Clearly, his manic creativity, work ethic and obsession with radioactivity, Django Reinhardt and Cab Calloway \u2014 \u201cthe original old arrangements of \u2018St. James Infirmary\u2019 from the early \u201930s \u2026 I didn\u2019t even like the late \u201930s; my music is like \u201931 to \u201933, thank you very much!\u201d \u2014 set him up perfectly for what\u2019s proven a lengthy and prolific collaboration with director Tim Burton.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Elfman, 72, returns as Jack Skellington for the 10th anniversary of \u201cThe Nightmare Before Christmas in Concert\u201d at the Hollywood Bowl from Oct. 25-26.<\/p>\n
(Ethan Benavidez \/ For The Times)<\/p>\n
Underneath Elfman\u2019s shock of red hair and cheerful demeanor is a creator who has \u201cbeen playing and flirting with death since I was 20. Honestly, I\u2019ve always felt that the Grim Reaper was right behind me and trying to catch me. Every birthday celebration is my way of saying, \u2018F\u2014 you, death.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
His huge Hollywood studio\/office\/de facto museum speaks to Elfman\u2019s preoccupation with mortality and the delightfully bizarre, with what seems like acres of heads in jars, Mark Ryden artwork, life-size wooden legs, Henry Darger prints, skulls, an antique pommel horse and Famous Monsters magazines on display. Seated in a hushed recording studio that will see him link up with Sydney, Australia, for a remote session at 4 p.m., the man with a physique that nearly broke the internet during his 2022 Coachella performance is voluble and easygoing and with a slightly mischievous air.<\/p>\n
If he\u2019s the perfect Pumpkin King of Halloween Town for the Hollywood Bowl production, each year he\u2019s working with a different cast. Past performances have seen a who\u2019s who of stage and screen, including Paul Reubens (Pee-wee Herman), Catherine O\u2019Hara, the late Ken Page, Phoebe Bridgers and local girl Billie Eilish<\/a>. \u201cBillie Eilish did a great Sally,\u201d recalls Elfman, noting that the producers give him a list of potential cast members to consider for that year\u2019s production. \u201cIt\u2019s kind of just looking at possibilities, and then hoping, and then keeping my fingers crossed.\u201d<\/p>\n The 2025 cast includes Janelle Mon\u00e1e as Sally, Keith David as Oogie Boogie, John Stamos<\/a> as Lock and Riki Lindhome<\/a> as Shock. As always, Elfman and the cast will be accompanied by a live orchestra and choir while the film plays on large screens.<\/p>\n Elfman first saw Mon\u00e1e at Coachella in 2019. \u201cSo when they offered up Janelle\u2019s name, I just said, immediately, \u2018Yes!\u2019 She\u2019s multi-talented, like Prince \u2014 plays guitar, sings, she could move, she could do whatever. She\u2019s just so spectacular.\u201d<\/p>\n Stamos\u2019 talent and star power is far-reaching \u2014 from TV\u2019s \u201cFull House\u201d to performing with the Beach Boys \u2014 though he\u2019s mostly known for his screen work. So when Elfman first saw a video of Stamos singing, he needed to make sure the actor was a strong harmony singer. \u201cYou have to be able to hold the harmony to do Lock, Shock and Barrel [\u201cNightmare\u2019s\u201d mischievous troublemakers], because we\u2019re switching up harmonies and octaves.\u201d<\/p>\n