Obie Award-winning playwright, singer, and songwriter Ethan Lipton chatted about his musical “The Seat of Our Pants,” which is being performed at The Public Theater in New York.
The show is a rollicking adaptation of Thornton Wilder’s Pulitzer Prize-winning “The Skin of Our Teeth.”
This new musical about age-old problems tells the twisting, often absurd story of the Antrobus family, who have been alive for 5,000 years but live in the same existential dread as the rest of us.
Mired in the hot mess of their everyday worries, the Antrobuses survive all manner of catastrophes in an endless quest to begin again, and again, and again.
Choreographed by Sunny Min-Sook Hitt, this original spectacle is a musical reminder that surviving is what we do best.
What inspired you to write “ The Seat of Our Pants”? Tell us about the difference in approaching writing the adaptation and the music and lyrics?
A guy at the Public Theater, Jeremy McCarter, asked me to consider adapting Thornton Wilder’s play “The Skin of Our Teeth.”
It’s an epic comedy about surviving the end of the world, and I couldn’t resist it. Music and lyrics come together for me.
What was your favorite part of this musical experience?
Well, it took 12 years, so there were a lot of big experiences along the way.
Recently, I loved being in the room with 35 collaborators, everyone working together to help this creature of a show become what it needed to become.
What did this show teach you about yourself?
I have endurance.
How does it feel to be an artist and creative in the digital age?
It feels terrifying to be a human in the digital age. But it feels great to make work I feel connected to, and to realize that work with others I admire.
What do your plans for the future include?
That depends. What do you got? I do have a number of shows with my band at Joe’s Pub coming up in March — Ethan Lipton and his Orchestra.
What is your advice for young and emerging artists, creatives, and storytellers?
The world doesn’t care what it feeds you. Learn how to cook.
Were there any moments in your career that have helped define you?
The first time I stayed up all night to rework the draft of a play. The first time I sang in public. Also, the first time I passed up the opportunity to tell someone difficult to go f**k themselves.
What does the word success mean to you? (My favorite question)
Success is a feeling. It comes and goes. There are lots of ways to generate that feeling, but the most reliable one is from the work itself, so keep working.
To learn more about the musical “The Seat of Our Pants,” visit the official homepage.
