Sir Tim Rice — the man behind the lyrics in “Jesus Christ Superstar,” “Evita” and “The Lion King” — is in St. Paul to honor the memory of his longtime friend Bobby Vee.
The British lyricist will host a news conference at 11:30 a.m. Friday at St. Paul’s History Theatre, which closes its monthlong run of the original musical “Teen Idol: The Bobby Vee Story” this weekend.
Rice, 71, had already planned to see the show before Vee died Monday of complications from Alzheimer’s disease. And this isn’t his first time visiting the region. In 2009, he traveled to Clear Lake, Iowa, to mark the 50th anniversary of “the day the music died.” Buddy Holly’s airplane crashed on the way to a concert in Moorhead, Minn., and the young Vee was recruited to perform in Holly’s place, a story that’s recounted in “Teen Idol.”
The History Theatre’s artistic director Ron Peluso and select cast members will also be on hand, along with Jeff and Tommy Vee, sons of the late singer who collaborated with writer Bob Beverage on the musical.
Rice worked with Andrew Lloyd Webber on several Broadway smashes, including “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat,” and later collaborated with Elton John on “The Lion King” and “Aida.” He was made a Knight Bachelor by Queen Elizabeth II in 1994.
