out there in Jeff's own words. (watch the video starting at 30:00). What amazes me is that there hasn't been more news about this. There are still some untold aspects to the story that are pretty surprising.

[goldenboy]

Jerry Bock and Sheldon Harnick had a falling out and didn't work together again after Rothchilds.
Rogers left Larry Hart to work with Oscar Hammerstein.
Lerner left Lowe (or Lowe left Lerner)--to write with other composers.

Musicals are a collaborative effort and egos get in the way. Sometimes not getting along with the TEAM gets in the way. Sometimes alcphol or drug abuse gets in the way. Sometimes health gets in the way.

Why is it so important to know know what happenned?
Like knowing will change your life?

They went separate ways. they now work on different projects. They may get back together. And they may not. They had a difference of opinion. Period.

[finebydesign]

All great fodder at least for an off-Broadway show

[sundayclothes2]

Notice he said he gave them part of the money back. He is probably getting a nice slice of that Mormon pie.

[bk]

"Rogers left Larry Hart to work with Oscar Hammerstein.
Lerner left Lowe (or Lowe left Lerner)--to write with other"

It's Rodgers and it's Loewe. I understand it's just a message board, but really.

[goldenboy]

To be a legend is to mis-pell with the best of them.


In her acceptance speech for winning a Tony, Elizabeth Taylor thanked James Needleheimer.