Wednesday, January 17, 2007

Scrubs - TV - New York Times:

Most amazing to the composers was the speed at which the production came together. “It took us five years to write ‘Avenue Q,’ ” Mr. Marx said. “There were a million readings and previews and staged readings. With this thing, we wrote the songs in a week. They rehearsed for a week. They filmed it in a week, and it was done. It was liberating, and a collaborative effort that created a much more feel-good way of working.”

NBC gave its approval for the episode, Mr. Lawrence said, and Touchstone Television and its parent, Disney, spent nearly twice the normal amount to produce the episode, including hiring a 50-piece orchestra to punch up the musical numbers.

Mr. Marx was so enamored of the process, in fact, that he has decided to move to Los Angeles. During a telephone interview last week, he said he was packing his things, giving up his New York rental apartment and dreaming of more television song-and-dance numbers.

He is nothing if not confident. “I got a one-way ticket,” he added.