From the outset I am disarmed by Rowe’s friendly disposition, warmth and enthusiasm; Rowe lends a wealth of knowledge and eventually divulges enough to bring clarification to the murmurings.
Rowe begins by relating back to a wisdom Cameron Macintosh imparted onto him; within musical theatre, it is the words that tell us what to think and the music that tells us what to feel. This carries a particular pertinence for Rowe who, as a result of stuttering badly as a child, describes music as his first language: “I had a lot of trouble, especially in public situations. It got so bad that my fourth grade teacher decided it was too painful for me, and for the other kids, to do my book report in class. She had seen me making stuff up at the piano whilst the other kids played and said, why don’t you make up music for your book report next time? I will be forever grateful to Mrs Martin for her insight, because I started making up music and got so excited about sharing it with the class that I really got over the stuttering. I started writing music for books, existing dramatic moments, musicalising scenes or stories.”
Along with Mrs Martin, Rowe accredits his successes to the relationships he established and the friendships he has built and nurtured: “It didn’t start here in the city, it started in my hometown of Columbus Ohio. I made sure that I was involved in the theatre scene, even if it meant being in the show. I performed for a number of years. I’m also a musical director and I’ve assisted and played in the pit simply to ensure that I was always there and connected.” When Rowe was then working on something of his own, he had a large pool of talent from which he could select people to record demos, for example, and friends whom he could approach to direct a scene or discuss an idea with. “Relationships are not disposable, they are forever. If you are making good work and you have good support in those relationships, then you are well on track.”
Rowe has collaborated with lyricist John Dempsey on a number of musicals, including Zombie Prom (1995), The Fix (1997) and The Witches of Eastwick (2000) and they started writing a new show just a few weeks ago. But they also work independently. Rowe admits, “There is nothing quite like when John and I get together because of the vast history we share. We write well and quickly together; there’s no fluff to dig through. It’s all very real. We don’t live in each others pockets though.” Rowe and Dempsey share the same sensibilities, both enjoying reaching out into new territory, exploring the supernatural and being “a little out there,” but Rowe also feels blessed to collaborate with Michael Aman, Oscar E. Moore and Maribeth Graham who each draw something individual from him as a composer. “These brilliant lyricists brings me a title or an idea for a song, we decide on the tone and it unravels from there.”
It’s always fascinating to meet artists from various fields at varying levels of experience, either breaking though into the industry or holding firm at the top of their game, and Rowe’s honesty and practicality is refreshing. Since the early 90s, Rowe has been fortunate enough to make a living from writing alone, but he describes his experience in theatre, with its ups and downs, as alchemy. “I’ve never stopped to consider it was a risk. I come from a very normal family and I’ve always just been driven and persistent. I’d always just find a way to meet my financial responsibilities and make it happen. You can never go wrong by doing something for someone else. Making someone else look good often lands you some luck. I still don’t get a weekly salary but you learn how to navigate it and not freak out.”
It is at this appropriate moment that Rowe reveals his most recent piece of ‘luck,’ informing me that The Fix is going to be produced in London’s west end next year. “It’s so funny, I was just looking at an email as I was walking in here to meet you and we are really excited.” Sam Mendes directed The Fix in its professional debut in London at the Donmar Warehouse, staring Philip Quast, John Barrowman and Katherine Evans. “They nailed it! It was a dream come true, one of those fairy tale things.” However, The Fix was most recently revived at the Union Theatre. Rowe took a trip across the pond to see the production, describing it as thrilling. “Seeing it barebones at the Union was equally rewarding. I love the bravery of doing a show like that. Everybody had one costume, apart from the lead who had two. There was minimal set, but it just worked.” I couldn’t agree more; the success of a show in a simple black-box venue speaks volumes about the fundamental quality of the piece – the score, the book and the characters on the page. In the show’s early days, Rowe felt that The Fix was a little ahead of the times. “I remember being scolded by the media about it being over the top and politically unrealistic. It’s like a romp in Disney world in comparison to the world we live in today.”
Is the politically driven Fix likely to meet less resistance in London than in America? Rowe suspects that Londoners are more open to a challenging subject matter in theatre, suggesting that we are perhaps more inclined to look at political unrest as an entertainment. America, he explains, can be guilty of taking theatre too personally, believing that a writer’s work reflects the way they want the world to be, like a twisted self-fulfilling prophecy, instead of seeing it for what it is – writers telling an interesting story and making observations about good, bad or interesting people. “I’m making broad sweeping generalisations here but the contrasting mindset between Britain and America is very interesting.”
This contrasting mindset is made prominent by the 2013 Tony success and popularity of Kinky Boots on Broadway, which prised the Best Musical Award from Matilda, its complex, darker competitor. There’s nothing wrong with a universally enjoyable musical like Kinky Boots, but as a form, Rowe explains, musicals are capable of more: “Matilda is being received too personally in New York, like it carries too dangerous a message. But it’s Roald Dahl, and such a perfect realisation of Dahl too. It’s not ‘Look at me! Look at me!’ It tells a story and every aspect of it works together to do just that.” Rowe, I feel, has made a good move by re-creating The Fix in London.
It’s early days for the next incarnation of The Fix, but Rowe tells me that the team is coming together and excitedly beginning to conjure ideas and experiment. They ultimately hope for a substantial west end run with a possible, eventual tour. Watch this space for latest updates as the plans unfold and progress.
