The story itself is a re-telling of The Wizard of Oz - from the perspective of the so-called wicked witch. Īs for Wicked, it’s broken nearly every record in theater history for ticket sales, making it one of the most successful musicals of all time.
He’s written musicals that changed the landscape of American theater - like Godspell and Pippin. Stephen has a career spanning five decades as a musical theater lyricist and composer. And he’ll also share a universal truth about getting unstuck that anyone can use.Īnd here’s what you need to know about Stephen Schwartz and Wicked. He’ll show you how telling the truth to your team creates a space where great collaborations can thrive. But what Stephen learns along the way applies to any creative in any field: When your work expresses a universal truth, the widest audience will respond.Īs Stephen takes us on the journey of writing and composing Wicked, you’ll hear how he leans into universal truths that connect all of us – like the experience of friendship, betrayal, and love. It’s Stephen’s personal story of reinventing a beloved classic for the stage - and convincing others to believe in it as much as he does. JUNE COHEN: That’s the legendary composer Stephen Schwartz - and he’s about to tell us the story of creating the Broadway musical Wicked.
You think they know everything about you, but they don’t. It’s so mysterious, but it’s really also very reassuring, that if you expose yourself enough, your heart and your soul and your obsessions and your doubts and fears, if you really tell that truth, people respond to it, if you tell it skillfully.Īnd what’s more: You think you’re standing naked before them. You don’t really even have to make it rhyme, but you need to tell the truth. Stephen Schwartz is in conversation with Leigh Sales at the Theatre Royal, Sydney, on February 13 at noon.STEPHEN SCHWARTZ: When I get asked, “How do you go about writing a song?” I have a glib response - but it’s really quite true - which is: Tell the truth, and make it rhyme. "The whole point of being a creative artist is to be creative." "There are a bunch of technical things I've learnt and observed over the years that people who are just starting out are sometimes less aware of, but I always make the point that nothing is mandatory," says Schwartz. Last year he was awarded a special Tony in recognition of his work as a teacher and mentor to the next generation of Broadway writers and composers. Remarkably for a Broadway artist of his stature and longevity, Schwartz has yet to win a Tony Award for one of his shows, despite being nominated six times. It's not 100 per cent celebratory, and I think people respond more deeply when you acknowledge that things aren't always easy and might not be cut and dried." "It's about empowerment, but it recognises the challenges inherent in that. " Defying Gravity is an example of that," he says. He tries to avoid writing songs that can be read in only one way. "I think one of the things that can make a song really land for an audience is if it speaks to our better nature, like Colours of the Wind does, or if it offers comfort or inspiration, like When You Believe." "I have received so many emails and letters over the years from people who say how inspirational they find some of my songs," Schwartz says. In 2003, Schwartz returned to Broadway with a show based on a little-known novel by Gregory Maguire, and Wicked, one of the longest-running shows in Broadway history and one of the most popular musicals in the world, was born. They also took the Oscar for Best Original Score. Colours of the Wind, from Pocahontas, earned Schwartz and Menken an Academy Award for Best Original Song. Shows such as The Baker's Wife (1976) and Working (1978) kept Schwartz in the public eye, but it was his collaboration with composer Alan Menken on the Disney animations Pocohontas (1995) and The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996) that cemented his reputation.
At the ripe age of 26, Schwartz had three hit musicals playing in New York simultaneously. Two years later, he wrote The Magic Show, which ran for 1920 performances. In 1972, Pippin, a musical he wrote as a university student, opened on Broadway. In 1971, he wrote the music and lyrics for Godspell. "This kind of concert can be a little bit like drowning and watching your life pass before your eyes," Schwartz says, laughing.Īt 67, Schwartz is the leading Broadway composer of the modern (post-Beatles) era. Stephen Schwartz is bringing his show, Defying Gravity, to Sydney.
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