Plus, there's more.

"I do have a really sizable project, akin to The Addams Family, a large Broadway project that is very close to having the star of our choice join us," he told PlayBlog. "But, I cannot say what it is or with whom it is, yet, because of the sensitivities surrounding all of that stuff."

There is always a "but" with these premature conversations about future projects, isn’t there? Can't we get a scoop?

"But," Lippa added, "it’s a project I’ve been working on for a while, and that is nearing a draft of the full piece. I wrote the music and lyrics for it, and I can say it’s a love story, it’s sort of a magical romance is what it is. It’s exciting to me on many levels…I had the notion to do this and approached the rights holders, who at the same time had the same notion and who told me that I was at the top of their list and they just hadn’t pulled the trigger to make the call yet. And so it was a bit of a wonderful coming-together on that level."

Lippa added, "It’s as far afield from my other projects as it possibly could be. It’s deeply romantic and magical and very, very moving."

And it’s a title that we’ll know when we hear it?

"Some people will know the title when they hear it, yes," he said.

Our money is on "Tales of the South Pacific" by James Michener. A great idea for a musical. Has anyone done it?

Music and lyrics will be by Lippa, and the book is by someone to be named. Lippa said with a laugh, "That somebody already has a name, but I’m just not telling you."

We suggested that there must be something special and satisfying about working on a musical that was your idea to craft.

"I have found that that can be a wonderful thing, yes, to have that kind of emotional commitment to something," Lippa said.