Episode Notes

On this episode, author Rick Elice and director Jessica Stone share a hilariously authentic conversation on collaboration, creativity and how Water for Elephants came to be.

Rick Elice (Book) Jersey Boys, Rick’s first Broadway credit, co-authored with Marshall Brickman, won the Tony Award, the Grammy Award and the Olivier Award for Best Musical, and has entered the record books as the twelfth longest-running show in Broadway history. With Marshall Brickman and Andrew Lippa, he wrote The Addams Family, starring Nathan Lane and Bebe Neuwirth. For the past eight years, The Addams Family has topped the list of the most-licensed musicals in North America. Rick’s first play, Peter and the Starcatcher, received nine Tony Award nominations, and won five 2012 Tony Awards. For the past seven years, the play has been among the top ten most-produced plays in North America. Rick also wrote The Cher Show for Broadway, directed by Jason Moore; the world premiere at Paper Mill Playhouse of a new musical, My Very Own British Invasion, directed by Jerry Mitchell; the world premiere at The Old Globe. 

Jessica Stone (Director) worked as an actress on and off-Broadway, in television and in film for decades before transitioning to directing. Broadway credits included Anything Goes, Butley, The Odd Couple, The Smell of the Kill, Design for Living, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying and Grease. Her directing career began in earnest with her all-male 2010 production of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum for the Williamstown Theatre Festival. She has since been directing all over the country at such theaters as The Old Globe, A.C.T, Shakespeare Theatre Company, Huntington Theatre Company, Two River Theatre Company, and the Williamstown Theatre Festival among others.  Productions include As You Like It, Kate Hamill’s Vanity Fair, Barefoot in the Park, Dancing at Lughnasa, Bad Dates, Ken Ludwig’s Robin Hood! (world premiere), Ripcord, Bad Jews, Arms and the Man, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, Charlotte’s Web, June Moon, Last of the Red Hot Lovers, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee and Absurd Person Singular, Kimberly Akimbo (off-Broadway premiere at the Atlantic). Most recently, Stone directed the original Broadway musical Kimberly Akimbo, which opened in November 2022. She currently lives in Brooklyn with her husband and two sons. 

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