The Schwartz Scene Blog

“…our greatest illusion is to believe that we are what we think ourselves to be…” — Henri F. Amiel

The Art of Deception: Madoff in real life, Mrya in Stephen Schwartz’s Seance on A Wet Afternoon, Frollo in the Hunchback of Notre Dame, and the Wizard of Oz in Wicked

By Carol de Giere

Illusions and cover-ups were on my mind recently as I shopped for a dress for an upcoming opera premiere while wearing shorts, t-shirt, and a baseball cap. Actually, my husband and I don’t mind switching from our casual selves to dressed up versions for one night, and we’re looking forward to attending Opera Santa Barbara’s production of Séance on A Wet Afternoon, premiering September 26th. Still, it’s interesting to consider the range of topics suggested by facades.

Séance on A Wet Afternoon weaves itself around the subject area of illusion, deception, self-delusion, being “in denial”—the misty and twisted possibilities outside of straightforward thinking. The warped mindsets of the couple, Myra and Bill, in the movie version of Séance on A Wet Afternoon, captivated Stephen Schwartz when he first saw it. Years later, when he was commissioned by Opera Santa Barbara for a new opera, he thought Séance would be ideal as source material for something tragic. [Read more about the opera]

As I ponder the kidnapping deception plot of the movie and opera, I can’t help but think of news reports of recent months and years.  I think of master deceiver Bernie Madoff, and of politicians who create facades as model citizens and prove otherwise in their actions. And so it’s not surprising that an artist like Stephen Schwartz should want to depict deception. He has already touched on the topic in Wicked in terms of the Wizard of Oz. His original angle on Wicked was to create a musical that showed how “things are not what they seem.”

There’s another twist on the theme in Séance. Unlike Bernie Madoff, who apparently fully cognizant of the rules he was breaking, Myra doesn’t get what she’s doing wrong. She is in denial about the criminal nature of the kidnapping plan and only focuses on how to bring acclaim to her skills as a medium by revealing the location of the kidnapped child. She believes what she’s doing is legitimate. AND she thinks she’s better at her mediumship than she actually is—she is also self-deceived.

She is much like Claude Frollo in Disney’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame, for whom Schwartz wrote the lyrics for the song “Hellfire.” Frollo is the dark antagonist character who is personally haunted by his repressed desire for the gypsy Esmeralda. Writing the lyric, Schwartz has Frollo sing a prayer while saying “you know I’m so much purer than the common, vulgar, weak, licentious crowd.” Not so! He blames Esmeralda’s “witchcraft” for his own passion’s fire. He tries to destroy her.

Schwartz claims that Frollo was a delight to write for. As quoted in the biography Defying Gravity: The Creative Career of Stephen Schwartz, from Godspell to Wicked, Schwartz says, “My favorite character I have ever written is Frollo, who is probably the most despicable human being in anything I’ve done; I love him as a character. He was so totally self-justifying and in such denial of his own true motives. It was really fun to go to dark places in myself I would never let myself do in real life. It made me understand why actors love to play villains.”

I’m sure Stephen Schwartz has also relished writing for Myra. He has commented that the movie’s characters struck him as operatic. Myra’s “intense neediness,” for example, “seemed very worthy of being sung, but at the same time, she is covering a lot of what’s really going on inside her with the veneer of calm and pleasantness.” [Comments quoted on a New York City Opera VOX Showcase video documenting his process for Séance.]

The opera depicts a difficult subject and is not meant as a feel-good show. We might consider it a kind of cautionary tale both for the times we live in and for the webs we spin for ourselves.

Says Daniel J. Boorstin about human psychology: “We suffer primarily not from our vices or our weaknesses, but from our illusions. We are haunted, not by reality, but by those images we have put in place of reality.”

Another Father’s Day brings a reminder of the touching song “Fathers and Sons” from the musical Working, which explores the complex emotions in father-son relationships. In the podcast that I’ll be linking to below, Schwartz comments on what he believes may be common patterns. “…When you’re young you idealize your father and he’s your hero; and then as you come into your teenage years and you become more realistic about who your father is, the fact that he has flaws is devastating in some way.”

To write the song, Stephen called to mind some of his feelings about his father, Stan, and also about his own son, Scott Schwartz.

The photo shows Stephen and Scott, a portrait taken at the time of a workshop production of Stephen’s first opera. Scott directed the workshop and will direct the final production in Sept/Oct 2009.

Here are links to relevant pages on the Internet:

Fathers and Sons Blog post/Podcast including an interview with songwriter Stephen Schwartz.
http://www.theschwartzscene.com/blog/2007/11/07/working-the-musical/

Defying Gravity - Stephen Schwartz biography that includes the whole behind-the-scenes story of the making of Working, not to mention some cute photos of his kids. http://www.defyinggravitythebook.com/

Detailed website page about the musical Working that includes the song, “Fathers and Sons”
http://www.musicalschwartz.com/working.htm

SCHWARTZ-RELATED EVENTS AND HONORS APRIL to AUGUST 2009

Posted April 19, 2009 by Carol de Giere, author of Defying Gravity: The Creative Career of Stephen Schwartz from Godspell to Wicked

This will be a LONG blog post because there are so many events for and about Broadway songwriter Stephen Schwartz. He will be honored in New York and Pittsburgh, and will appear in events in Kentucky, New York, California, and Connecticut.

Also, I’m speaking at several Schwartz-related events during which I’ll be sharing stories from my book. Some of the original cast members I interviewed will be sharing Schwartz songs at my events. See details below.

By the way, if you haven’t seen Schwartz’s biggest hit musical, Wicked, the tour schedule has been expanding - soon Wicked will be everywhere. So click around the Wicked home page at http://www.musicalschwartz.com/wicked.htm

2009-2010 North American Tour Cities announced in the press so far: Austin, Charlotte, Dayton, Denver, Des Moines, Durham, Greenville, Indianapolis, Jacksonville, Kansas City, Memphis, Nashville, Norfolk, Omaha, Providence, Richmond, Salt Lake City, San Antonio, San Diego, Schenectady, Seattle, Tempe, Tulsa, Wichita

SCHWARTZ HONORS - SPRING 2009

OPERA MAY 1st

Stephen Schwartz was honored to have his opera selected for partial performance by the New York City Opera as part of a 10th anniversary celebration.

Schedule Friday, May 1

All events are free, but reservations are highly recommended. http://vox-nyco.com/html/current.html

To read more about the opera, see our previous blog post http://www.theschwartzscene.com/blog/2007/04/23/schwartz-opera-and-wicked/

RICHARD RODGERS AWARD May 9, 2009 Pittsburgh, PA

Award-winning composer and lyricist and Carnegie Mellon University graduate Stephen Schwartz will be the 12th recipient of the Richard Rodgers Award for Excellence in Musical Theater.

Established in 1988, the award recognizes the lifetime contributions of outstanding talents in musical theater. Awardees have included Mary Martin (1988), Dame Julie Andrews (1989), Harold Prince (1991), Cameron Mackintosh (1992), Stephen Sondheim (1993), Andrew Lloyd Webber (1996), Gwen Verdon (2000), Bernadette Peters (2002), Shirley Jones (2007), Kathleen Marshall (2008) and Rob Marshall (2008).

The Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera, along with the families of Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II and the Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization, will present the award to Schwartz at Civic Light Opera Guild’s Pink Frolic Ball on May 9 at the Omni William Penn Hotel, Downtown. The evening includes a gala dinner with performances honoring Schwartz’s career. Composer, author, and screenwriter Mary Rodgers Guettel, who composed a song for Schwartz’s 1978 Broadway musical “Working” and is the daughter of the late Richard Rodgers, will present the award. For information on tickets for the presentation, contact Stephanie Snyder at 412-281-3973, ext. 234.

Songwriters Hall of Fame Induction June 18, 2009

Tony Award nominees Stephen Schwartz, best known for smash stage hits including Wicked, and Galt MacDermot, James Rado and the late Gerome Ragni, all of the soon-to-be-revived Hair, will be inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame on June 18, 2009. The ceremony for the honorees will take place at the Marriott Marquis Hotel, marking the 40th anniversary of the Hall of Fame. The tunesmiths will join such famed inductees as Bob Dylan, Billy Joel, Sir Elton John, Bernie Taupin, Cy Coleman and Hal David, among many others.

The Songwriters Hall of Fame was founded in 1969 by Johnny Mercer, Abe Olman and Howie Richmond. The organization works to educate the public about the work of great songwriters, producing a spectrum of professional programs devoted to the development of new talent through workshops, showcases and scholarships.

Schwartz Becomes President of Dramatists Guild

On March 19, 2009, it was announced that Stephen Schwartz has become the president of the Dramatists Guild of America, the national association of playwrights, composers and lyricists. Schwartz commented: “I’m extremely honored my fellow dramatists have chosen me to be the president of their Guild. On behalf of all of my fellow Guild members, I would like to thank John Weidman [former president] and Marsha Norman [former vice president] and the other officers for their amazingly productive work and the dedication that they’ve shown over the last ten years. I hope to continue to move the Guild forward in the direction they have led and to try to live up to their very high standards.”

EVENTS

April 20th, at 7:00 p.m. “May the Schwartz Be With You” concert at Don’t Tell Mama

Here’s our press release for a very special NYC event. Stephen won’t be there but many great singers will be:

Broadway originals Carole Demas, Teri Ralston and Dale Soules will be joined by Carol de Giere, author of Defying Gravity: The Creative Career of Stephen Schwartz from Godspell to Wicked in a truly memorable evening of song and stories.

This show presents three true Broadway luminaries with unrivaled pedigree. Carole Demas is known to all as Sandy in the original production of Grease, as well as Genevieve in the original production of The Baker’s Wife. Teri Ralston comes to us from the original companies of Company, A Little Night Music, as well as The Baker’s Wife. Dale Soules starred opposite Doug Henning in the original cast of The Magic Show, and played Big Edie in Grey Gardens on Broadway.

This all-star line up is joined by Shorey Walker, Kathleen Hennesy, Lara Janine, James Reimer, Natalie Ryder, and a performance by The Treats featuring Brooke Lyn Hetrick, Katie Danielowski & Emily Zempel. Musical direction is by BJ Gandolfo. Morgan LaVere is directing.

Project Open, the outreach program for Lincoln Towers’ elder residents and their families, provides a range of social, educational and assistance programs regardless of income. From counseling, social activities and referral services to assistance with grocery shopping, home delivery of meals or aid in securing home and long term care, Project Open provides essential services to help older residents live with comfort and dignity in their own homes.

May The Schwartz Be With You, plays Don’t Tell Mama on Monday, April 20th, at 7:00 p.m. Don’t Tell Mama is located at 343 West 46th Street. There is a $25 cover charge, and a two drink minimum. All proceeds will go to benefit Project Open. Reservations required. Phone 212-757-0788 (after 4:00 PM daily).

Louisville, Kentucky May 2

“Wicked” composer Stephen Schwartz will attend the Kentucky Derby and perform a concert after the race for the Louisville-based charity Operation Open Arms. Schwartz will be joined in the concert by his wife and other singers who will come with him to Kentucky (including Liz Callaway).

For information on this event see Kentucky article

May 9, The Creativity of Stephen Schwartz: Tarrytown, NY

Photo: Author Carol de Giere speaking about her book.

MAY 9 EVENT: Carol de Giere, Carole Demas, and Lara Janine are appearing from 3:30 to 4:30 pm as part of the “Third Annual Meet The Authors @ Warner Library, Readings, Signings & Discussions.”

Carol de Giere, author of Defying Gravity: The Creative Career of Stephen Schwartz from Godspell to Wicked, will share behind the scenes stories. Carole Demas, known for her role as “Sandy” in the original production of Grease, as well as Genevieve in the original production of The Baker’s Wife, will perform the original “Meadowlark” and also “With You” from Pippin. Lara Janine, who performed the role of Elphaba in production of Wicked in Japan, will sing “The Wizard and I” and “Defying Gravity” at this event.

Photo: Lara Janine

It will be a full day of readings, signings, Q&A and Broadway musical numbers on May 9th at Warner Library in Tarrytown as 13 local authors and poets come together to share their stories and broaden your horizons. Check later on the Warner Library site for details: Warner Library Tarrytown

May 16, 2009 Schwartz at Andrea Marcovicci’s 60th Birthday Concert - Town Hall.

Join three-time Academy Award winner, Stephen Schwartz (Wicked) and Grammy award-winner Julie Gold, along with other noted ASCAP composers Francesca Blumenthal, John Bucchino, Craig Carnelia, Babbie Green, and Christine Lavin and as they celebrate Andrea’s dedication to the Great American Songbook. The evening not only includes contemporary songs from these guest artists but Andrea performs classic standards from Irving Berlin, Cole Porter, Johnny Mercer, and more. The Town Hall is located in Manhattan at 123 West 43rd Street. TICKETS: Ticketmaster for Town Hall concert or call (212) 307-4100

May 29 - Schwartz appears in Danbury CT

“Musicals at Richter”, Connecticut’s longest running outdoor summer theatre located in Danbury, Connecticut, will be celebrating its 25th season of Broadway musicals “under the stars” with a pre-season gala featuring award winning composer, Stephen Schwartz, as their very special musical guest. One of “Musicals at Richter’s” 25th season productions will be Mr. Schwartz’s own Children of Eden

The gala event, “25 Summers Under the Stars” will be held at The Amber Room Colonnade in Danbury, CT on May 29, 2009. There will be a performance by Stephen Schwartz (including a selection from Children of Eden), as well as music and entertainment provided by “Musicals at Richter” performers and alumni. A very special evening, indeed! Please visit M.A.R.’s website for more information on the 25th anniversary season and to buy your tickets now (either online or by check) to this very special event. Visit: www.musicalsatrichter.org

August 2009 in Los Angeles
Upright Cabaret’s Wicked Summer Nights includes Espinosa, Bean, and Stephen Schwartz

Beyond the Yellow Brick Road at the Ford Amphitheater.

A trio of shows directed by Billy Porter that celebrate life beyond the Wicked stage, starring pivotal figures who have created and defined this musical phenomenon. Former Elphabas Shoshana Bean and Eden Espinosa will be performing their own shows followed by a special cabaret with Stephen Schwartz.

• –Shoshana Bean: A Happening at the Ford. Thu. June 11 at 8:30 p.m
• –Eden Espinosa: ME. Fri. July 24 at 8:30 p.m.
• –Stephen Schwartz: Making Good. On Sun. August 23 at 7:30 p.m, Oscar and Grammy award-winner Stephen Schwartz presents a sneak peak of his new opera while Upright Cabaret All-Stars interpret some of his hits from productions such as Pippin and Wicked.

Wicked cabarets in LA - Ford Amphitheter Presented by Chris Isaacson and Shane Schee

RECENT PAST EVENTS

Photo: Godspell movie star Katie Hanley made plans with me to surprise Stephen when he came to Chicago for a January book signing. She and Stephen went to college together at Carnegie Mellon University in the 1960s. She’s holding my book.

In January, Stephen and I also spoke in San Francisco at the Museum of Performance and design where we also signed autographs for Defying Gravity.

KEEP UP WITH SCHWARTZ AND WICKED

The Schwartz Scene quarterly newsletter provides more detailed information about Schwartz’s schedule and also the latest news from Wicked and other shows. If you have not yet signed up for this free newsletter/ezine, or if you didn’t get a recent issue, please fill in the form at http://www.musicalschwartz.com/newsletter.htm

Stephen Schwartz, songwriter for Wicked, Godspell, and other musicals, helped launch the new book Defying Gravity at Barnes and Noble in October 2008. Photo by Terence de Giere

Meet Stephen in Los Angeles - Star-filled Event Monday November 24th, 2008

UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL with STEPHEN SCHWARTZ, an Actor’s Fund benefit event in the lobby of the Pantages Theatre with an opportunity to meet and mingle. Starring: Stephen Schwartz, Jason Alexander, Susan Eagan, Jason Graae, Debbie Gravitte,Karen Morrow, Hila Plitmann, plus a few surprises!

Moderated by Michael A Kerker, Musical Director Georgia Stitt

7:30 pm Cocktail reception
8:30 pm Performance
Post show dessert reception with the performers

Tickets: $125 per person

www.actorsfund.org/performances/current/musicalmondays_10-2008

Schwartz Opera Reading November 21 and 22, 2008 in New York

New Yorkers get early listen of first opera by Stephen Schwartz, Séance on a Wet Afternoon American Opera Projects hosts New York workshop November 21 & 22. Opera Santa Barbara to present world premiere in 2009.

After each performance, audience members who make an additional donation of $100 dollars will be given the opportunity to attend a reception with the composer and cast of Séance on a Wet Afternoon. Find out more about the opera and any opera events on www.musicalschwartz.com/schwartz-opera.htm

Defying Gravity events coming up in San Francisco, Chicago, Washington DC

I’ve been lucky to have Stephen Schwartz contribute songs and stories as part of book signing events with me in Los Angeles and New York for my new book Defying Gravity: The Creative Career of Stephen Schwartz, from Godspell to Wicked. I’m currently planning 2009 events for San Francisco, Chicago, and Washington DC. These will also include a chance to say hello to Stephen and hear him play some of his tunes. To stay current, please consider subscribing to The Schwartz Scene newsletter or check here or the events page on www.defyinggravitythebook.com/

Defying Gravity autographed copies for holiday gifts

I’m selling a limited number of autographed copies of this first authorized career biography of Schwartz signed by both of Stephen Schwartz and myself (as author). Did you know that the book also includes over 200 photographs and illustrations, such as handwritten music from “The Wicked Witch of The East” song from Wicked, a new music for a segment of Godspell, and more? Please write to carol@defyinggravitythebook.com if you’re interested and visit the “About the Book” section of the book site: www.defyinggravitythebook.com/ to learn more.

Listen to the podcast by clicking the arrow button immediately below (Internet Explorer and Opera browser users click the button twice):

Full Transcript of the Podcast:

Carol de Giere: Welcome to The Schwartz Scene, first podcast. It’s April in 2007. I’m Carol de Giere and with me is Broadway and film songwriter Stephen Schwartz. Stephen, you’re working on your first full opera now [Opera project details]. Could you tell everybody just how long you’ve been an opera fan?

Stephen Schwartz: Well I’ve really been conscious of being an opera fan since college when one of my roommates introduced me to opera. I heard La Boheme and got very enamored of first Puccini, and then some of the Russian operas, and then Wagner and the more contemporary operas, and really started listening to opera a great deal. I’ve been told by my parents that when I was two or something like that, they had a recording of, they think it was Boris Gudenov, which is interesting because that’s still my favorite opera, and there was a soprano aria that I really liked and that I used to call the “high lady.” My mother has said that I used to say I wanted to listen to the “high lady.” Of course I have no memory of that. (photo credit - Stephen Schwartz in 2006, photo by Mark Rupp from a party in 2006)

Carol de Giere: I’ve noticed that you’ve shown some influences of Puccini. I wonder if you could talk about any specific examples.

Stephen Schwartz: One that I’ve often cited is that Alan Menken and I based the song “Hellfire” in The Hunchback of Notre Dame, not musically but more conceptually, on the end of the first act of Tosca, which has the villain singing about his nefarious plans while a chorus of worshippers is singing in church at the same time. And of course in “Hellfire” we do the exact same thing. That was a conscious choice. Alan and I talked about it and I said we should do the end of the first act of Tosca here, that’s what this should be. Of course musically it has absolutely no resemblance.

I think you can hear influences of Puccini in stuff that I’ve done, and others too. Sometimes it’s deliberately pastiche. “Bravo Stromboli!” in Geppetto is a complete pastiche of Rossini, the famous Figaro aria from The Barber of Seville. In fact I asked the orchestrator, Martin Erskine, to completely ape in his orchestrations for “Bravo Stromboli!” the exact orchestra make-up that Rossini used for The Barber of Seville. So there’s lots of little opera influences poking around in things.

Carol de Giere: In Wicked your songs “No One Mourns the Wicked” and “No Good Deed” have really strenuous vocal requirements that apparently are like that required for an opera singer. I wonder if you could reminisce about writing those, and compare it with what you’re doing now. Talk about the requirements for this kind of work.

Stephen Schwartz: Obviously “No Good Deed” is, I think, pretty close to an opera aria. It’s just written for a different voice type, and it’s not written to be sung unamplified. So those are the two big differences. I mean, “No Good Deed” is written for a belter—I suppose a mezzo soprano could sing it. But the orchestra is so busy and obstreperous throughout that you have to have an amplified voice to carry over it, if you want to hear the words at all. But for instance there’s a moment in “No Good Deed” where she belts a big note and then there’s a place where it suddenly gets pianissimo—she has to hit the note very loud and hold it, and then get very soft—and that’s absolutely like something one would write in classical singing or an opera aria.

Or the moment where she does “Nessa, Doctor Dillamond,” and then sort of shouts out “Fiyero” while the orchestra is sawing away at one of the motifs. I think it’s structured very much like an aria but it’s built to get a great big hand at the end with a big belted last note. So it’s still very much musical theatre.

“No One Mourns the Wicked” —that’s just written for a soprano, the Glinda stuff. But yeah, it does get up there. It’s interesting, I’d written that before I really started working on the opera, and one of the things that has been interesting and surprising for me as I work with opera voices is that sometimes it’s easier for them to sing higher. In retrospect I might have actually set “No One Mourns the Wicked” higher. It might have been easier to hit the soprano notes than where they are.

Carol de Giere: I wanted to have you talk about what it’s like to work on a really long piece, and particularly with this creative concern of moving between the big forest and the trees. In your case you’re working on an individual song, but you have to keep in mind the entire piece: the musical, the opera, and the whole storyline. And you’ve quoted before from Tom Jones who wrote a book called Making Musicals. He said, “Everything is more important than anything.” So why do you think that’s true with operas and musicals. [Read all about books like Making Musicals on MusicalWriters.com]

Stephen Schwartz: I think it’s true for any dramatic work, whether it’s musical theatre or opera or musical movie or whatever. You can’t fall in love with any piece of it if it’s not serving the whole, which is what I think Tom Jones means by that. That’s why sometimes the best songs get cut from a musical because they’re not serving the whole story and the whole dramatic structure.

Carol de Giere: How do you find that out? You just watch it over time? I mean because you’re working in the part, but then…?

Stephen Schwartz: Yeah, exactly right. I think that you sort of go into this little section and you try to do something that will work for that particular moment, and of course you keep in mind the overall structure, but sometimes you’re wrong. And then when you step back and you hear it within the whole context, it doesn’t work, and then you have to lose it or change it.

Carol de Giere: Is that one reason why testing your work along the way is so important?

Stephen Schwartz: Absolutely. I mean for me it is. For instance with the opera now, I’m simply trying to get through a first draft of the first act, and I have no idea what this is going to sound like and feel like when it’s all put together. Obviously I know what the individual pieces are going to sound like, but what the cumulative effect is going to be, I have no idea. And once I get through this draft, then I’m going to do a workshop where I’ll hear the first act, and I’m sure there are going to be a lot of unpleasant discoveries and rude awakenings, and then maybe there will be some stuff that works better than I anticipate. Obviously I’m trying to keep the whole in mind, and I tend to write motifically anyway, so there are things that keep recurring and themes that get reused and sometimes they’re sung and sometimes they’re played in what will be the orchestra while the character is singing something else, and the fact that motif is occurring gives you information about the emotional state of the character, and all that stuff.

Obviously that’s not accidental that that happens, but it’s very hard, at least for me, to have a real perception of what the cumulative effect of an entire act is until I hear it.

Carol de Giere: You were very fortunate with Wicked to have so many readings and workshops.

Stephen Schwartz: Fortune had nothing to do with it. That’s the process.

Carol de Giere: What was needed.

Stephen Schwartz: Absolutely. That’s the process. I don’t know how to do it any other way.

Carol de Giere: So when and where will we hear this opera?

Stephen Schwartz: 2009, it’s supposed to premier in, I believe, October of 2009 for Opera Santa Barbara.

Carol de Giere: Great. Thank you very much.

Stephen Schwartz: You’re welcome. Thank you.

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For more opera info see www.musicalschwartz.com/schwartz-opera.htm

This podcast is part of the Schwartz Scene newsletter covering the world of Stephen Schwartz. To find out more visit www.TheSchwartzScene.com

NOTE to Current Subscribers: TheSchwartzScene.com is our new subscription and information site. The newsletter is still brought to you by www.MusicalSchwartz.com.
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