The Schwartz Scene Blog

His name now appears in gold on the wall of Broadway’s Gershwin Theatre, where Wicked has played since 2003. Composer Stephen Schwartz was inducted into the Theatre Hall of Fame on January 25, 2010. (Photo by Michael Cole.)

Schwartz formulated his dream of writing musical scores when he was a nine-year-old child watching a Broadway show for the first time. After writing four original shows in college, he had expectations for a successful career. He naturally hoped that his contribution would be acknowledged by his peers. He missed out on Tony Awards, and his work was often dismissed by critics.

This recent induction is a rare honor that Schwartz greatly appreciates. It is reserved for those with five Broadway credits to their name, whose work on Broadway encompasses at least a quarter of a century, and who are chosen by the membership for the Hall of Fame. For more about his Broadway shows, see
Godspell
The Magic Show
Pippin
Rags
Wicked
Working

Friday, March 5, Stephen Schwartz and Friends in Concert - New Canaan CT

Stephen Schwartz, Grammy Award, Academy Award and Drama Desk Award winning superstar composer and lyricist,  (Wicked, Pippin, Godspell & Disney Movies) will perform a concert with his friend and Broadway Tony Winner Debbie Gravitte and Broadway & Concert Singer and Actor Scott Coulter to benefit this regional theater company. Summer Theatre of New Canaan. Also meet Stephen, Scott, and Debbie at a special post concert reception. Schwartz Biographer Carol de Giere will also be there selling copies of Defying Gravity autographed by Schwartz. (photo by Maryann Lopinto)

Snapshots

Celebrated composer and lyricist Stephen Schwartz will host a “talk-back” after the 2pm matinee performance of SNAPSHOTS, A Musical Scrapbook on February 6th at Lyric Theatre.  This event is free of charge, but reservations are required.  To reserve a seat, call (405) 524-9312.   To read about the production go to: Snapshots in OK  or read more about Snapshots at

Snapshots

Newsletter

To stay updated on Schwartz’s activities and career, and on the forthcoming Broadway revival of Godspell, subscribe to The Schwartz Scene newsletter. 

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

5:00pm	Roundtable Discussion: All 11 composers featured in VOX 2009 Moderator: Yuval Sharon, Project Director
7:00pm-8:10pm	Katrina Ballads, Ted Hearne No Easy Walk to Freedom, Chandler Carter
8:30pm-9:30pm	Mosheh, Yoav Gal The Rat Land, Gordon Beeferman & Charlotte Jackson
9:50pm-10:30pm	Séance on a Wet Afternoon, Stephen Schwartz

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

This January, Stephen Schwartz and I will be reprising our presentation from October 30th in two new locations: Chicago and San Francisco. See details below.

PHOTO:

Wearing lime green on Wicked’s 5th Anniversary October 30th, 2008, Stephen Schwartz came out to Barnes and Noble in New York City near Lincoln Center to talk about his songwriting process. The gathered audience of about 220 people listened to him play “Corner of the Sky” and “For Good.”

That’s me, the bird perched on the stool. I prompted Stephen with questions related to things that he and I discussed over the years I was writing Defying Gravity: The Creative Career of Stephen Schwartz, from Godspell to Wicked.

I managed to catch a corner of Stephen’s busy schedule to fit in the two upcoming events.

I’ll put the details in here in press release form. Note that the Skokie event is early evening so you can still make it to Wicked or another show that night. Stephen himself plans to attend Wicked that evening - the last time he’ll see the Chicago production before it closes on January 25th.

Meet Wicked’s Stephen Schwartz in Skokie Illinois

Two weeks before Wicked closes after its long run in Chicago, the show’s composer/lyricist Stephen Schwartz will appear in Skokie on January 10, 2009, with host Carol de Giere, author of Defying Gravity: The Creative Career of Stephen Schwartz from Godspell to Wicked. Schwartz will discuss his work, answer questions and perform several of his songs at Barnes & Noble Booksellers, 55 Old Orchard Center in Skokie at 5:30 pm. He will join Ms. de Giere in autographing the book, and will also sign other memorabilia for those who purchase the book.

Defying Gravity takes readers behind the scenes for the making of Schwartz-related musicals from Godspell in 1971 through Wicked in 2003. The Wicked section of the book spans 150 pages and covers the story of the show’s developmental stages.

Schwartz, whose hit musicals Pippin, The Magic Show, and Wicked have each run more than 1900 performances on Broadway, also holds three Academy Awards. He recently received a Grammy Award nomination for songs for Disney’s Enchanted, which he wrote with Alan Menken.

 

Stephen Schwartz In Conversation and Song in San Francisco

Monday, January 26, 2009 at 7:00 pm

Stephen Schwartz, composer-lyricist of the international blockbuster musical Wicked, will appear for an evening of conversation, song, and book signing at the Museum of Performance & Design (MPD) as Wicked returns home to San Francisco on January 27 for an open-ended engagement at the Orpheum Theatre. In conversation with host Carol de Giere, author of the new biography Defying Gravity: The Creative Career of Stephen Schwartz from Godspell to Wicked, Schwartz will describe some of his songwriting methods, answer questions about his work and the making of Wicked, and perform several of his popular pieces at the piano. Following the presentation, he will join Ms. de Giere in autographing the book.

The event takes place on Monday, January 26, 2009 at 7:00 pm at the Museum of Performance & Design (MPD), located on the Fourth Floor of the Veterans Building, 401 Van Ness Avenue (@ McAllister) in San Francisco. Admission is free, but space is limited and reservations are recommended — call 415-255-4800, ext. *810. For more information, visit the Museum’s website, www.mpdsf.org. Book sales for this event are courtesy of Books, Inc. in Opera Plaza (www.booksinc.net).

Defying Gravity takes readers behind the scenes for the making of Schwartz-related musicals from Godspell in 1971 through Wicked in 2003. The Wicked section of the book spans 150 pages and covers the story of the show’s developmental stages. More information is available on the book’s website at www.defyinggravitythebook.com

In 2008 at age sixty, Stephen Schwartz reached a new threshold. In July, Wicked passed Pippin and The Magic Show in number of continuous performances on Broadway. All three have run over 1900 performances, making Schwartz the only songwriter in Broadway history with three shows that have reached this milestone. He also holds three Academy Awards. He recently received a Grammy Award nomination for songs for Disney’s Enchanted, which he wrote with Alan Menken. Come meet this living legend.

Wicked, the untold story of the witches of Oz, had its world premiere at San Francisco’s Curran Theatre on May 28, 2003. This opening followed a long development process during which the entire creative team and cast immersed themselves in the brand-new material at the Curran Theatre to launch a spectacular phenomenon that has since redefined theatrical pop culture. Since having its official Broadway opening at the Gershwin Theatre on October 30, 2003, Wicked has been sold out at virtually every performance, breaking house records with box office receipts of over $1.4 million per week. It has been called “Broadway’s biggest blockbuster” by the New York Times and “a cultural phenomenon” by Variety. Wicked returns home to San Francisco on January 27 for an open-ended engagement at the Orpheum Theatre.

MORE ABOUT WICKED

Read all about Wicked on my Stephen Schwartz fan site Wicked pages!

http://www.musicalschwartz.com/wicked.htm

ShowBusiness: The Road to Broadway

The new DVD ShowBusiness is a “must have” for Wicked fans. In this blog post you’ll find many details about the DVD that may help you decide about buying it, or get more from your viewing once you have it.

To order the DVD at a discount price, go to: Show Business - The Road to Broadway

ABOUT SHOWBUSINESS: THE ROAD TO BROADWAY

This documentary offers a behind-the-scenes look at what it takes for producers, writers, actors, designers, marketing teams to develop and deliver Broadway shows. From the press release: “Allowed unprecedented backstage access, director Dori Berinstein casts a camera’s eye on rehearsals, backstage dramas, and the mysteriously wondrous creative process.” With its running time of 104 minutes, a full-length Audio Commentary, and over 60 minutes of extras, it will take you several sittings to savor everything.

You will feel like a Broadway insider by the time you

• watch the main feature’s back stage clips and interviews with actors and producers who speak about the 2003/2004 Broadway season as they make it happen,
• go back and play the Audio Commentary by director Dori Berinstein, actor Alan Cumming & Avenue Q co-creator Jeff Marx (especially note their comments about the New York Posts’ trouble-making columnist Michael Reidel as well as the other Broadway critics),
• watch the additional clips including over 60 minutes of Deleted Scenes, Tony Award® Promotional Spots, and a trailer,
• step into the recording studio with Stephen Schwartz, Kristin Chenoweth, and others as they record “Popular” for the Wicked cast album (that’s part of the main feature, chapter 10),
• listen to critics chatting on about their prejudices, likes and dislikes, and their often-wrong predictions for the Broadway season 2003/2004.

Note: this is not for the very young or faint hearted, as swear words are not withheld and it shows how really tough the Broadway life can sometimes be.

Wicked special feature: Stephen Schwartz allowed the filmmakers to come to Connecticut to record footage both in his home office and his upstairs studio. In the studio footage, Stephen plays some of the first chords he wrote for Wicked and then shows how they became the accompaniment for “No Good Deed.” [Read more about Wicked composer-lyricist Stephen Schwartz] [Read more about No Good Deed]

THINGS TO NOTE ONCE YOU HAVE THE SHOWBUSINESS DVD AT HOME

For the section mentioned above in Stephen’s home, the photo at the piano is of his agent, Shirley Bernstein, who was Leonard Bernstein’s sister. Schwartz attributes much of his career success to the connections with producers that she made for him. The studio space you see there is where he wrote most of the songs for Wicked.

One of the best clips is easy to miss. It’s in the DVD Special Feature sections about Tony Awards. Play the part about “The Nominees” to hear funny stories about what the Tony nominees were doing when they found out they had been nominated. You will see Winnie Holzman and Stephen Schwartz joking and laughing as they did during their work on Wicked. It’s a great mini-portrait of the cheerier side of show business. Their sense of humor certainly contributed to the success of the show. [Read more about the Wicked script and the playful vocabulary.]

In November 2003 after Wicked opened, Stephen Schwartz lead the cast and orchestra through three days of recording sessions at Right Track Studio for the cast album. This photo is from one session when some press and friends were invited into the control room. On the left is Stephen’s assistant Michael Cole. Next is me, Carol de Giere, in the white turtleneck. I’m busily taking notes for an article about the cast recording session experience (I’ll let you know when that’s available.) In front is Stephen Schwartz. The Berinstein film captures a moment when Wicked’s composer is catching a wrong note being played by one violinist. Schwartz was born with perfect pitch and is obviously highly sensitive to music, as this clip reveals. This Wicked recording session clip also shows how recordings are made, with Kristin Chenoweth singing in a separate sound booth from the rest of the orchestra.

The DVD includes several scenes with Wicked and Avenue Q’s music director Stephen Oremus. [Read more about Stephen Oremus]

This photo of Idina Menzel was taken in the rehearsal room at 890 Broadway before Wicked traveled to San Francisco for the out-of-town try out. Idina is piecing together the script, integrating changes that had just been written. Idina joined the cast as the original Elphaba in the fall of 2001, so she had seen many revisions of the script by then.

Idina Menzel fans: Be sure to listen to the credits all the way through to the end. As the second song running over the credits, Idina sings “Lullaby of Broadway” in a special arrangement written especially for her voice. Also enjoy the Special Features clip of a tour through her dressing room at Wicked. This and other sections of Showsbusiness give audiences a feeling for what it’s like to prepare for a Broadway performance eight times a week.

Note that the spray painted green make up shown in SHOWBUSINESS was an early attempt to get green. Shortly after the clip was filmed, she switched to using make up that is painted on with brushes.

Read more about Idina Menzel

MORE NOTES

Was Dori Berinstein biased in choosing shows and material? When she directed the film, she had no idea how the season would play out. She ended up creating the film from over 250 hours of footage. She said she was inspired by William Goldman’s book, The Season, which tracked Broadway shows from 1967 to 1968. [The Season is one of Stephen Schwartz’s favorite book about theatre. Read about the making of musicals http://www.musicalwriters.com/resources/books/making-of-musicals.htm]

She told a Los Angeles reporter, “I wanted it to be a celebration about theater and the incredible talent onstage and behind the curtain. I wanted it to be really, really honest. It was a particularly brutal season.” Watching the Tony Award section of the film towards the end, Showbusiness comes off somewhat as a celebration of Avenue Q. But there is still plenty of material for theatre enthusiasts who appreciate the other shows. Once you listen to the audio commentary by Berinstein, you’ll feel her love and affection for all parts of the business of show.

This autumn, as Broadway’s Wicked approaches its 4th anniversary, the musical welcomes new leading ladies.

Stephanie J. Block joins the Broadway company of the Stephen Schwartz musical in the role of that green-faced witch Oct. 9, 2007, when Julia Murney exists after a long stint as Elphaba on Broadway and on the tour. The new Glinda as of October 9th is Annaleigh Ashford, who recently made her Broadway debut as Margot in Legally Blonde. The actress also understudied the role of Glinda in the show’s national tour. The original Madame Morrible, Carole Shelley, has returned to the Wicked cast on Broadway for the autumn.

Get tickets

http://www.musicalschwartz.com/wicked-nyc.htm

Read about Stephanie Block

http://www.musicalschwartz.com/recordings/block.htm

Wicked’s original Elphaba, Idina Menzel, performs in a concert in NYC in Sept. Info in the schedule section of http://www.musicalschwartz.com/recordings/menzel.htm

STEPHEN SCHWARTZ NEWS

Wicked’s composer-lyricist Stephen Schwartz will be out traveling and perhaps you will be able to say hello.

As noted in the previous blog post, Schwartz is being interviewed in New York City on “Stephen Schwartz Night” October 1st and also will be attending a giant tribute concert on the 19th, and he’ll be in Dayton, Ohio Sept. 20th. for Snapshots. Schwartz flies to Chicago October 12 and 13.

Here’s something new: He’s traveling to Pittsburgh around October 20th, for a reading of a new musical Alive at Ten presented as part of a collaboration with Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera, Carnegie-Mellon University, and ASCAP. There’s no info online yet so you’ll have to check later.

Schwartz is headed for the opening of Wicked in Germany in November. http://www.musicalschwartz.com/wicked-uk.htm has info on the International productions.

November 21st, 2007 Disney’s Enchanted opens in movie theaters, with songs by Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz. For comments on Menken and Schwartz’s collaborative efforts, see http://www.musicalschwartz.com/disney-movies-enchanted.htm

To Stay updated about Schwartz’s activities, be sure and subscribe to The Schwartz Scene http://www.theschwartzscene.com/ quarterly email newsletter, and keep checking back on this blog.

Songwriter Stephen Schwartz is based in Connecticut, but he flies around the country almost as much as Elphaba flies in Wicked. He stays in touch with people who are involved with his newer shows, like Geppetto and Son. In the photo he is posing with cast members from a production of Geppetto and Son in Rockford, Illinois. That’s Alan Stevens as Geppetto and Jodi Lynn Beach as the Blue Fairy beside him. This stage musical for family audiences will soon available for licensing from Music Theatre International. For info the Rockford production and more photos, see

http://www.musicalschwartz.com/geppetto-and-son-rockford.htm

Here’s a list of upcoming events in New York, LA, Pittsburgh, Daytona, Chicago where you might Meet songwriter Stephen Schwartz. (Who is Stephen Schwartz? Read all about the songwriter of Wicked, Godspell, Pippin, and other shows at http://www.musicalschwartz.com/schwartz.htm)

October 1st, 2007 New York City. Songwriter Sean Hartley, in association with the Kaufman Center, has organized an evening with Stephen Schwartz that will include Sean’s interview with Stephen, as well as Stephen’s performance of some of his songs. Other singers will be featured, including Debbie Gravitte and Liz Calloway. It will be held in a theater facility on the ground floor of the new Renzo Piano-designed New York Times building, at 242 West 41st Street (entrance on 41st St. between 7th and 8th Avenues). For tickets and more info see:

http://www.kaufman-center.org/tc/mch0708/bcu.php

A TRIBUTE TO STEPHEN SCHWARTZ Friday, October 19th, 8 pm. at The Town Hall in New York City

This special Friday night concert will feature Stephen Schwartz songs sung by stars like Judy Kuhn, Liz Callaway, and Lari White. It is directed by Stephen’s friend Scott Coulter and will be attended by Stephen Schwartz. Then Saturday night is a Betty Buckley concert, so its a good weekend to come into the city. Town Hall Tickets and Info

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Los Angeles: Stephen Schwartz Tribute: July 30th, 8:30 pm Eleven Restaurant, west hollywood, California”Changed For Good” - An Intimate Evening with Stephen Schwartz.
NOTE ADDED LATER: This event is over but there’s a nice write up of it at http://www.broadwayworld.com/viewcolumn.cfm?colid=20441

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Chicago: October 12 and 13, 2007 Stephen Schwartz and Gregory Maguire will be in Chicago October 12 and 13 joining a benefit event for the Ragdale Foundation. They will be available to chat during a cocktail reception on the 12th starting at 6 pm and will be attending the gourmet dinner on the 13th - both events are in Lake Bluff/Lake Forest area. The $400 entry fee includes both events. To reserve your place call Marianne at 847-234-1063 ext 201. (Read more about Wicked novelist Gregory Maguire at http://www.musicalschwartz.com/wicked-maguire.htm)

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Daytona Beach, FL: Snapshots - A “New” Musical (Revue) from Stephen Schwartz with book by David Stern: Playing July 26 - August 19 at Seaside Music Theater, the only professional theater in the Daytona Beach/Volusia County Florida. Note- It seems that Stephen will be there at the beginning, so you might catch him if you go early. Snapshots in DaytonaOn preview night, July 26, there will probably be a pre-performance coctail reception and talk by Stephen Schwartz and David Stern. Please contact Kelli Beasley at 386-226-1936 if you are interested in coming to the event. Songs come from Godspell, Pippin, The Magic Show, The Baker’s Wife, Working, Personals, Children of Eden, Stephen’s personal CDs, and Wicked.

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Pittsburgh: The 2007/2008 Riverview Series is expanding to a monthly series of national artists which kicks off with a double bill of Stephen Schwartz, composer of Broadway’s Wicked, and his colleague, singer, and marketing guru, Lee Lessack on Friday, August 31st, 2007….This season we offer participants the chance to sing their favorite Schwartz song with the composer himself accompanying them in a master class entitled “Connecting the Singer to the Songwriter.” This is scheduled for Saturday, September 1, 2007 in the morning hours… For more info see www.cabaretpgh.orgNote that Stephen may also be in Pittsburgh later in the fall for an ASCAP related function involving the Pittsburgh Playhouse.

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Dayton Ohio: SNAPSHOTS
Stephen plans to attend this show as well, probably towards the beginning of the run.
September 20 – October 7, 2007 SERIES 1&2
The Human Race and Victoria Theatre Association http://humanracetheatre.org/snapshots.htm

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Are you ready for a luxury Mediterranean cruise with Stephen Schwartz? See our Broadway by Sea Cruise pagehttp://www.musicalschwartz.com/broadway-cruise.htm

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Watch for more updates in August, and don’t most the previous two podcasts with Stephen Schwartz.

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A note from Carol de Giere added in 2009. My book Defying Gravity (Applause 2008), includes a version of the following transcript and much more detail about the genesis of the musical (a full 150 pages). The podcast posted below allows you to hear the story from Stephen. For the full history of the musical, please see Defying Gravity: http://www.defyinggravitythebook.com/

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 2^nd podcast from The Schwartz Scene website and blog at www.theschwartzscene.com. I’m Carol de Giere. Today you’ll hear from Wicked’s composer-lyricist Stephen Schwartz as he discusses his discovery of the novel Wicked and the arrangements he needed to make to adapt it.

In the past Schwartz has been involved with such adaptations as Working, a musical based on Studs Terkel’s collection of interviews and Children of Eden, an adaptation of the first chapters of the Book of Genesis. Back in 1996 when he first heard about the novel Wicked, he had just finished writing songs for The Prince of Egypt, a film adaptation of the biblical story of Moses, and had recently completed lyrics for Disney’s adaptation of Victor Hugo’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame. So he was somewhat in the habit of watching out for stories that might be retold in musical form. Then he found a story that was truly wicked.

So now you’ll hear about the early moments of the adaptation process for Wicked the musical. About a year ago I attended a talk that Stephen Schwartz gave at a gathering in Connecticut. I taped the talk and my husband worked on the audio track so you can hear it a little better. Stephen approved this segment for me to share with you in the podcast. He describes a weekend vacation in December 1996. Picture him on a boating trip off the island of Maui in Hawaii.

Stephen Schwartz: I heard about the book Wicked [Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West] in a very random and serendipitous way, about 7 years ago, maybe eight years ago now. It was one of those completely unlooked for events. I actually was on a very last-minute and sort of capricious weekend vacation with some friends. It was unplanned and came up very quickly. The last day we went on a snorkeling trip because we were in Hawaii, and on the boat on the way back to the mainland after our little snorkel adventure, one of the people that I was with just making idle conversation said, I’m reading this really interesting book called Wicked and it’s by this guy named Gregory Maguire. It’s the Oz story from the Wicked Witch’s point of view.

As soon as I heard this I had one of those light bulb moments where something just said this is a really great idea. For many reasons it seemed particularly the kind of thing that I like to do. I’m very attracted to stories that take a familiar story or myth or character and then spin it and look at it from another way. I’ve done several pieces like that; I refer to it as the Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead school of writing. It is something that always intrigues me; from an academic perspective I guess it would be called post modern because it takes an existing work and deconstructs it. For whatever reason, I’m very attracted to that, so immediately that aspect of it appealed to me.

I also was very taken with the idea that this character of the Wicked Witch of the West, who is so much a villainess that she doesn’t even have a name, she is only referred to in The Wizard of Oz as the Wicked Witch of the West, that someone had the idea to look at what had transpired through her point of view. It was pretty obvious that something called Wicked was going to deal with themes that appeal to me: the difference between the reality that is presented to us, where things are oversimplified and told in black and white terms, and something is evil or good and there are good guys and bad guys, and the reality of life, which is, of course, a good deal more complicated than that. For all those reasons I was very intrigued by the idea.

The next day, when I got back to the mainland, I called my representative and said look, there is this book called Wicked and somebody has the rights to it, because it has been out for about a year. And therefore someone has bought the rights. Please find out where those rights are, because I think this is something I would like to do, and then I went out to get the book.

At that point, things turned out to be lucky, frankly. It turned out the rights to the book belonged to Universal Pictures. They had bought it and were in the process of developing a movie, not a musical movie. They were a good way along, as you might imagine because the book had been out a while. They had a first draft of a screenplay and had given the writer notes, and were expecting a second draft shortly. As you can imagine, they had spent some time and money on it. So the first task was to persuade Universal to abandon the idea of doing it as a movie and to consider the idea of doing it as a stage musical, something they had never done before because they are a movie company and not a theater producing company. So I began to get meetings with various people and work my way up the food chain and it took a while. After about 6 months of this, I finally got a meeting with the gentleman who was running Universal Pictures at the time, Marc Platt, and this is where luck took over a bit. It turned out that Marc, very much unlike most motion picture executives, had a knowledge of the theater, had a love for the theater, liked musicals, and in fact in college had been in his college production of Pippin. So he was not completely deaf to my entreaties.

[Photo of Marc Platt and Stephen Schwartz 9 years after their first meeting. Photo by Ben Strothmann for BroadwayWorld.com as part of the party for the 1000th performance of Wicked. Wicked party photos]

Basically what I did was go to him and say, ‘Look, I know you’re developing this as a film. I don’t think it’s going to work as a film and this is why,’ and I had some reasons that may or may not be legitimate but sounded cogent anyway. I said, ‘I really believe this is a theater piece. I think it needs to be a musical,’ and I gave him some reasons why, mostly having to do with the leading character of the Wicked Witch. She was going to need to give voice to what was going on inside her, and this was going to need to involve soliloquies, which are very difficult to do on film unless you do a tedious voice-over. What’s more, the usual thing film relies on to convey this kind of emotion, which is the close-up, was not going to be particularly effective in this case because she’s green and covered with makeup. So it was going to be difficult to turn her into a complicated and nuanced character. And I had some other reasons as well.

In any event, Mark was cordial and he gave me no indication that he actually was going to do this, and in fact he sent me out with a huge packet of other movies, treatments of other movies that Universal owned in case I was interested in any of them, which of course I was not. There was a bit of a depressing time when it looked as if they were not going to go along with this. I started thinking what other villains could I do? Should I do a musical about Iago? Should I do something about the wicked queen in Snow White? But nothing was as satisfying.

I had by this time read Gregory’s book and seen how much of that book lent itself to musicalization. The end of the story is obvious. Ultimately Mark did call me and say, ‘Okay let’s give it a go.’ And then I went and met with Gregory.

Again I got lucky, because I had to go this guy who had sold his book to the movies and was waiting to have a great big major motion picture and say, ‘Guess what? Instead of that, how would you feel about the risky and unlikely prospect of a show?’ I was lucky in that Gregory is sort of an amateur musician, and he told me that he had learned to play piano by playing the scores to Godspell and Pippin. Again my past rescued me. And so he agreed, and then from that point on we began.

Carol de Giere: That’s Stephen Schwartz’s report and how it all began. And of course then he and his colleagues found ways to compress and rearrange the story from Maguire’s 406 page novel to create a 2 ½ hour musical. Thanks for listening to this podcast from www.theschwartzscene.com

LINKS: Read about the characters selected for the musical as they relate to the characters in Maguire’s novel. Wicked Characters

Read more about Gregory Maguire and Wicked the novel.

Visit the Wicked home page at MusicalSchwartz.com - an index to over 50 pages related to Wicked the musical.

Copyright for this blog and website is by Carol de Giere, 2007

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

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