Writer Rick Elice joins Behind the Awards days after Smash’s first preview. Years in the making thanks to the Pandemic co-writer Bob Martin and the rest of the creative team, Marc Shaiman, Scott Whitman and Susan Stroman tackle the hit TV Show with Robyn Hurder and Brooks Ashmanskas leading this musical comedy. Rick also takes us on a trip down memory lane sharing how he go into Broadway via Advertising for such shows as Cats and A Chorus Line. We were so lucky that Rick shared this story of meeting his husband Roger Rees which lead to their 35 year relationship.
Also in this episode - Nelson Aspen talks about his new book Kindred Spirits and his life long obsession with the Titanic.
Rick Elice is a four-time Tony Award nominee. His work can currently be seen on Broadway in Water for Elephants, for which he was a 2024 Tony Award nominee for Best Book of a Musical. Jersey Boys, Rick’s first Broadway credit, co-authored with Marshall Brickman, won the Tony Award, the Grammy Award and the Olivier Award for Best Musical, and entered the record books as the twelfth longest-running show in Broadway history. With Marshall Brickman and Andrew Lippa, he wrote The Addams Family, starring Nathan Lane and Bebe Neuwirth. For the past eight years, The Addams Family has topped the list of the most-licensed musicals in North America. Rick’s first play, Peter and the Starcatcher, won five 2012 Tony Awards. For the past seven years, the play has been among the top ten most-produced plays in North America. Also for Broadway, Rick wrote the two-time Tony-winning The Cher Show, directed by Jason Moore. In addition to Smash, Rick is teaming with Tony Award-winner Bob Martin on The Princess Bride. In the pipeline: Silver Linings Playbook, a musical adaptation of the popular film, directed by Jessica Stone; The Marvels, a musical adaptation of the popular novel, directed by Rebecca Taichman; Harold and the Purple Crayon, an adult adaptation of the iconic children’s book with music and lyrics by indie pop band AJR, directed by Maria Friedman; and, with 2021 Ed Kleban Award-winner Benjamin Scheuer, Treasure, an original musical about the rivalry between Charles Darwin and Peter Roget, love, death, madness, and the creation of Roget’s Thesaurus. From 1982-1999, Rick was Creative Director at Serino Coyne Inc, the prominent theatrical advertising agency, where he created and produced ad campaigns for more than 300 Broadway shows, from A Chorus Line to The Lion King. From 1999-2009, Rick served as first-ever creative consultant for The Walt Disney Studio. Charter Member, American Repertory Theatre in Cambridge, Mass. Trustee, The Entertainment Community Fund (formerly The Actors’ Fund). BA, Cornell University. MFA, Yale School of Drama. Teaching Fellow, Harvard University, 1980-81. Rick’s book, Finding Roger, An Improbably Theatrical Love Story, a tribute to his late husband, Roger Rees, is published by Kingswell.
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