At sixty-seven, Henry Krieger has done it all: worked at the Apollo, had his successful Broadway Musical Dreamgirls transition from a Broadway sensation to an Oscar Nominated film, found the love of his life, and wrote a musical about siamese twins.

With his upcoming show Lucky Duck playing at The New Victory Theater March 16^th through the 25^th, Krieger has dipped his toes into the world of family oriented shows and has big plans for the future.  In the midst of it all he still manages to find Hugh Jackman nature’s nobleman.

Times Square (TS):  I read that you used to skip school to go to the Apollo, what was the most exciting act you would catch when you were younger?

Henry Krieger (HK): Probably James Brown.

TS:  And did that end up influencing some of your characters in Dreamgirls?

HK:  Yes.  It did.  For sure.  I also worked at the Apollo as a press agent later in life when I was twenty-five.  So it was full circle when Dreamgirls opened at The Apollo Theater a couple of years ago.  Anyway, yup, I did, I skipped school I can’t deny that.

TS:  You’re a renegade.  Do you have any inspirations or artists that you admire aside from James Brown and regulars at The Apollo?

HK:  Yes.  Richard Rodgers.  Rodgers and Hammerstein, Rodgers and Hart.

TS:  How did you end up getting together with Tom Eyen, your collaborator on Dreamgirls?

HK:  We met the first time he had seen me singing and playing in a bar in the East Village where I lived and he liked what he heard and then we got together and decided to muscalize a show of his, which had been a hit.  The Dirtiest Show in Town it was called, it wasn’t really.  There was some nudity, it’s true, but nothing really to get too excited about.

TS: How do you find that your collaborations fall into place generally?

HK:  Chemistry is an art form in itself on collaboration and it has to be a shared vision to something that you both want.  There has to be give and take.  You have to be a good listener.  You have to be able to know how to spark synapse in between you to work off of each other’s inspirations and hopefully it is a person you like.  It doesn’t necessarily have to be that way.  I mean, Gilbert and Sullivan famously couldn’t stand one another but on the other hand they wrote some really good stuff.  When it works, it’s like getting married.

TS: What is your process like as a composer?  Do you write daily or work off of inspiration?

HK:  I’m the latter.  I see a lyric, I mean, I may talk about a lyric with somebody or have worked on a lyric with them before other than that I will close my eyes put my hands on the keys and trust that the ineffable is going to give me a kindness and something will come through and you know I’m very fortunate that it does usually come through.  Most times, what I’m channeling does sounds effective.   And once inspiration comes to you then it’s like the shoemaker fixing the shoe, it’s absolutely right.  All the technical stuff comes into play but my best work is probably you know, hearing things when I see a lyric that I relate to.

TS:  Your former Side Show collaborator Bill Russell is working with you again on Lucky Duck, which is coming out soon.  Are you excited?

HK: I am.  It’s really been worked on and worked on for a long time in different ways and now it seems to me that it is ready for its audience and its audience is children and their parents because there’s stuff that’s funny that the parents get that the children don’t notice and there’s stuff that’s funny for both of them and there are touching things.  It’s an introduction to theater for very young people and it’s great.  I love the show.  I love the work that I’ve done with Bill on the score and it’s a good show and it’s fun to be associated with.

TS:  What excites you about writing for children?

HK:  I started writing for Captain Kangaroo back in the latter seventies, you know seventy six, seventy seven and I made it a point not to condescend to children but to capture their imagination and I like doing that.  I love to write for young people.

TS: You’ve been honored with so many awards and nominations.  Oscars, Grammys, Tony’s-what do you consider to be your greatest accomplishment?

HK:  My significant other relationship of seventeen years.  It was a love that began for me at age almost fifty.  We had met when we both worked with the 52^nd street project, and I was taken a bit by surprise but it was the best surprise ever so that’s my main accomplishment actually keeping a good relationship, a peer relationship with someone.   As far as my accomplishment as an artist it is being blessed with the ability of doing what I love to do as my actual living.  My life experience is really great.

TS:  Have you ever been star struck?

HK: I mean, since I was twenty five years old I’ve worked with stars, but it was really exciting when Beyonce came in the room put out her hand and said “I’m so excited to work with you, it’s so nice to meet you.”  That made me very happy.  I recently met Hugh Jackman and I was star struck over him.  He is nature’s nobleman.  He is so full of good energy and respect and kindness and raw talent with a love of life and in his one man show recently he had a couple of songs of mine in it.  I went back and talked to him and he’s just fabulous.  So, if I ever got to work with him, I’d be happy.

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