Stephen Schwartz Gets His Revue: The Hits of Broadway’s Wicked, Godspell, and Pippin Featured in New Musical
(© David Gordon)
Rodgers & Hammerstein have A Grand Night for Singing. Kander and Ebb have First You Dream. Sondheim has Putting It Together and Marry Me A Little (among others). Now, Stephen Schwartz, the Academy Award and Grammy-winning composer behind musicals such as Wicked, Pippin, and Godspell, will join the list of artists who’ve had their work revued.
Snapshots: A Musical Scrapbook, a six-character romantic comedy featuring a book by long-time Schwartz collaborator David Stern (My Son Pinocchio), will be produced this fall by Goodspeed Musicals at their Norma Terris Theatre. The work has previously been seen at Illinois’ Northlight Theatre and Ohio’s Human Race Theatre Company.
The musical focuses on Dan and Sue, a couple whose 30-year relationship has hit a rough patch. But as they discover a box of photos in their attic, old memories come alive – maybe even enough to save their marriage. Some of Schwartz’s well-known hits are featured in the score, including “Popular” from Wicked, “Corner of the Sky” from Pippin, and “That’s How You Know” from Enchanted, alongside lesser-known and cut material, including Wicked‘s “Making Good” and “If We Never Meet Again” from Rags. For certain songs, Schwartz penned new lyrics to fit the context of the show.
Stern has worked on the Broadway productions of Miss Saigon, Nick & Nora, and Big. He is the playwright of Dreams & Stuff and Finders of Lost Luggage, the screenwriter of Geppetto, Open Season 2, and Open Season 3, as well as punch-up writer for such films as First Daughter, The Smurfs, and Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. Schwartz’s many musicals also include The Magic Show and Working, and the films Pocahantas, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and The Prince of Egypt.
