Pop songwriters find excitement in stage productions

Cyndi Lauper. AP FILE PHOTO

NEW YORK—There was a time when most of the songs played on the radio came from Broadway. Now, some popular hitmakers like Cyndi Lauper and Sting are finding that it still feels like home.

“Look, they don’t aggravate you as much here,” Lauper said of the experience of composing “Kinky Boots,” her debut musical.

More and more singer-songwriters from the pop world seem to be hearing that siren song: The trickle of pop and rock stars turning to the stage is fast becoming a flood.

Besides Sting and Lauper, stars such as Sheryl Crow, John Mellencamp, Sarah McLachlan, Tori Amos, Edie Brickell, David Byrne, Fatboy Slim, Burt Bacharach, Elvis Costello and The Flaming Lips are making musicals.

The reasons are as varied as the different sounds those artists create: Broadway represents a new challenge—or, it offers a refuge from poor CD sales.

Team

“The record companies gave me a lot of grief for a long time,” says Lauper, who teamed up with Tony-winning playwright Harvey Fierstein and director-choreographer Jerry Mitchell for “Kinky Boots.” “These people wanted me to be part of their team. I was flattered.”

Lauper—and Tim Minchin, the songwriter for “Matilda: The Musical,” her chief competitor for the Best Original Score Tony this year—have managed to find success on Broadway by learning the difference between writing songs for an album and penning ones for a show.

It’s not as easy as it sounds, as recent history shows:   Big names in the pop world have sometimes stumbled on Broadway, including Paul Simon, whose 1998 show, “The Capeman,” was the most high-profile failure of his career. “Taboo,” Boy George’s foray into the world of musicals, went well in London—but, not in New York.

The gold standard for a successful transition from the pop world is Elton John, whose repurposed music for “The Lion King” film has helped make the stage version a global phenomenon. He’s also had success with “Billy Elliot” and “Aida.”     AP