Bustle Mixtape
The musical rom-com series is the latest collaboration from the couple who brought us theFrozensoundtrack.
How does a musical power couple spend Valentines Day?
Blending their personal and professional partnership is nothing new, though.
Whats great about Kristen is that she is my very best friend, Lopez says.
Its like a playdate every day.
When we approach it correctly and put each other above the material, it always results in better work.
SettingUp Herein the recent past let the couple tap into their personal experiences, though the show isnt autobiographical.
Below, the Lopezes discuss working together, theirFrozenfamily, and their go-to lyric for beating songwriters block.
On BringingUp HereTo TV
Which song was the most fun to watch come alive?
Kristen Anderson-Lopez:There was something fantastic about shooting What If?
on Sixth Street, the street that I walked when I was 20-something in the 90s.
I couldnt afford to live there.
I had to live in Washington Heights at the time.
Robert Lopez:For me, it was the main title-slash-finale.
That was a dream of ours: to write the main title for our own sitcom.
InFriends,you have Ill Be There for You, and you hear theshort versionin front of every episode.
And then they released a longer version for the radio.
It keeps going, and it climaxes, and it brings everybody back.
Were there any musical TV shows that inspired you when taking the adaptation from stage to screen?
Kristen:Every musical TV show.
And thenGlee.And were huge fans ofSchmigadoon!If theres singing and storytelling, were there.
Robert:We used to hate when a song would get cut.
What was your first dance song at your wedding?
Kristen:It was In My Life [by The Beatles].
Robert:The little classical bridge, the piano solo.
We did an improvised courtly waltz.
Kristen:Bobby also created the wedding march.
We didnt do the traditional wedding march.
I came down the aisle to a beautiful original composition.
And my friend, James Allen, composed a beautiful version of The Irish Blessing.
Everyone sang a cappella.
Robert:And my brother-in-law requested The Chicken Dance from the DJ.
Are there any 90s songs that remind you of the early days of your relationship?
We just loved that.
This was making rock music.
Channel every bit of your biggest, most romantic, softest heart into playing this.
And it really did change the way the music came out.
What music do you turn to when you oughta get out of writers block or a creative funk?
Robert:The other incredible thing we had in this process was a writers room.
Its been a beautiful collaboration.
Kristen:No, we had so much to say about self-doubt, paranoia, and crippling voices.
On TheirFrozenFamily & Their Real One
Frozenturns 10 this year!
How do you view the soundtracks legacy today?
And that was not something that I recognized we would have 10 years ago.
Your family has been such a major part of your story.
Does music play a big role in your everyday life at home?
Kristen:Oh, yeah.
Both our kids are in musicals.
One just finished playing Olive Ostrovsky inSpelling Bee.We saw it four times in four days.
And the other one is inBye, Bye, Birdie.Theyre both incredibly musical.
Katie, our oldest, is turning into a beautiful singer-songwriter herself.
And Im not just being a stage mother!
I really think shes got something special, because shes got her fathers melodic sensibility and my psychological sensibility.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
This article was originally published onMarch 29, 2023
