"Book And Lyrics"

Backstage Magazine, June 28, 2002

by Erik Haagensen

 

Select quotes and excepts from an interview with Lynn about the craft of writing for the musical theater:

Ahrens agrees that as the musical became a more complex form, lyricists changed the way they used language, becoming less pyrotechnical. " I wish, in a way, that I could be more of a showoff and write those witty Cole Porter-ish things that people notice. But I don't seem to be able to do that comfortably. I could do it if I tried, but I get very uncomfortable when I'm showing, so I try not to do that. I think there is a sensibility that Stephen and I both bring to each piece that we write, which is that we really try very hard to inhabit the world and not impose our New York City selves on it. If I'm ever aware that I can hear my own personal wit getting in the way, I try and get rid of it. I think I generally hide pretty well within the characters and let them speak."

 

Ahrens avoids consciously thinking of craft while writing, which, for her, is an intuituve process. "I can't really tell you that we do it in any conscious way. As we're writing, we generally perform for each other, we sing and we talk and we improvise at the piano, and it kind of bubbles up, that's the only way I can put it." Still, she does have ways of refining her craft after the initial creative impulse. " I generally read my lyrics out loud. And if things bother the ear, I change them; if they seem to want more of that sound in a particular area, I add some. I can't really articulate a rule other than just what sounds good coming out of that character's mouth and what seems to get the point across."

" There's an old maxim that says when a character is in control and/or is a very sophisticated character, they get to rhyme more. When they are more emotional, more out of control, or a less articulate sort of character, they get to rhyme less. Rhymes make us think of intellect, wit, of sharpness, of control." She goes on to note the difference between two of her shows. "Lucky Stiff" is full of playful rhyme because " it's a farce. It has to be sharp and funny and click, click, click and you get to do that with those kinds of characters in that kind of form." Once on This Island is based on a novel in the form of a Caribbean folktale and "has a lot of internal rhyme. And I didn't even do it on purpose, it just happened that way I think it's because the people are not educated people. They're not particularly sophisticated characters, but they have a great deal of musicality and a great deal of heart. The internal rhymes seem to emphasize that, without rhyming at the ends of every line."

"One thing that I think is really important is the setting of the words. When words are mis-set, it's very jarring to the ear. If you can get the natural accents to flow naturally on the notes, that's half the battle right there."

Ahrens calls herself "a book writer under duress. Book writing is really about two things: structure and dialog. I love structure, and I think I'm pretty good at it; I enjoy the puzzle solving nature of it-- what comes next and how to go from one scene into another, what would be unexpected, what needs to happen. What I'm not as fond of doing is writing dialogue. I tend to enjoy it more when it can be very heightened-- as in 'Seussical', where it's all in rhyme or as in 'Once on This Island' where it's very poetic in nature. When it comes to real scenes and real gutsy dialogue between people, that's when I want to work with a great book writer who can do that sort of thing, like Terrence McNally."

In Ahrens' view, "The change is toward a more through-composed form, less book scenes per se, more sung work, more narrative carried in lyrics. In that sense, I think the words have become even more important, in a way." Ahrens, however, resists having it all sung. "We think the ear needs a rest from singing, and now and then a spoken word or two can be very powerful. But in our shows, a lot of the spoken words are incorporated into the songs, they're broken up in between, so it's not like you stop for a scene and then move on to a song. She believes that the right piece of dialogue in the right place in the music can be of great impact. "It's like setting a diamond in the right band. If the band is simple and beautiful and just stops at the diamond, the diamond will shine."