Exclusive | The piece of theatre that changed my life – Sir Tim Rice [although he didn’t know it at the time]

Sir Tim Rice, writer of the lyrics for so many of the world’s much-loved hit musicals 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, comes to Edinburgh Festival Theatre for one night only as part of his Sir Tim Rice – My Life In Musicals – I Know Him So Well Tour.

The show finds him reflects on his illustrious career and is packed full of songs such as Don’t Cry For Me Argentina, Any Dream Will Do, A Whole New World, Can You Feel The Love Tonight, I Don’t Know How To Love Him, Circle of Life, Chess, Hakuna Matata, Another Suitcase in Another Hall, I Know Him So Well, All Time High, Must Love Me and One Night In Bangkok.

However, it comes as no surprise to discover it is his first musical, with Andrew Lloyd Webber, based on the biblical parable of the Prodigal Son, that he chooses as the piece of theatre that changed his life, as he recalls for MustSeeTheatre.com.

“There have been plenty of great musicals that I have loved since my childhood wading through my parents’ collection of original cast albums and film scores. I was only 11 when I first heard the songs from My Fair Lady, still my favourite, and was around the same age by the time I knew nearly every tune and lyric of Oklahoma, South Pacific, the King and I, Grab Me a Gondola, an unfairly unremembered British show, Carousel and many more.

Although my main musical interests at the time were pop and rock ‘n’ roll – Elvis, Tommy Steele, the Everly Brothers, Buddy Holly etc., there is no question that the show and film albums that I listened to made a huge impression upon me as well. However, I don’t think I can claim that any of the recordings of those musicals changed my life, brilliant though they were.

For starters, I hardly ever went to the theatre. I was a vinyl junkie and perfectly happy with the records and their marvellous sleeves.
However, some years later, one musical did change my life – and I did not realise that fact at the time. The show was Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat, which Andrew Lloyd Webber and I wrote for a one-performance – only school concert never thinking it would progress very far beyond that level of presentation. But it certainly did!

It took quite a time and our first success was not with Joseph but with Jesus Christ Superstar. However, it was our enjoyable work on Joseph that truly made us feel we could succeed as a team and lead to the many great and exciting opportunities we were fortunate to enjoy in later years. So that’s the musical that changed my life.”

Tickets for Sir Tim Rice – My Life In Musicals – I Know Him So Well at Edinburgh Festival Theatre on 20 April, as well as other tour dates and venues, are available here.