Creativity in Wicked’s Oz: Songwriter Stephen Schwartz’s Story

Carol de Giere, a Madison native and biographer of Wicked’s composer Stephen Schwartz, will talk about her book, the Stephen Schwartz biography “Defying Gravity: The Creative Career of Stephen Schwartz, from Godspell to Wicked.” She’ll explain how Stephen Schwartz’s intentions for the show compared with those of novelist Gregory Maguire (who write Wicked the novel) and discuss how Schwartz and his collaborator Winnie Holzman developed the score and script, with the support of producer Marc Platt. She’ll cover the feedback process and what it was like to attend a reading for the work-in-progress and see the pre-Broadway tryout production in San Francisco. Using audio clips, she’ll take the audience “Somewhere Over the Keyboard,” and explore some of the composer’s influences for the score, his nods to the Harold Arlen The Wizard of Oz score, and his work on musical themes.

A door prize will be given away – a copy of Defying Gravity, signed by the author and the subject, Stephen Schwartz. Read about the book at www.DefyingGravityTheBook.com