Richard Maltby talks ‘About Time’

"You think growing older means everything you’ve learned will finally pay off,” said Tony Award winning writer-lyricist-director Richard Maltby Jr., “but it turns out, most of what you thought you knew doesn’t apply anymore.”

“About Time,” is Maltby’s third and final entry in a musical trilogy that began in 1977 with “Starting Here, Starting Now,” returned in 1989 with “Closer Than Ever,” and now finds its coda in Chester, Connecticut, at Goodspeed’s Terris Theatre, opening May 24. It’s a musical revue that navigates the terrain of later life with songs about memory, missed chances, adult children, tech-savvy grandkids and more. “About Time” is a gently cosmic, sometimes blisteringly funny meditation on the “Third Act.”

Written with longtime collaborator David Shire — Maltby’s college friend turned creative life partner of over six decades — “About Time” is deeply personal. The pair got to test early material at their 65th Yale reunion on the same stage where they wrote and performed their first musicals. The show then went through iterations and workshops in New York City, with each presentation revealing more. “Each time you add a song,” Maltby said, “the whole show changes.”

Of this current cast, which includes Darius de Haas, Lynne Wintersteller, and Olivier nominee Issy van Randwyck, Maltby said, “They are breathtaking, and they own the show. It’s the best when a cast is just in love with the show, and they are in love with it.”

Maltby is also directing the production at Terris Theatre because, in many ways, who else could? “These songs are not what they seem,” he said. “If they sound happy, there’s probably something dark underneath. If they seem sad, there’s a joke hiding inside. I need to protect the words and the meaning.”

There are emotional layers to the show that are revealed slowly, that take time and perhaps repetition to surface. “People used to say if you put the songs in order, it felt like a life story,” said Maltby. “Well, ‘About Time’ is the last chapter. It’s about the strange joy and unexpected confusion of seeing your whole life laid out behind you.”

Show poster for “About Time”Provided

Maltby, of course, has seen the long view before. With “Miss Saigon,” for which Maltby won the Tony for best score in 1991, he revealed the truth of America’s wounded mythology through the lens of the Vietnam War. “Suddenly, we weren’t the good guys. John Wayne wasn’t coming over the hill, and our mythology was crushed.” In contrast, “About Time” doesn’t engage in overt politics, yet a sense of cultural reckoning still simmers under the surface. “There’s a song called, ‘What Do I Tell the Children?’” explained Maltby, “which is really the dilemma of a grandparent wanting to teach morality to a grandchild, to be the person who sets them on the right path. But when they turn on the news and see that crooks and charlatans win, how can you tell them that honesty pays? Honesty doesn’t pay. Dishonesty pays these days.”

Goodspeed’s Terris Theatre, which reopened post-COVID with a slimmed-down season, is presenting the perfect stage for the show that will have just over a three week run. “They haven’t gotten back to a full season yet,” Maltby noted. “But that intimacy is perfect for this. These songs are surprising. They’re about the things most people don’t write songs about.”

And in true Maltby/Shire fashion, the music sneaks up on you. “Our shows are subterranean,” he said. “You think they’re about nothing special, then you find yourself crying, and you’re not even sure why.”

Maltby has lived in Lakeville since 1972. “My wife, Barbara and I moved to Lakeville as a summer house and since have built a second house.” His son, David Maltby now lives in the family home. He and his wife, Chelsea Altman are the new co-owners of The Moviehouse in Millerton. “It’s all about storytelling,” Maltby said. “In one way or another, that’s the family business.”

When pressed on what comes next for “About Time,” Maltby offered the kind of wisdom only someone with his experience could. “All futures depend on the present,” he laughed. “When you’re growing up, really, for most of your life, you live in the future. Today almost doesn’t matter. It’s about planning for tomorrow. And then at a certain point, you can suddenly see the whole trajectory of your life, from where you started, what happened along the way, and where you’ve arrived. It’s often jarring, sometimes fulfilling, but never what you expected. If I’d set out as a young person, would I have imagined living the life I’m living now?” He shook his head and said, “Not a chance.”

“About Time” runs May 24 to June 15. More info at www.goodspeed.org.