Beyond the Curtain: Lisa Monde on Celebrating Musical Milestones

By talking to renowned creators and performers, I’ve come to understand how important it is to share their stories, perspectives, and future plans with a broad audience. There’s nothing quite like hearing directly from the creators how they wrote their masterpieces—or from the performers how they originated the roles we all know and love.

It is both a great honor and a great pleasure for me to communicate with the legendary minds behind musicals such as Evita, Les Misérables, The Phantom of the Opera, Wicked, Starlight Express, Miss Saigon, and many more. It’s also deeply meaningful to receive professional recognition for my work, to know that the material I provide is of high quality and resonates with a wide range of readers. Of course, this validation strengthens my confidence as a theatre critic and interviewer.

I’m also proud to be part of the amazing, passionate, and hard-working team at The Theatre Times digital portal, which—quite literally—brings theatre from around the world to the people.

I still can’t believe that Alan Menken and Tim Rice—whose music I grew up with, whose musicals I sang in and staged with schoolchildren—spoke with me for hours. They not only shared stories about the creation of their masterpieces but also gave me advice for my own projects. I also had the honor of speaking with Michael Kunze and Sylvester Levay, Claude-Michel Schönberg, and many others.

I’m deeply grateful for the opportunity to ask questions that matter to me as a composer, performer, playwright, and translator-adapter. Sadly, many of them are no longer young. Their voices and their stories are priceless. I promised myself I would publish a book of these conversations, titled Conversations About Musicals. I’m honored to be the keeper of their stories and to have the chance to pass them on to future generations.

I’d say the story behind any success is simple: dedication and hard work.

First of all, I believe it’s because I’m deeply knowledgeable about the field I write about—I come from the world of musical theatre, and that’s exactly what I write about. Secondly, the exclusive and unique interviews I conduct with the very people who helped shape the world of musical theatre—well, you really can’t top that.

I also conduct thorough research when writing my articles and share those discoveries with readers. I believe my Master’s degree in English Linguistics helps as well—it allows me to write with clarity and precision.

Music journalism is not an easy job—you need to be highly knowledgeable and stay up to date with what’s happening in the world of musical theatre across the globe. I do my best to personally attend significant premieres, which often involves travel and a great deal of time to gain access to the “right” people in the industry. Once again, persistence is key.

There’s only one way to overcome these challenges: never stop trying, never spare the time, and don’t be afraid to be persistent—even if it means being a little intrusive.

Firstly, I truly hope this victory brings greater recognition to the wonderful Theatre Times Digital Portal, with which I proudly collaborate as a writer and editor. Secondly, I hope this award helps open doors that are still closed to me as an interviewer.

We receive great feedback from both fans and professionals in the musical theatre world.

I believe that professional recognition is very important for creative people. My advice to everyone: share your achievements, strive for success, and always aim to be your best! As Salvador Dalí once said, "Don’t be afraid of perfection—you’ll never reach it." To that, I would add: "But you must strive for it!" Work hard and never give up.

Today, more than ever, I feel ready to share my knowledge of musical theatre not only with readers, but also with students. In the near future, I plan to offer an original course on the history of world musicals to several schools.

Musical theatre continues to evolve, and we evolve with it—but it’s equally important to preserve the gems of the past and show them the respect they deserve.

Creative people, let’s support one another! You can create a stunning performance, but it may fail without the support of creative advertisers and marketers to follow through. Together, we are strong!

I would like to thank the team at The Theatre News Digital Portal, where I’m always welcomed with my reviews, essays, and interviews about musicals and their anniversaries. I also want to thank the Monli International Company LLC team for handling so many organizational challenges.

Anniversaries of Legendary Musicals around the World.

My new musical, "LOVE: Extraterrestrial Extravaganza," will premiere this fall in New York City. I’m thrilled to be working on this project with an amazing cast! Come see our show—we invite all lovers of fascinating stories about theatre, backstage life, and space aliens!

In the near future, I also plan to meet more creative people from the world of theatre. Fragments of these interviews will be featured in my upcoming thematic publications. And yes, I do dream of new awards—why? Because they help grow my circle of readers, increase audience numbers, and multiply followers on social media. I have so many exciting things I’m ready to share with the world!