Spring 2021 updates from the world of composer-lyricist Stephen Schwartz and biographer Carol de Giere — a fan newsletter.
PHOTO: Composer Alan Menken and lyricist Stephen Schwartz work in Menken’s studio during a recording session for Disney’s Disenchanted. May 4th, 2021. (Courtesy of Stephen Schwartz.)
1) Welcome from Carol
Wicked, the Wicked movie, Disney’s Disenchanted, Godspell’s 50th – there’s so much news to share! I have exclusive updates direct from Stephen Schwartz from my interview with him on May 11th. As you know, Stephen launched his musical writing career with Godspell, which opened 50 years ago. Now he’s at the center of a whirlwind of Hollywood activity and his stage musicals are poised to re-open after the pandemic shutdowns. Keep reading for all the latest details.
In other news, in April the Schwartz family welcomed a new member. Simon Linden Schwartz, the son of Scott Schwartz and his wife Julia Motyka, is Stephen and Carole Schwartz’s 4th grandchild.
Newcomers: if you haven’t yet discovered the behind-the-scenes stories from Stephen Schwartz’s amazing career, be sure to check out my books Defying Gravity and The Godspell Experience by going to my website https://caroldegiere.com
PHOTO: This is our little nod in support of vaccination efforts—Stephen Schwartz and I display our vaccination cards during our meeting on a windy day outside a local theater, ACT of CT (actofct.org). Stephen is on the artistic advisory board there. Photo by ACT of CT’s Daniel Levine.
For future updates please LIKE our Facebook – Schwartz Scene page where I post news periodically. For those on Twitter but not Facebook, the issue link will get posted on Stephen Schwartz’s feed @composerstephen and on @caroldegiere. You can also check Stephen’s official site StephenSchwartz.com news section for updates.
Stephen Schwartz Updates for Spring 2021
Disney’s Disenchanted – (The Enchanted Sequel)
Working around pandemic restrictions, the music team for Disney’s Disenchanted has moved forward with international recording sessions. “We’re all in different places,” Stephen Schwartz shared with The Schwartz Scene on May 4th when he sent the studio photo at the top of this page. “The actors (Amy Adams in this case) and the director, Adam Shankman, are in Dublin; the engineer, Frank Wolf, is in LA; Michael Kosarin, our musical director, is in New York; and Alan and I are in his Westchester County studio! COVID times!”
Disenchanted is a sequel to the popular 2007 movie Enchanted. The return of the four original leads Amy Adams, Patrick Dempsey, James Marsden, and Idina Menzel, has been announced to the press, along with Maya Rudolph, Yvette Nicole Brown, and Jayma Mays.
The movie will be rich with songs. Stephen says, “There are seven songs plus reprises, which is more songs than the original.” Stephen explains that among the new songs he and Alan have written are two for Wicked and Frozen star Idina Menzel who some fans had wanted to hear sing in the first film. “We wrote a song for Idina’s character in the first movie, and then they didn’t have her do it. But in Disenchanted she has one big number and part of another one.”
The work on the sequel has brought Stephen and Alan closer to their usual collaborative way of working on stage musicals—that is, this time they are not being asked to write particular songs that someone else pre-planned. “When we started writing the songs for Enchanted, the script was done and most of the song placements were already in the script,” Stephen recalls. “For Disenchanted, the song choices came much more out of our collaboration with Adam Shankman, the director, and Brigitte Hales, the (current) screenwriter.”
Stephen is hoping to travel to Ireland during the shooting, in part because he loves to travel, but COVID-19 restrictions might prevent that from happening.
UPDATED May 17: Disney tweets more details: “Disenchanted has started production! Directed by Adam Shankman, starring Amy Adams, Patrick Dempsey, James Marsden, Idina Menzel, Maya Rudolph, Yvette Nicole Brown, Jayma Mays, Kolton Stewart, Oscar Nuñez & Gabby Baldacchino. Disenchanted is scheduled for streaming on DisneyPlus in 2022!”
Godspell 50th Anniversary
Godspell opened May 17, 1971, at the Cherry Lane Theatre. Stephen comments, “Here we are 50 years later. It feels like yesterday, but it also feels like 150 years. It’s amazing that the show stays current and stays popular. It’s unfortunate that, more than ever now, we seem to be needing to listen to what Jesus has to say in it—’Always treat others as you would have them treat you,’ but it does mean that the show is still relevant.”
Watch original cast interviews, read articles, listen to a podcast: I’ve created a whole page for this Godspell anniversary that I will keep updating with any new material. GODSPELL FANS – please see: theschwartzscene.com/2021/05/13/godspell-50th-anniversary/
Stage Musicals Wicked and The Prince of Egypt Return
Stephen remarks, “I’m just so thrilled shows are finally coming back. I don’t think I knew how much I would miss going to live theatre until I couldn’t. Not just my shows – any show. It’s just not the same watching things by yourself on a screen. There’s something about being in an audience surrounded by live people responding together to other live people on stage, no matter how technologically advanced things get, nothing matches that experience.
“None of us knows what’s going to happen next: if people are going to be afraid to go to live performances or if there’s a huge pent-up demand. But I got a message that after the announcement on Good Morning America about Wicked‘s return, they sold a lot of tickets in the first three hours, so that felt encouraging.”
The Wicked Movie
The Hollywood press revealed in February that Jon M. Chu would direct the Wicked movie, replacing Stephen Daldry who had left the project. The announcement was one of many that have been made over the past decade about the Universal Studios film project. All the while, Stephen Schwartz and Winnie Holzman, who are adapting their stage musical for the big screen, have discussed the movie as they have traveled to various productions of Wicked in Europe and Asia. “We’ve talked endlessly about the movie,” Schwartz recalled during my interview.
PHOTO: Stephen Schwartz and Winnie Holzman have traveled to many of the international productions of Wicked. This photo is from a trip to The Netherlands in 2011. (It is from the “Wicked Worldwide” chapter of my book, Defying Gravity, 2nd edition.)
Already for the stage musical’s creation, they had dropped many elements of the Wicked novel, while trying to retain the essence. “We’re not planning to bring in additional things from Gregory’s novel. We have our story that we worked out for the show and now we’re adapting that into a movie. As you know for the musical, we concluded that we couldn’t contradict the 1939 movie The Wizard of Oz, and that remains one of our rules for the movie. Also, we’re remembering our mantra from when we were writing the show (to paraphrase James Carville:) ‘It’s the girls, stupid.’ We’re being careful not to stray too far from that.” But especially working with a new director, they are able to explore other storytelling possibilities that wouldn’t have worked on stage.
Stephen adds, “The creative team has been very actively in conversation, almost daily on Zoom. I know some people are sick of Zoom meetings, but I like them. You are able to accomplish so much, and I like being able to see my collaborators’ faces.” About their progress, he reveals, “we haven’t worked out the whole structure, but we’re gaining on it.” And therefore, he is not sure about any new songs. “I’ll wait until we know what the structure is going to be, and then we’ll see if there are new moments that feel as if they need musicalization.”
Last week in an interview published in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Stephen revealed the Wicked movie’s primary shooting location will be Atlanta. He expects the pre-production will start in the fall with filming beginning in 2022. He told me that there was a big discussion regarding possibly boycotting Georgia after the recent legislation that Stephen, among others, feels amounts to voter suppression. “This doesn’t seem to me something that should be a partisan issue. We have Wicked fans who are Republicans, Democrats, and independents. But I have to believe that all our fans believe in democracy and that anyone who is eligible to vote and wants to do so should be able to without hindrance or obstacles being thrown in their way. So we did consider a boycott.” But voting rights activists like Stacey Abrams who were contacted insisted that a boycott would hurt the very groups being targeted by the legislation, because of the potential loss of jobs and revenue. “Stacey strongly urged us to stay.” So instead, it is expected that the movie will stay in Atlanta but that the company will provide meaningful support to efforts directed toward helping minorities overcome the barriers to voting.
ALL GOOD GIFTS – More News and Online Shows
MTI’s All Together Now! A Global Event Celebrating Local Theatre November 12 – 15, 2021.
Theaters around the world can celebrate re-opening this fall with a special musical review that is being made available without licensing fees, so it can be used as a fundraiser. It can be live, streamed, or combination. Many renowned MTI authors, their estates, and rightsholders are contributing songs from their iconic musicals to the revue including Stephen Schwartz; Lynn Ahrens & Stephen Flaherty; Disney Theatrical Group; Jonathan Larson; Marc Shaiman & Scott Wittman; and many others. Go to mtishows.com/mtis-all-together-now for information and to sign up for their special mailing list.
BUY SIGNED BOOKS
I have a new batch of autographed books signed by Stephen Schwartz and myself, or you can buy the paperback or ebook versions online. PLEASE go to https://caroldegiere.com/signed-copies/ for The Godspell Experience and Defying Gravity.
Previous Issues of The Schwartz Scene
If you missed previous issues, our back issue index is at Back issue archive. You’ll find news and online interviews with Stephen Schwartz.
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About this online fan newsletter: The Schwartz Scene is an independent publication written for musical theater enthusiasts who appreciate the work of American composer-lyricist Stephen Schwartz. It does not formally represent composer Stephen Schwartz, although the editor, Carol de Giere, is in regular contact with the Schwartz office for updates and approval of his quotations. Send questions or comments by message at http://facebook.com/theschwartzscene (preferred) or by email to carol1 (at) caroldegiere (dot) com
Copyright 2021 by Carol de Giere. Carol de Giere has exclusive rights, unless otherwise specified, for all materials included in the newsletter. Permission must be secured in writing before any part of it may be reprinted, except for the printing of one copy for the subscriber’s private use. Editor: Carol de Giere, 10 Library Place #909, Bethel CT 06801-0909.
