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'We Hit It Off Like a House on Fire': Patrick Leonard Talks About Working With Richard Simmons For His Musical
Patrick Leonard hopes the Broadway show will still go on after the fitness guru's death and that "it remains true to him."
Only several months before his death, Richard Simmons started working on the new Broadway musical that tells the story of his life, together with the composer and songwriter Patrick Leonard. Leonard discussed the duo’s work and their collaboration with PEOPLE in an interview.
Leonard, 68 years old, said that the cooperation was unusually seamless, in perfect synergy since they had good chemistry when operating as a team. Sometimes Simmons would drop him a lyric idea, and Leonard would write the music to go with the lyrics, without a lot of talking between them.
For Leonard, with a portfolio of Madonna, Elton John, Michael Jackson, and Leonard Cohen behind his back, the project rekindled his inspiration. He noted that having knowledge of Simmons and the narrative and purposes behind the musical makes for good inspiration.
Patrick Leonard reflects on Richard Simmons' Broadway vision
Patrick Leonard has also said that working with Richard Simmons on the Broadway musical was easy because his life story just lends itself to a musical. Leonard: “There are all aspects of everything you need.” “You have all of the joy and there’s all of the pain, and then there’s the arc of his personal story as a vehicle.” You don’t have to make anything up; stay truthful.
Earlier, Simmons had shown interest in the Broadway show by noting that it would also be a workout show in a way that the audience would be even able to exercise while watching some of the choreographed numbers.
As Leonard pointed out, “The vision was in Richard’s head.” “And in mine, it was just trying to search for the sound of this vision based on what he served to me.”
Leonard further expounded that while they could not go over details, the idea was probably to involve sequences, as from the show in which Simmons would play music and people would exercise. Speaking of the experience, Leonard said, “It was really that fundamental and that simple.”
Patrick Leonard grapples with loss of Richard Simmons
Celebrity fitness guru Richard Simmons passed away on July 13, a day after his 76th birthday, at his Los Angeles home, said his longtime publicist Tom Estey to PEOPLE. After this horrific loss, Patrick Leonard says he does not know what has become of their musical, but he would wish to achieve Richard’s dream.
“I believe there is a plan to move forward, and that is all I am aware of at present,” Leonard said, stressing it will be challenging to go on without Simmons and hinting at many changes resulting from the tragedy.
Reflecting on their collaboration, Leonard shared, “We got to know each other quickly and we had a good time when we talked about this stuff. That was the energy. For lack of a better analogy, we were the band. And now I don't get to have that energy and that feedback. So it's a very different scenario. ” He explained the challenge ahead: “So now, if we are going to go further with this I don’t know how am I going to get all that introspective internal information.”
Patrick Leonard promises broadway sparkle and tape recorder magic in new solo album
If the creation of the Broadway show is to go on, Patrick Leonard said that there will be an effort to keep the spirit that he and Richard Simmons created. As Leonard retails: “He was clear about it,” “It was very much about the person, the core of it really, I think. ” He goes on to assure that for the project to be successful, “It has to be him.”
In the meantime, the band’s leader, Leonard, teamed up with producer Joss Stone and recorded his first solo album in more than two decades, titled It All Comes Down To Mood, which was released on Friday, July 26. But I decided to go even further than that, and it has 16 songs, all performed by live musicians. This is the only technology used, except, of course, the device to record it—a tape recorder,” Doug jokes to PEOPLE.
Interestingly, this project, he says, represents the current Howard after years of working together with music legends. “It was a long process to make something that I felt was representative of where I'm at now.” Reflecting on the album, Leonard shares, “It's just what I felt like doing and I'm grateful I got to do it. I think there's all sides of my weird neurotic musicality in there.”
ALSO READ: All We Know About Richard Simmons: The Life And Legacy Of A Fitness Icon
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