It turns out that Danny Elfman and Jack Skellington have a lot more in common than just a singing voice.
Elfman, the acclaimed composer, tells us that he put much of himself into Skellington, the spooky and sympathetic protagonist he voiced inthe 1993 animated cult classic "Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas."
Directed by Henry Selick from a story and characters by iconic auteur Tim Burton, the stop-motion animated wonder tells the tale of Jack, the Pumpkin King of Halloween Town, and his affectionate (if ill-advised) embrace of all things Christmas.
Jack's personal journey, Elfman said, mirrored his own progression from the leader of 1980s alt-rock ensemble Oingo Boingo to a respected composer nominated for four Academy Awards thanks to his work on "Good Will Hunting" (1997), "Men in Black" (1997), "Big Fish" (2003) and "Milk" (2008).
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"The character (of Jack) was definitely, and I need to be unambiguous about this, created by Tim Burton," Elfman said."But as I began writing the songs and fleshing them out I was pouring myself into that character, his creation, because it felt so close to home for me, Jack's story.
"You know, he was the king of this crazy land. Being the singer/songwriter in a rock band, you are in fact the king of your little kingdomand like Jack, I really wanted something else.I wanted out.I just didn't know what it was. I was very discontented.
"And so, Jack's relationship to (the) Halloween land was very close to my relationship to my band. I loved them and we had this long history together and I just desperately wanted something else, I wanted out, and so it was just real easy for me to feel close to Jack."
Nearly 25 years after "The Nightmare Before Christmas" first hit theaters, Elfman returns to the role of Jack Skellington for performances Wednesday, Dec. 6, and Thursday, Dec. 7, at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
The special live-to-film engagements will find Elfman and his fellow original cast members Catherine O'Hara (Sally) and Ken Page (Oogie Boogie)performing the score and songswith a full orchestra and choir along with a screening of the movie.
Elfman and company have previously presented such a show at Los Angeles' Hollywood Bowl, and John Mauceri, founding director of the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, will lead the orchestra and choir.
Elfman and Burton have been regular collaborators since the director's first feature, 1985's "Pee-wee's Big Adventure." The idea to bring the "Nightmare" material to the stage, Elfman said, began with 2013's "Danny Elfman's Music from the Films of Tim Burton" concerts in London, which found him singing Jack's songs as part of a suite of "Nightmare" music.
"I had to start thinking pretty seriously about, 'Can I even sing these songs I haven't sung in, I think, 17 years?' So I dug in and realized these are really hard to do live. You know, I only meant ever to do them once and I only ever did them once.
"And in the studio it's so much different. You can sing a verse and then take another chorus and then start again on the verse and get it like you like it. You're not necessarily using one performance from top to bottom or you don't feel like you have to if you do. And on stage it's not like, 'Oh, let's take the second chorus again.' "
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Thanks to encouragement from actress Helena Bonham Carter, who was singing Sally's material in London, Elfman mustered up the courage to take the stage.
"I walked out there and I just had one of the best experiences I've ever had on stage," he said, "because I was doing songs for the first time in a character that I'd never played, or hadn't in many years, and certainly had never done live, and I was expecting disaster and the audience was so supportive.
"I'd forgotten how supportive an audience can be and forgiving, for lack of a better word. I really felt like, 'OK, if I screw up, it'll be fine and it won't be the end of life as I know it.' "
After performing with that show in 35 cities, the idea of doing an all-"Nightmare" evening was proposed. Elfman and company have since performed the show seven times,but he said he wouldn't rest until the production made its way to New York City.
But don't hesitate if you are considering a journey to the Barclays Center. This show, to paraphrase an Oingo Boingo classic, won't live forever.
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"I'm not going to keep doing this for a long time," Elfman said."I'm enjoying it, it's fun. The reason I wanted out of a rock band relatively soon into that rock band was because the repetition.I'm just not good at it. I never could be a Broadway performer who does like eight shows a week. I have so much respect for them.I just don't know how they do it.
"So, I'm enjoying it but I really wanted to get it to New York, if no other place. It's like New York and Los Angeles are my two cities that I consider home. Even though I've never lived in New York ...it's still very much a part of my me, and so I really felt like if I go nowhere else, I need to do this in LAand New York."
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WHEN: 8 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 6 and Thursday, Dec. 7
WHERE: Barclays Center, 620 Atlantic Ave., Brooklyn
TICKETS: $35 to $199.50
INFO:800-745-3000,www.barclayscenter.com orwww.ticketmaster.com
