Interview: Lloyd J. Schwartz' Currently Between THE RIGHT IS OURS! & Storybook Theatre

The multi-tasking Lloyd J. Schwartz’ The Right is Ours! world premiered at the Sierra Madre Playhouse last week. Not content to only be writing and directing The Right is Ours!, Lloyd’s also the creative force behind Storybook Theatre at Theatre West (with his wife Barbara Mallory Schwartz). Lloyd managed to carve out some time between multiple responsibilities to answer a few of my queries.

Thank you for taking the time for this interview, Lloyd!

You’ve written a number of plays with historical content. What initially got you interested in writing about Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony?

I’ve also had written a musical about friendship called “You and Me.” I’ve been fascinated with the impact of friendship on a person’s life. Then when I read about the deep and enduring friendship of these two remarkable women that influenced history, it was a natural leap to create the musical “The Right is Ours!”

What would your three-line pitch of The Right is Ours! be?

Friendship changes lives, and sometimes changes the world. “The Right is Ours!” is a stage musical about the friendship between Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B Anthony that gave birth to the women’s movement. Their profound influence still echoes today.

Was Lloyd J. Schwartz your first choice to direct your script?

Simply yes. You might ask since the play is about women, why not a woman director? I wanted to launch the play with a director I knew well and at a theater I knew well. I confess that it was easier. With the play being about women, I surrounded myself with women with the composer/lyricist and choreographer, musical director, associate producer, and an all women cast. And I listened and valued their important input through the entire process.

Have you worked with any of this cast or creatives before?

I have worked at the Sierra Madre Playhouse which had presented two of my historical plays as part of their one person show series: “Independence: The True Story of Dr. Mary Walker...the only women to have won the Congressional Medal of Honor” and “An Evening with John Wilkes Booth.” And I have worked with Adryan Russ, the amazingly talented composer lyricist when we did “The Ugly Duckling” at Storybook Theatre at Theatre West, and I have known the choreographer Kay Cole for years, and we finally got the chance to work together. I worked with Dale Cooke, our stage manager, on several of the Storybook Theatre Musicals and “A Very Brady Musical.” They always say: “Work with People You Know.” And I’m lucky that these people also happen to be very talented.

On modern terms, how would you describe the qualities of Elizabeth and Susan?

What a good question. Elizabeth and Susan B are very different people who share a similar passion for women’s rights. Elizabeth Cady Stanton is an outgoing wife and mother of eight children. She is a ball of fire. Susan B. Anthony is an unmarried Quaker who we might refer to as a spinster today. What a great contrast. They feud and disagree, but never lose their friendship or their passion for women’s rights.

This is not your first time at Sierra Madre Playhouse. What aspects of this venue keep you coming back?

To put it simply: The Sierra Madre Playhouse is the best small theater in Los Angeles. They are professional in every aspect. And they support the creative process. And the playhouse is located in a charming little city with restaurants all around which make the theatre-going experience even more joyful. I have been blessed, since Theatre West is the best medium sized theatre in Los Angeles.

Are there any day-day responsibilities of Storybook Theatre of Los Angeles that you have had to juggle with your directorial duties of The Right is Ours!?

My wife Barbara Mallory and I have been doing Storybook Theatre at Theatre West for almost forty years. Storybook Theatre is our day-to-day responsibility and is part of our day-to-day life, and we happily accept any “juggling” that may require. We take the responsibility for being every child’s first play very seriously. We’ve also managed to juggle raising a family of two sons who grew up at Storybook Theatre and two grandsons who also make it part of their life. Currently, we are about to open “Aladdin, the Princess, and the Magic Lamp” at Storybook. I love driving back and forth between these two exceptional venues.

You and your wife Barbara Mallory founded Storybook in 1985. Aside from the plethora of awards bestowed on Storybook and yourselves, is there one accomplishment of Storybook you are most proud of?

Too many to narrow down to one. So, I won’t try. Watching the impact of our shows on our audience of children is all the reward we really need. Barbara is the face of Storybook Theatre, and she is recognized wherever she goes and is thanked by the parents. We also have an impact on developmentally challenged children, and we do field trips for those schools among our other field trips. Our performances encourage audience involvement. At one performance, an autistic child started berating the wolf for chasing around Little Red Riding Hood. Later, the teacher told us that was the first time that child had ever spoken.

What cosmic forces first brought Storybook and Theatre West together?

Not exactly cosmic forces. Barbara is a member of the Theatre West company. She was originally a member of the prestigious Minneapolis Children’s Theatre. When we had our first son, Andy, she suggested we take him to children’s theatre. We didn’t find any that represented the values that she thought were important, so she asked me to write a play. That was the first musical. (Now there are nineteen.) We staged “Little Red Riding Hood” in a park near our house. We were surprised how many people came. Barbara ran into Bridget Hanley, a friend and fellow member of the Theatre West company. Theatre West wanted to be a “full-service theatre,” and asked if we would consider bringing “Little Red Riding Hood” to Theatre West and use Theatre West members for the cast. We accepted and did that first play, and it was successful. Then they asked if we could do a season. Voila! Forty years later, and we’re still going strong.

Barbara directs your Storybook scripts. Do you set parameters on discussing theatrical business during ‘non-office hours’? Or is there a flow of play talk throughout your home life?

Actually, we trade off directing the plays. She’s directing “Aladdin, the Princess, and the Magic Lamp since “The Right is Ours!” is coinciding. Since we started Storybook Theatre, there has never been a moment when it wasn’t at the top or near the top of our topics at home. It did drive our kids a little crazy.

What is the secret to successfully working with your spouse?

First: We love working together. She has acted in many of my plays... including several outside Storybook. And our style working together is sometimes combustible. She is quiet... unless she has a different opinion. And then look out! Then the cast and crew step back until we finish arguing. As long as we both know that whatever we are saying is always for the good of the play, any differences are fairly easy to get past.

When did you realize that your father was a big deal in the television industry?

I’ve never had that question asked before. I have an older brother, a younger brother and a sister. When Dad would take us onto a set and we met celebrities who treated him as a celebrity, I got the idea he was “a big deal.”

Did you always want to follow in your father’s footsteps? Or did you want to be a doctor or a lawyer?

I never felt I was following in his footsteps. I just started writing... in junior high and then in high school and in college. I did some stand-up at UCLA as part of a black-white comedy team. Then he did a TV show called “It’s About Time,” and he asked if I’d like to be a dialogue coach as a summer job. Since I had helped out like that briefly on “Gilligan’s Island,” I did it for a summer and was instantly comfortable on a sound stage. Then at UCLA, I wrote an episode of “Love: American-Style.” By the time he created “The Brady Bunch” and needed a dialogue coach to work with the six kids, he asked me to do that job. I had also run a summer camp during other summers, so I was used to working with kids. I agreed... on the condition that I could keep doing my own projects. After that, Dad and I eventually became a father/son producing team. Though we always did projects separately which allowed for my independent career, when we would come together, it was always a wonderful time.

 Was there a specific profession you were aiming for? (writer, director, producer)

I briefly wanted to be an English teacher, but that disappeared when I found myself in the entertainment business. That said, I love teaching, so I guest lecture from time-to-time, and I taught “Producing for Television” at UCLA Extension for eight years. In entertainment, I have been lucky to be a writer, producer and director in theatre, TV and motion pictures. I prefer whichever medium I am working in at the time. Right now with the strike ongoing, I am fortunate that theatre is not affected.

What is your next step with your world premiere of The Right is Ours!?

“The Right is Ours!” is timely and deserves a life beyond the Sierra Madre Playhouse. We are hoping that the word spreads, and other theaters will want to present it as well. It’s fairly easy to produce, has a limited cast, and the musical tracks are laid down. Many entertainment companies are headed by women who are looking for projects that are about and for women, and there no two more iconic and important women than Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony whose friendship started it all.

Could “The Right is Ours!” even be a movie? Or a Broadway Play?

The world is wide open for “The Right is Ours!” The more people who learn about these two exceptional women the better.

What’s in the near future for Storybook?

This season we will be opening “Aladdin, the Princess, and the Magic Lamp” on October 7. We play every Saturday at 1 and do field trips during the week. Go to the Theatre West Website for tickets. At the beginning of 2024, we will open “Cinderella.”

Thank you again, Lloyd! I look forward to seeing one of your many productions soon.

For tickets to the live performances of The Right is Ours at Sierra Madre Playhouse through October 8, 2023; click sierramadreplayhouse.org.

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