Bobby Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez Talk Long-Awaited New Musical UP HERE

Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez's UP HERE might be new to public audiences, but to Lopez, it's the product of a lengthy process.

"It must be almost 15 or 16 years-something like that. It was one of the first things on my list of things to do when I joined the BMI Workshop in 1997," Lopez says.

Finally when his wife and writing partner joined the process, it really got going, "I thought about it for five years and didn't do anything until Kristen came on board, and I said, 'Do you want to do this with me?' She came up with the idea of making the story a somewhat traditional boy-meets-girl plot."

Though the married songwriting duo first came to the spotlight through co-writing FROZEN, their first completely original collaboration was actually UP HERE.

"When Bobby told me about this idea, it was after AVENUE Q and he was in Vegas," adds Anderson-Lopez. "We had just had a baby and had just finished FINDING NEMO THE MUSICAL for Disney. He was writing to a couple of Pulitzer Prize-winning book writers about it, and I was helping him sort of craft the letters and he turned to me and said, "Why don't we just do this together?" We had already worked together on Finding Nemo and I had been sort of a librettist for that one, and so we started working."

Not only does UP HERE use an original storyline, but also a creatively original universe as well. Lopez says the musical takes periodic surreal turns- a la INSIDE OUT- to tell the story from a different perspective, "There is a moment when, for example, the main character, Dan, has just told the main female romantic lead, Lindsay, that he loves her but he got interrupted and separated. So he is back at home waiting to hear from her and trying to stay in a good mood, but getting a headache. And there is a big musical number called "Happy Go Lucky," where these miners from his subconscious come in digging around, trying to find his 'happy go lucky' and making his headache worse by banging their pickaxes against the walls of his mind." And then the cactus hoedown dance happens. Literally.

Click here to read the full interview on American Theatre.

La Jolla Playhouse is presenting the world premiere of Up Here, a new musical comedy featuring book, music and lyrics by the husband-and-wife composing team of Robert Lopez (The Book of Mormon, Avenue Q) and Kristen Anderson-Lopez (In Transit), recipients of the 2014 Academy Award for Best Original Song for their hit song, "Let It Go," from the Disney animated film Frozen. Up Here is directed by Tony Award nominee Alex Timbers (Broadway's Rocky, Off-Broadway's Here Lies Love, Playhouse's Peter and the Starcatcher) and will run July 28 - September 6 in the Playhouse's Mandell Weiss Theatre. Up Here is being presented by special arrangement with Scott Sanders Theatrical Productions, along with Victor Alvarez, Warner/Chappell Music, Sally Horchow International Productions, Caiola Productions, Dominion Pictures.

Tickets to Up Here are currently available only through a subscription purchase. For more information please call (858) 550-1010 or visit LaJollaPlayhouse.org.

The cast is led by Broadway's Betsy Wolfe (Broadway's Bullets over Broadway, The Mystery of Edwin Drood) and newcomer Matt Bittner (Public Theater's Much Ado About Nothing), along with Broadway alums Andrew Call, Giovanni Cozic, Jeff Hiller, Gizel Jimenez, Zonya Love (Playhouse's Side Show), Sarah Meahl, Eric Petersen, Devin Ratray, Devere Rogers, Charles South and Nick Verina.

When introverted, 30-something computer repairman Dan finds a potential spark with outgoing t-shirt designer Lindsay, his attempts at a relationship are thwarted by the Technicolor world in his head. This world-premiere musical goes where no musical has gone before, bringing to life the circus of judgmental, neurotic, ever-changing characters that rule an ordinary man's mind. Up Here is an ambitious, razor-sharp musical comedy about recognizing your place in the universe - and maybe even finding happiness.

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