Interviews
A Conversation with John Lithgow
Q: Has anything happened to you in your new career as an author that was surprising?
A: I'm still surprised to hear myself introduced as "actor and author," especially when they throw in the word "musician." And when my first book, The Remarkable Farkle McBride, turned up on the New York Times Best Seller List, I had a confusing reaction, halfway between proud and embarrassed. Of course I was delighted that Farkle had hit so big, but somewhere inside I felt like a fraud: just who, exactly, did I think I WAS!? When I told my friends that I was now a best-selling author, they tended to roll their eyes and mutter, "What next?"
Q: You have performed the song Marsupial Sue in concert. What has the response been like so far?
A: When I perform Marsupial Sue in concert, I don a straw hat with big kangaroo ears poking through it and a long kangaroo tail. I look perfectly ridiculous. The kids think the song is a lot of fun, but I'm not sure how much is the song and how much is the big silly man with the ears and tail.
Q: Was Marsupial Sue planned first as a book or as a song? What is the significance of the waltz-like tune of Marsupial Sue?
A: Like Farkle McBride, I first conceived of the story as a song. I see my kids' concerts as a child's guide to the orchestra, but not so's they notice. The concerts are wild and crazy entertainments, which educate kids about orchestral music without them even knowing it! As such, I've tried to include lots of different kinds of music, to show all the things an orchestra can do. In the case of Marsupial Sue, I thought, "A waltz! A Viennese waltz! A waltz that goes up and down, like a kangaroo hopping!" And then the story presented itself: the kangaroo hops, but he doesn't like it! It makes him sick. So he looks around for a better life! Since he's a kangaroo, he lives in Australia. So why not sample the lifestyles of other Australian animals? What if each experiment is a disaster? What will make the kangaroo embrace his own zoological destiny? I've got it! A wallaby!! Now what shall we call him? He's a marsupial, so what name goes with that? Sue! Marsupial Sue!! Wait a minute! My kangaroo is a GIRL!!! The kangaroo is a girl, and the song...the song is a BOOK!!!!
And so help me God, that's exactly how it happened.
Q: Marsupial Sue has a strong message about accepting oneself. Was there a particular inspiration for addressing this topic with kids? Was there ever a time that you wished there were something different about yourself that you couldn't change?
A: The "message" of the book, "be happy with who you are," is intended as a gentle, understated message. I always like a story to be much more important to the kids than its lesson, but this one is a nice lesson and I'm glad it's there. Childhood is a period when kids are trying to figure out who and what they are (not that many adults have necessarily answered those questions for themselves), so this lesson, however subliminal, is an important one. Incidentally, it's also the most important lesson of a little film called Shrek!, which I happen to know something about.
Have I gone through periods of self-doubt, frustration, and change? Well, DUH. I'm a human being, aren't I? These issues are not confined to marsupials, you know.
Q: Have you ever been to Australia?
A: Nope, never been to Australia, but I'd love to go, and I will someday. What with my new book out, it'll probably be sooner than later.
Q: You selected C. F. Payne to illustrate your first book, The Remarkable Farkle McBride. How did Jack E. Davis come to illustrate this new one?
A: I loved working with C. F. Payne, and in fact, he's already hard at work on my next book. But he was too busy to do a book this year, so I cooked up Marsupial Sue, and along with my editor, I went searching for another illustrator. In fact, I think that Jack E. Davis's style and humor fits this one to a T.
Q: Do you have more children's books in the works?
A: Yes, one is well along, and another is on my editor's desk. I've got my fingers crossed. He tells me my problem is that I'm too prolific.
Q&A provided by Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing.
