Stephen Schwartz Talks WICKED & More at Civic Theatre in Kalamazoo

With "a little bit of song and a whole lot of humor," Stephen Schwartz, lyricist and composer of popular Broadway musicals such as "Godspell," "Wicked," and "Pippin," impressed an audience of 400 people at the Civic Theatre on Friday, according to an article from the Kalamazoo Gazette.

Schwartz talked about his youth and how he first got into show business. He had just moved to New York and was 23 when he got the job of writing the score for Godspell. Despite being told he was their first choice, he said, "I don't believe it at all. I think they called everybody in New York before they thought of me."

According to the article, Schwartz visited Kalamazoo to see the United States Tennis Association Boy's National Championship and to meet with members of the Civic's production of "Godspell" which is set to open in September.

Friday's event was free and set up like the TV show "Inside the Actor's Studio," D. Terry Williams, professor and chair emeritus of theater at Western Michigan University, interviewed Schwartz.

The audience was full of students and fans of the musical "Wicked," who erupted into applause after Schwartz played a number from the show.

At one point, Schwartz deconstructed how he came up with songs for "Wicked."

He explained that one song may be preceded by two other songs, as he created more than one song for each part in the musical until he came up with the perfect fit.

He even played three songs to show the evolution of one at one point in the interview.

"I loved to see how the songs in the show arrived to that final point," said patron Kathy Mulay. "But, most of all, I liked his humor. He was so relaxed. You could tell he enjoyed talking to groups."

Some other interesting things Schwartz touched on were the fact that he came up with the idea for "Wicked" while on a snorkeling trip in Hawaii during which a friend mentioned she was reading the book "Wicked."

He also confirmed that a movie version of "Wicked" is in the works and that he belives it will be released in about five years. He also said he would never consider doing a sequel to "Wicked."

For the original article, click here.