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Book of Mormon Writer Robert Lopez on South Park, Cynicism, and Cirque du Soleil

Photo: Patrick McMullan
Robert Lopez. Photo: Patrick McMullan

Composer and lyricist Robert Lopez’s first collaboration with Matt Stone and Trey Parker resulted in The Book of Mormon, which earned them all Tonys and turned them into the toast of the town. Their follow-up is tonight’s South Park, “Broadway Bro-Down,” in which Randy Marsh discovers his love for Broadway musicals and ends up writing one of his own. Vulture chatted with the Avenue Q creator about tonight’s South Park, his upcoming projects, and the mystical nature of Jameson.

So what is in your future?
I’m working on a couple of movies, a live-action musical for Disney, possibly another animated Disney movie, and a Broadway show [called Up There] that’s like Annie Hall meets Cirque du Soleil. It’s a romantic comedy with a huge theatrical twist. I’m working on that with my wife, Kristen. It’s about a guy’s brain, his mind, his inner consciousness — the whole chorus is his brain, so it’s kind of like Cats, but with a story. He has these crazy inner thoughts, but the guy doesn’t express himself, so the girl has no idea what he’s thinking. Which is how things are in real life.

Book of Mormon Writer Robert Lopez on South Park, Cynicism, and Cirque du Soleil