‘DEFYING GRAVITY’: EVEN BETTER THE SECOND TIME AROUND
BOOK REVIEW: DEFYING GRAVITY
BY CAROL DE GIERE
512 pp. Applause Theatre & Cinema Books. Paper, $29.99
By Ryan M. Luévano
At seventy years young Stephen Schwartz is still dancing through life as one of the most prolific composer/lyricists of our time. This is means that Schwartz’s biographer, Carol de Giere has lots of ground to cover. So much so that de Giere had to write a new edition of her 2008 book Defying Gravity to cover the expanding career of Mr. Schwartz. Just as the musical Wicked celebrates its 15-year anniversary on Broadway, de Giere’s book is released in perfect unison with this giving theatre enthusiast a chance to read up on what the wizard of song is working on including The Prince of Egypt, an Enchanted sequel, a Hans Christian Anderson film, rewrites for Rags and a Mozart influenced opera entitled Schikaneder.
Stephen Schwartz and Carol de Giere.
Imagine having the chance to sit down to lunch with Stephen Schwartz. An opportunity to ask him about his life, his creative process and what he’s working on now and in the future. What may be fantasy for us is a common reality for Carol de Giere who interviews Schwartz for her books all the time. However, even if we may never have this opportunity, we still have de Giere’s book which gives readers an inside look about what this might be like. Not only are the facts of Schwartz’s career covered in fascinating detail, but the book is peppered with Schwartz quotes, and even sections called “Creativity Notes” which provide a glimpse into how the mind of this theatrical genius works—each of these notes is worth its weight in gold.
Stephen Schwartz. Photo Credit: Nathan Johnson.
Also in this new edition is a compelling foreword by Alan Menken who graciously shares his admiration for his friend and long-time collaborator: a “wunderkind” that he “couldn’t help but wonder about and envy”, said Menken upon his first run in with Schwartz. Menken goes on to describe how he a Schwartz met in 1985 as they were both contributing writers for a revue entitled Personals. From there Menken offers stories about various other projects they’ve worked on together and how they work together. We discover how the song “Colors of the Wind” was born, how The Hunchback of Notre Dame film got its sound, and why Schwartz never attends opening nights of his own shows.
In a book entitled Defying Gravity, there must be more about Wicked, and there is, plenty of updates and insights into this mega hit show that spread like wildfire across the globe. Topics covered in the Wicked chapters include “Why Wicked Works”, “The Original Cast Recording and Sheet Music”, which reveal a mistake in the cast recording that Schwartz still agonizes over to this day. The most surprising information about Wicked is learning about its international reach, including translations for Japan, Germany and beyond. It would be so interesting to see Wicked, or Wicked Die Hexen Von Oz in German, where the song “Defying Gravity” becomes “Frei und schwerelos” and “As Long as You’re Mine” is “Solang Ich Dich Hab”.
As we know, Mr. Schwartz’s writing talents are not limited to the stage. In the chapter “Hollywood Calls Again” we learn all about his film projects in the works, and even creativity notes on writer’s block. These film projects include Enchanted, its sequel, a Wicked movie, a Hans Christian Anderson movie, a Pippin movie, and even a Bollywood-style movie with monkeys as main characters.
Stephen Schwartz and Carol de Giere.
The second edition of Defying Gravity is a treasure-trove of information, stories, insights and creative advice for anyone one who wants to know more about Stephen Schwartz, or about the creative process of writing songs for the stage and screen.
