Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez are co-pilots in life and work.
The married couple's latest collaboration is a musical titled "Up Here," for which they share credit as co-creators, co-book writers, co-lyricists and co-composers. "We did it all together, though it was Bobby's original idea," Anderson-Lopez said, referring to Robert.
"Up Here" is a romantic comedy with edge. The edge seems obvious when one considers Lopez co-wrote the music and lyrics for the musicals "Book of Mormon" and "Avenue Q."
The world of "Up Here," which is getting a world premiere at the La Jolla Playhouse, covers personal territory for both composers.
"It's probably up there with 'Avenue Q,' which is a lot about my own life and my on-again off-again dating with Kristen," Lopez said. "Both musicals are kind of about the same period in our lives - about the courtship."
Lopez wanted to bring his inner conflicts from that time to life.
"It was just as simple as writing a musical about what it’s like to be me," he said. "I live very much on the inside," Lopez said.
"Up Here" stars two romantic leads and a cast of "feelings" - think fear, anger, joy, etc. - that come to life through special effects and clever staging.
Alex Timbers, whose innovative directing was on display at the Playhouse in 2011's "Peter and the Starcatcher," brings the world of Lopez's consciousness to life.
Usually in musicals, the two lead actors sing about their feelings.
"But in [Up Here], very often, it’s the feelings that are singing to the audience and getting in the way," Lopez said.
Lopez came up with the idea years ago and started developing it for the stage in 2007. It was Anderson-Lopez who suggested they make it a romantic comedy.
"Kind of what this show is about is taking someone who maybe hasn’t taken a lot of risks, because of all the voices in his head and meeting him at that very moment where he’s decided that the need to connect with someone is stronger than his need to stay safe," Anderson-Lopez said.
"That’s an epic battle that we wage in our heads at that moment. And we actually turned it into an epic battle on the stage," she said.
A battle with music, sometimes earnest music.
"Because you don’t feel your feelings ironically. You feel them full force," Lopez said.
Anderson-Lopez elaborated in song.
"When you are missing someone in your head, it is a '90s power ballad," she said. Then she launched into "All By Myself," most recently sung by Celine Dion and memorialized by a pajama-clad Renee Zellweger in the film "Bridget Jones Diary."
For inspiration, Lopez says he turned to a Broadway composer completely devoid of irony. The same man who created Broadway megahits "Cats" and "Phantom of the Opera."
"I got to say the main muse of this is Andrew Lloyd Weber," he said, laughing sheepishly. "It’s a strong melodic score."
But it’s also an eclectic score, because emotions and feelings are so varied.
"So you’re going to hear anything from a Stravinsky-inspired pastoral to The Monkees, to Motown," Anderson-Lopez explained. "It’s a kaleidoscopic world up here in our head, so there are many references."
The couple met at a writing workshop in New York City. Lopez had been working on "Avenue Q" songs and performed one for the group. Kristen was enamored. He gave her a demo tape with his phone number on it.
"Luckily he was neither gay or too young, and I went up to him and was like 'hey, I love you' and he was like 'ahhh, this girl likes me,'" Anderson-Lopez said.
The couple manage to work together all day, then have family time with their two young daughters at night. Communication and compartmentalizing seem to be the key to their successful creative and personal relationship.
"We have our work hat on during the day, we have our bedtime and ritual hat on with our kids, and then we have our let’s watch 'Orange Is The New Black' hat on at night," Anderson-Lopez said.
Now they’ve written parts and songs for all the roller coaster emotions from their early courtship, aided by hindsight, humor and, apparently, a few '90s power ballads.
"Up Here" runs through Sept. 6 at the La Jolla Playhouse.
