1988 Profile of Lynn Ahrens

Lynn Ahrens: Smythe & Company, NY

"You know the old saying 'You can make a killing in the theatre, but you can't make a living'?" laughs lyricist Lynn Ahrens, who wrote the book and lyrics for the new play "Lucky Stiff," currently running off-Broadway. "I guess you could say that's one reason why I plan on keeping my hand in the jingle writing business. Another is that I still enjoy my work at Smythe. I especially like the fact that jingle writing is flexible enough to allow me to do a bunch of different things and still write jingles."

"Aside from that -- we simply won't let her go"! pipes in Tony Smythe, long-time colleague and friend of Ahrens. "She's so talented. And quick. She just instinctively knows what the key sell words are in any jingle. We'll get an account, and I'll immediately call in Lynn. She'll sleep on it, and then come back to me the next day with a winner."

But it didn't happen overnight. And as Ahrens will remind you nervously, she'd rather wait for the reviews on "Lucky Stiff" before she admits it's even happening at all. "I feel as though all of my work has been leading up to this, "she says, knocking on wood. "And I'm not sure yet where it's all going."

If it follows the course of the rest of her career, we're in for a long ride. Her first job was as a copywriter at McCaffrey & McCall/NY in the early 70s. She stayed on there for seven years, rising to senior vp status as she became increasingly involved in tv production. It was during this time that Ahrens produced and wrote the acclaimed ABC Schoolhouse Rock educational shorts and the ever-popular "Captain Kangaroo" series. Her animated short "H.E.L.P.," self-help strategies for kids, won a 1979 Emmy Award. Ahrens was nominated for Emmys for several other educational shorts she created such as Dear Abby's answer to children's problems, "Dear Alex and Annie."

Intrigued by the musical possibilities she'd explored with these shorts, Ahrens left McCaffrey & McCall. With demo reel in hand and no "formal" musical background, but "an ear for music," Ahrens found her way to Smythe & Company. That was ten years ago. Since then, Ahrens, along with a rather eclectic team of five other songwriters, including Peppy Castro, Steve Benderoth, John Pousette Dart, Frankie Vinci and Keith Foley has propelled Smythe & Company to prominence. Included among Ahrens' hit parade are jingles for such clients as Klondike Bar, Chevrolet, Taster's Choice, Colt 45 and diet Pepsi.

"My background in advertising helped me tremendously with jingle writing. McCaffrey & McCall taught me the importance of the economy of words. If you have to write a jingle for a :30 spot -- you can't waste time. Every word counts," Ahrens stresses. "This has been invaluable to my work in the theatre as well. When you have to write a two or three minute song you have to know how to economize also, and get the meaning across. Jingle writing is a craft in much the same way that copywriting or playwriting is."

Ahrens first became involved in her new craft, the theatre, about five years ago when she first started work with the BMI Music Workshop in New York, where every week theatre writers get together to write and critique each other's work. "This is where I first met my collaborator Stephen Flaherty who wrote the music to "Lucky Stiff," says Ahrens. "The idea for the play came while I was browsing through the library and came across an old English 'screwball' comedy. I liked it immediately and got the rights to the novel."

It's been two years since then and "Lucky Stiff" is enjoying the fruits of all that hard labor. It recently won the prestigious Richard Rogers Production Award for the new musical of 1988 and is part of Playwrights Horizons' Subscription Series for its 1988 season. Ahrens' wit and talent are clearly evident in "Lucky Stiff," an energetic none-too-serious gem. "No it's not a social commentary, and sometimes I feel as though I have to apologize for that. But then I think in its way it serves society, if nothing more than as a relief from the world's troubles," says Ahrens, "The play lifts you up in sort of a bubble and keeps you there. It's sort of a valentine to screwball comedies everywhere."

And to Ahrens -- victim of a chronic love affair with words -- it's a valentine straight from the heart.

-- Lisa Kent

Full Text: COPYRIGHT Back Stage Publishing Inc. 1988