JUNE 29 • 2023 | 51
father and went off to fight
in Vietnam.”
The actors who requested a
production never performed
the play, which enlarged to a
stand-alone production.
As Lippa has worked on
many projects, his mentor
has been Broadway hit maker
Stephen Schwartz, whose
shows include Wicked and
Pippin. Schwartz revealed that
he has recognized a recurring
theme in his own work and
suggested that Lippa would
find a theme as he looked
back on his own projects.
Lippa, in analyzing his pro-
ductions, came up with the
recurring theme of magical
elements that people encoun-
ter as they go through their
lives.
“It’s my belief in supernat-
ural forces,” Lippa said. “Call
it faith if you want, but there
is magical realism with things
showing up out of nowhere
and time being compressed or
extended.
“In john & jen, the boy who
is the brother becomes the
son. There’s a little bit of the-
atrical magic going on, and
there’s a lot of trust involved
between someone who creates
something and someone who
experiences that same thing.
I think there is magic in that
exchange.”
Two homes, one in New
York and one in Columbus,
Ohio, are shared with Lippa’s
husband, Tom Regouski, a
woodwind player who has
performed in 60 different
musicals in the past 10 years
and made his Carnegie Hall
debut in January of this year.
Currently, Lippa is work-
ing on several projects,
including an adaptation
of the movie The Turning
Point about ballet dancers
and a film taking place on
Christmas eve at a shopping
mall.
“Writing musicals is the
hardest thing I know how
to do, and I like the fact that
it’s difficult,” said Lippa,
whose many honors include
ASCAP’s Richard Rodgers/
New Horizons Award and
The Drama Desk and The
Outer Critics Circle Award. “I
encourage students to embrace
difficult challenges because I
think difficult things enrich
your life.”
The song he has written that
most closely describes himself
is “I Do What I Do” from the
musical The Man in the Ceiling.
The message expresses Lippa’s
belief that a person should do
what that person loves.
As Lippa learns about john
& jen being performed where
he grew up, he is filled with
Michigan memories such as
his own stage experiences
while in school. There are
thoughts of his mother’s wom-
en’s clothing store, Naomi
Lippa’s Advance Fashions,
where he worked after classes,
and his continuing communi-
cations with Larry Wolf, who
headed up music programs at
Oak Park schools.
“I’m very engaged in non-
profit life as the president of
the board of the Dramatists
Guild Foundation,” Lippa said.
“It supports America’s play-
wrights, composers, lyricists
and librettists.”
Details
john & jen will be performed July 7-23 by the Inspired
Acting Company, 1124 E. West Maple, Walled Lake.
8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays. $45.
(248) 863-9953. Inspiredacting.org.