Interview by Iris Wiener
Debbie Gibson began her enormously successful pop career at the age of 16 when her self-penned album, Out of the Blue, sold over eight million copies world-wide. Since then, she has honed her talent on the musical theater stage in such shows as Les Miserables, Gypsy, Cabaret, andBeauty and the Beast, while continuing to record. On July 29, she brings her Journey Through the ’80s concert tour with fellow pop star Tiffany to Long Island’s Westbury Music Fair (with more concerts set for across the country). TheaterMania recently spoke with Gibson about the tour, her career, and her hopes for returning to Broadway.
THEATERMANIA: On the new tour, will you continue to honor your old hits?
DEBBIE GIBSON: The great thing about having written my hits is that I will never disown my past, because all those hits came from me. I think a lot of artists who do disown their pasts do so because it was kind of like an image was put on them and their hits were handed to them. They didn’t have much creative input. But I wrote about what I knew then, which were puppy love and normal things that teenaged girls were going through. I get tweets from 17-year-old girls saying, “Hey, how does it feel to have teenagers listening to your music and rediscovering your music?” I’m honored that that’s the case.
TM: How have your inspirations changed as you’ve gotten older?
DG: The songs that I’m writing now are very much a reflection of my life now, and I also think a lot about other people’s lives. For example, I’m very aware that a lot of people in this country are going through very hard times. I have a line that I always say to them: “You can’t bankrupt talent or your spirit. There are things that can’t be taken from you.” So, for example, that’s the theme in a song that I’m working on…
Continue the rest of this interview at TheaterMania.com
