From Broadway to Hollywood, Tim Rice is back in tune

Tim Rice

April 4, 2000
Web posted at: 5:55 p.m. EST (2155 GMT)

(CNN) -- Tim Rice needed something to revive his song-writing career. Along came a genie, followed by a lion.

In the late 1980s, Rice was disenchanted with New York's theater scene and his own work as a lyricist for musicals. Though he had enjoyed prosperous years on Broadway, including a partnership with theater legend Andrew Lloyd Webber, Rice was going through a career dry spell. He considered quitting altogether.

That's when Disney came calling with a couple of animated features needing the right lyrics. The studio wanted Rice to pen words to accompany Elton John's music in "The Lion King," (1994) and also requested his help with "Aladdin" (1992).

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Rice said yes, and got his professional life back. "The whole Disney experience was great because it brought me back from the dead," Rice says.

Rice won an Oscar for "A Whole New World" in "Aladdin," while "Lion King" wound up winning two Academy Awards and three Grammys.

Now Rice is living large. With John as his partner, the lyricist has produced songs for the Broadway musical "Aida," and, most recently, "The Road to El Dorado." The DreamWorks SKG animated film, released this past weekend, debuted at No. 2 ($12.5 million) on the box-office chart.

Rice and Elton John

'We broke all the rules'

Rice got his start in New York theater in the 1970s when he teamed with Webber on the musical hits "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat," "Jesus Christ Superstar" and "Evita."

Those were the days, says Rice, when the things he didn't know could never hurt him.

"We broke all the rules because we didn't know what the rules were," he says.

The 1980s were different. First, his partnership with Webber broke up, a topic Rice declines to discuss. Then, in 1988, "Chess," his collaboration with the pop group ABBA, flopped on Broadway. Rice felt as if his lyrics had deserted him.

"I really didn't have any good ideas for a while," he says. "I got depressed about the theater."

"Aladdin" and "The Lion King" changed his outlook -- his fortunes, too. Now, Rice is the talk of the towns, Hollywood and New York.

A new generation of fans is celebrating his older work, too. "Jesus Christ Superstar" is currently being revived for Broadway. And "The Lion King" has roared down the Great White Way, winning a Tony Award for best musical in 1998.

Now, the lyricist whose musical life has known ups and downs is savoring the moment.

"I'm amazed," Rice says. "Here I am, 55, and they're still doing my stuff."

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Broadway.com

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