15 Questions with David A. Javerbaum '93

Former writer and current executive producer for “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” David A. Javerbaum ‘93 took his Expos-honed writing skills from the classroom to the screen to the stage in Broadway’s newest baby, ”Cry-Baby,” which debuts tonight on Broadway. Javerbaum dishes to FM about Broadway stereotypes, Quincy House parties, and the sting of finishing second...twice.

1. Fifteen Minutes: Word on the street is that you’re writing the songs for John Waters’s newest project—the Broadway adaptation of “Cry-Baby,” which originally starred Johnny Depp. How did you get involved?

David A. Javerbaum: They were auditioning songwriters to do it and I auditioned—I wrote two songs. One was called “Girl, Can I Kiss You with Tongue,” and that was the one John Waters read and said, ‘We need to hire this guy.’

2. FM: Were you already a fan of the movie version? Had you seen it?

DAJ: I had never seen the movie before I tried out. I got a breakdown of the scenario the book writers were conceiving, and that sort of told us where the songs would go.

3. FM: You teamed up with Adam Schlesinger, of Fountains of Wayne fame. How did you and Adam split up the work between writing music and lyrics?

DAJ: Well, for this show we’re credited as co-songwriters. I was the principal lyricist, I would say, and he was the principal composer, but we both worked together on all of the songs. There was a lot of interaction—it was a very back and forth collaboration.

4. FM: What’s he like to work with?

DAJ: Oh, he’s great. He’s very experienced artistically and comedically. We have very similar ideas about what’s funny and what’s tuneful. It’s been a great collaboration. We’d like to work together on something in the future.

5. FM: Do you have anything specific in mind?

DAJ: He and I might collaborate on some songs for Stephen Colbert. He’s doing a Christmas special this year, and we’re writing the Christmas songs.

6. FM: You and Adam are basically two married guys doing a Broadway musical together. Do you feel like you’re breaking any stereotypes?

DAJ: Just because we’re married doesn’t mean we’re not gay. That’s what you’re saying. (Laughs) But no, there is a substantial minority of people working in musical theater that are heterosexual.

7. FM: Maybe you break the mold because Broadway’s just a side job for you. Your main gig is as an executive producer on “The Daily Show.” A 2006 study at the University of Indiana found that “The Daily Show” is actually about equal in substance to most “real” news programs. What do you think?

DAJ: Yeah, we get that from time to time. We’re only responsible for “The Daily Show,” we’re not responsible for the other news shows. If we’re more substantive than them, then that speaks to their failure, and not our success. I know that we’re not news—we’re a comedy show—and people using us for news is again other people’s failures and not anything we’re doing well.

8. FM: Onto a less (or more) serious topic. I read that you were a finalist on Teen Jeopardy! back in the day. True?

DAJ: Back in the day, in high school, I came in second place by one dollar. And then ten years later had a reunion of former Teen Jeopardy! contestants, and I came in second in that again.

FM: Ouch. Do you remember the final question from back then?

DAJ: Yes, but I’m not...I don’t...it’s just too painful to remember.

9. FM: Fair enough. Can I test you now?

DAJ: Go ahead.

FM: It’s the capital of Latvia.

DAJ: That is… Riga. Is that what it is? Wait, no, uh, wait… Holland, Estonia…Latvia?

FM: It is Riga, you got it right.

DAJ: Yeah, Riga. Riga.

10. FM: You attended a musical theater writing program at NYU after Harvard. How did you go from that to “The Onion” and “The Daily Show”?

DAJ: Well, at Harvard I wrote for the Lampoon and I co-wrote a couple of Hasty Pudding shows, and those were the beginnings of the two tracks that I’ve been on ever since. You have a better shot at making a living for yourself in TV comedy, and that’s how I was able to support myself in the late 90’s—with [“The David Letterman Show”] and “The Daily Show.” TV Money pays, and with theater there’s an expression that “you can’t make a living, you can make a killing.” So the question is,‘Have you made a killing?’ I have not at this point, so I have to make a living. Hopefully “Cry-Baby” will be successful, but speaking to you a week before it opens, who knows what the outcome will be.

11. FM: Speaking of which, do you have big plans for tonight—the big opening night?

DAJ: I’ll be at the show, I just bought a new suit, which for me is a very big deal. At opening night they call you onstage and say, These are the writers! which will be cool. And then you go out to a big party and you get to hear what the reviews are, because they come out that night. So I’ll be out there either getting inebriated happily or getting inebriated depressingly.

12. FM: How does waiting for reviews compare to waiting for grades to come out at Harvard?

DAJ: Well, no, I mean, when you get your grades at Harvard you know what they’re going to be, which is a B+. So it’s not that stressful. At Harvard if you can’t pull out a B there’s something wrong with you.

13. FM: So, I hear that you bunked in Quincy House. Me too. Care to share any stories about the ragers in Quincy?

DAJ: I lived in what we called an “18-man” my senior year. We put together four rooms and basically had 18 people living together in one large suite. Two of them were the ones over the balcony, and then two across the hall.

14. FM: The balcony suite is usually expected to throw parties for the rest of the house—was that the case when you were there?

DAJ: Yeah, we had that responsibility. As Harvard people go, we threw a fair amount of parties.

15. FM: So what’s next for you?

DAJ: I’m working on a book to be out next year, called “What to Expect When You’re Expected.” It’s a series of advice for the fetus.


Interview conducted, edited and condensed by Erin C. Yu.