Joe DiPietro is a playwright, lyricist, and author. He is best known for the Tony Award-winning musical Memphis, as well as for writing the book and lyrics for the long-running off-Broadway show I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change, which ran for twelve years off-Broadway. His work made its Broadway debut in 2005 with the Elvis Presley jukebox musical All Shook Up. The Toxic Avenger, written with Bon Jovi's David Bryan, debuted off-Broadway on April 6, 2009. Nice Work If You Can Get It, a re-imagining of a Gershwin musical, opened at Broadway's Imperial Theatre in 2012. The show, and his book, were nominated for Tony Awards in 2012, and he won the Drama Desk Award for Best Book of a Musical. The musical Chasing the Song was workshopped at La Jolla Playhouse in the summer of 2014. 

Joe sat down to tell his story of how he got to where he is, what has kept him sane (and smiling) in a business that can beat you up, and a whole host of other things, including . . .

How he learned to write under pressure and on deadline (like, I don’t know, when a $15mm Broadway show is in previews?).

Whether writers should think about the commerciality of a piece when coming up with an idea for Broadway.

How the lack of success of All Shook Up helped changed his career (and his life) for the better.

The challenges of writing a jukebox musical and how he overcomes them.

What has changed about writing for the theater in the last 20 years, and what that means for new writers.

If you’re looking for a way to see theatre for cheap, and also meet new people, check out the Broadway Meetup. Literally just google ‘Broadway Meetup,’ you’ll see there are all these opportunities for you to see shows like Jersey Boys for $59, before it closes, Something Rotten for only $39. 

 

Keep up with me: @KenDavenportBway

www.theproducersperspective.com 

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