The musical "If/Then," which opens Tuesday at the Orpheum, has a novel plot: It imagines two potential life paths for a New Yorker based on the choices she makes — basically between career or marriage and family.
The show, which starred Idina Menzel on Broadway, is the latest work by lyricist/librettist Brian Yorkey and composer Tom Kitt, who won a Pulitzer Prize for their previous musical, "Next to Normal," about a mother with bipolar disorder. We spoke recently with Yorkey, 45, who was raised in suburban Seattle and now lives in New York, where he is juggling projects for Disney and other producers.
Q: Is this how you imagined your life would turn out?
A: Not exactly. From a young age, I loved writing. I had a suspicion that this is what I would be if I could, but you never know.
Q: Did you have some sort of eureka moment?
A: Well, the first play I wrote was in junior year of Issaquah High School. It's named after an Elvis Costello song, "What's So Funny 'Bout Peace Love and Understanding." I directed it as well. Sitting in the theater and hearing people laugh at jokes that I'd written was pretty intoxicating.
Q: Singers talk about hearing their songs on the radio for the first time.
A: I had that experience in the theater as well, after my senior year of high school. I wrote a musical version of "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" at a Seattle theater with a composer named Susan Grant. It was pretty exciting.