Sir Tim Rice may be 80 years old but he has no plans to stop working any time soon. With several new projects in the works, the iconinc lyricist recently chatted with Irish News about his career thus far and what’s in the pipeline for the future.
Rice is hitting the road on his upcoming tour My Life in Musicals – I Know Him So Well, which will showcase songs from his career, including Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Jesus Christ Superstar, Evita, Chess, and the Disney productions The Lion King, Aladdin and Beauty and the Beast.
Rice collaborated with Andrew Lloyd Webber on Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, a show which ultimately launched both members of the duo into stardom. Rice revealed that he is now working with Webber on new songs for an upcoming movie adaptation of Joseph… The musical was previously adapted for the screen in 1999, starring Donny Osmond in the title role.
In addition, Rice is hard at work on an upcoming 2025 Broadway production of Chess: the Musical, on which he is collaborating with Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus. Chess was last seen on Broadway in 1988, with the original production, but has seen several Broadway concert productions since then, as well as international productions in London and around the world. Most recently, The Entertainment Community Fund held a one-night-only benefit concert of the musical, starring Ramin Karimloo, Darren Criss, Lena Hall, and Solea Pfeiffer.
“The old stuff keeps you busy. It’s like having 15 businesses that take up your time,” Rice commented. “But it’s all good, I don’t feel under any incredible pressure to produce something.”
Rice’s other projects in the works include a Christmas play produced by his son Donald, called Sherlock Holmes and the 12 Days of Christmas, as well as material for the forthcoming musical animated adventure Land of Sometimes, starring Ewan McGregor and Helena Bonham Carter.
The key, he says, to writing music with such staying power? “The story and the emotion must grip audiences,” he says. “I’m not that good at writing one-off pop lyrics which don’t really have a point, beyond being a song. That’s why I prefer writing about true stories.”
Read the original story on Irish News.
About My Life in Musicals
ue to popular demand, following his sell-out tour, Sir Tim Rice, the multi-award-winning, internationally renowned lyricist, will return to theatre stages with his extraordinary live musical theatre event – My Life In Musicals – I Know Him So Well.
The show will see Tim Rice reflect on his illustrious career at the heart of musical theatre, sharing anecdotes behind the songs – the hits and the misses along with stories of his life and live performances from the wonderful catalogue of songs that are synonymous with his name and that of his collaborators. Musical accompaniment will be from an array of some of the UK’s leading West End Singers and musicians led by Musical Director Duncan Waugh.
Check out the future tour dates here.
Sir Tim Rice is an author and Academy Award, Golden Globe Award, Emmy Award, Tony Award, and Grammy Award-winning lyricist. He is best known for his collaborations with Andrew Lloyd Webber, with whom he wrote Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Jesus Christ Superstar, and Evita; with Bjorn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson of ABBA, with whom he wrote Chess; for additional songs for the 2011 West End revival of The Wizard of Oz; and for his work with Alan Menken on Disney’s Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, and the musical King David. He also worked with Elton John on Disney’s The Lion King, the musical Aida, and DreamWorks Animation’s The Road to El Dorado and Ennio Morricone.
One of the most celebrated lyricists in British popular culture, Rice was knighted by Elizabeth II for services to music in 1994. He has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, is an inductee into the Songwriter’s Hall of Fame, is a Disney Legend recipient, and is a fellow of the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors. The 2016 Sunday Times Rich List values Rice at £150m; the 15th-richest music millionaire in the UK. He is one of fifteen artists to have won an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony award.
