He worked in many day jobs while performing in Broadway musicals including Shenandoah, On the Twentieth Century, Rex, and Sweeney Todd.

The two wrote a script incorporating songs that had been written for but discarded from Stephen Sondheim musicals, and René also directed.

Lucas also wrote the book for the musical The Light in the Piazza,[4] and directed the world premiere at the Intiman Theater in Seattle.

The production was directed by Lucas's frequent collaborator Bartlett Sher and featured Victoria Clark, Michele Pawk and Jonathan Groff.

In June 2013, Melbourne's Regent Theatre hosted the world premiere (and Broadway try-out) of King Kong,[7] for which Lucas has provided the book with a score by Marius de Vries.

Fellowships include those from the Guggenheim and Rockefeller Foundations, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Pew Charitable Trusts.

He has received the Tony Award nomination for the books of: An American in Paris (2015), Light in the Piazza (2005), Prelude to a Kiss, and Paradise Square (2022).