Schwartz' Snapshots Offers a Gallery of New and Old Songs at WA's Village Theatre
By: BWW News Desk Dec. 16, 2005
Snapshots, a book musical, is a musical portrait of Sue and Dan, an older married couple whose marriage is dissolving with their son off at college. As the couple thumbs through old photographs, their memories come to life onstage. "There are six characters, three men and three women," explained Schwartz to the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, "young lovers, young married couple and the middle-aged Sue and Dan." The younger visions of the couple ultimately decide the future of the marriage.
Mo Brady, Beth DeVries, Hugh Hastings, Louis Hobson, Abby Pollard and Billie Wildrick star in the production.
The show, which features a book by David Stern, direction by Randy Brenner, and musical direction by Steve Orich, includes songs from the Schwartz songbook, as well as new songs written for the show and seldom-heard numbers (such as "Making Good," a trunk song from Wicked).
"David thought that songs I have already written could be put together for an actual book musical. This all started maybe 10 years ago. I was very skeptical. How could my songs be dragged kicking and screaming out of their original contexts and transplanted into a new story? But, OK, it might be feasible. The project has been very off and on. There were tryout productions here and there. The thing is, whenever and wherever Snapshots was tried out, we got encouragement. I'm not writing whole new songs for Snapshots. But I am writing new lyrics for some songs so that they'll work in the new setting," stated Schwartz.
"I've never seen anything like this. It's not a typical revue, and it's not a typical book musical. It is a hybrid musical unlike anything that's been done before, a compilation of Schwartz's songs that, with a distinct book and dialogue, tells a story about two very real characters," Brenner commented.
Snapshots has been developed in industry workshops and readings over the past decade; it was seen at Westport Country Playhouse in 1996. The revised version of the show, produced at the Village by Cardboard Belt Productions, Dee Gee Theatricals, and McCoy/Rigby Entertainment, is also likely to receive a commercial production in the future.
The show's creative team at the Village Theatre comprises Scott Fyfe (sets), Richard Schaefer (lighting) and Harmony Arnold (costumes).
Of the choice of location, Schwartz said: "You have the performing talent available in the Seattle area. And you're away from New York and commercial pressures."
Schwartz, whose Wicked is the biggest musical hit on Broadway, wrote the music and lyrics for Godspell, Pippin, The Magic Show, The Baker's Wife, Children of Eden, and Captain Louie, and contributed his songs to the score of Working; he also collaborated with Charles Strouse on Rags. He has also written for the big screen, with a number of scores for animated films; he wrote music and lyrics for DreamWorks' The Prince of Egypt and the TV musical Geppetto, as well as lyrics for the Disney films Pocahontas and The Hunchback of Notre Dame (both with Alan Menken). Schwartz, whose two solo CDs Relucant Pilgrim and Uncharted Territory feature him performing his own songs, has received three each of the Academy Awards, the Grammy Awards and the Drama Desk Awards.For tickets and more information on Snapshots, visit www.villagetheatre.com.
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