Stephen Schwartz was at a crossroads in his career, with movie songwriting seeming like the future. However, everything changed when he stepped onto the red carpet at Los Angeles' Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in March 1996, wearing his black tuxedo and white silk dress shirt. He waited for the announcement of the Oscar winner for Best Original Musical or Comedy Score, alongside Alan Menken. The silence was expectant as presenter Quincy Jones opened the envelope, and when he announced Schwartz and Menken's names, applause burst out as they made their way to the stage.
The evening would be one to remember, with both Schwartz and Menken accepting awards for Best Original Musical and Best Original Song for "Colors of the Wind." As a Grammy- and Oscar-winning composer, Schwartz had his gold-plated statuettes placed beside his Grammy gramophones in a converted aquarium. However, he was soon immersed in busy work - including the premiere of "The Hunchback of Notre Dame," early work on "The Prince of Egypt" with the DreamWorks team, and demo-ing songs for the revue musical "Snapshots."
It would all take a dramatic turn towards the end of 1996, when a phone call from John Bucchino changed everything. Schwartz was in Los Angeles finishing some work on "The Prince of Egypt" when his buddy called him with an offer to come to Maui for a writing retreat. With some frequent flyer miles and free food involved, it seemed too good to pass up.
Once on the island, Bucchino organized snorkeling adventures that included a visit to Molikini, where they saw a variety of sea creatures. One day, while cruising back to shore, Holly Near casually mentioned reading Gregory Maguire's novel "Wicked." The title piqued Schwartz's interest - it was an Oz story told from the Wicked Witch of the West's point of view.
Maguire had read one of his own short stories in a book of fantasy fiction and thought Schwartz might appreciate it. The idea sent shivers down his spine, with "all the hairs on my arms standing on end." On returning to LA, Schwartz called his attorney about acquiring rights to Maguire's novel, "Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West."
The more he read the book, the more convinced Schwartz became that he needed to adapt it for Broadway. He had long been fascinated by reimagining familiar stories from a different perspective - as seen in his work on "Godspell," "Children of Eden," and "The Prince of Egypt." This was an opportunity to take this idea further.
Maguire's novel was dense and full of interesting characters, with thirty-eight speaking parts. It wasn't immediately clear whether the story could be distilled into a workable evening of theater. However, Schwartz recognized it as an idea for him - one that allowed him to spin familiar material in a new way.
Elphaba, the central character, was also a musical and emotional force who needed to be acknowledged in a musical. Her quirky nature seemed close to Schwartz's own experiences of feeling "green" and navigating life with inner strength.
There were things he knew right away - how it would start, how it would end, who Elphaba was, and why this story felt autobiographical despite being about a green girl from Oz. When Schwartz sat down in his LA apartment, he began capturing all his ideas for the musical, writing snatches of inspiration onto lined pages. It wasn't long before these scraps coalesced into something new.
Schwartz knew it wouldn't be easy adapting "Wicked" - but with his passion and vision, it could become something more than a simple stage adaptation of a pre-existing novel. The question was whether he had the right collaborators to bring this ambitious project to life.
The evening would be one to remember, with both Schwartz and Menken accepting awards for Best Original Musical and Best Original Song for "Colors of the Wind." As a Grammy- and Oscar-winning composer, Schwartz had his gold-plated statuettes placed beside his Grammy gramophones in a converted aquarium. However, he was soon immersed in busy work - including the premiere of "The Hunchback of Notre Dame," early work on "The Prince of Egypt" with the DreamWorks team, and demo-ing songs for the revue musical "Snapshots."
It would all take a dramatic turn towards the end of 1996, when a phone call from John Bucchino changed everything. Schwartz was in Los Angeles finishing some work on "The Prince of Egypt" when his buddy called him with an offer to come to Maui for a writing retreat. With some frequent flyer miles and free food involved, it seemed too good to pass up.
Once on the island, Bucchino organized snorkeling adventures that included a visit to Molikini, where they saw a variety of sea creatures. One day, while cruising back to shore, Holly Near casually mentioned reading Gregory Maguire's novel "Wicked." The title piqued Schwartz's interest - it was an Oz story told from the Wicked Witch of the West's point of view.
Maguire had read one of his own short stories in a book of fantasy fiction and thought Schwartz might appreciate it. The idea sent shivers down his spine, with "all the hairs on my arms standing on end." On returning to LA, Schwartz called his attorney about acquiring rights to Maguire's novel, "Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West."
The more he read the book, the more convinced Schwartz became that he needed to adapt it for Broadway. He had long been fascinated by reimagining familiar stories from a different perspective - as seen in his work on "Godspell," "Children of Eden," and "The Prince of Egypt." This was an opportunity to take this idea further.
Maguire's novel was dense and full of interesting characters, with thirty-eight speaking parts. It wasn't immediately clear whether the story could be distilled into a workable evening of theater. However, Schwartz recognized it as an idea for him - one that allowed him to spin familiar material in a new way.
Elphaba, the central character, was also a musical and emotional force who needed to be acknowledged in a musical. Her quirky nature seemed close to Schwartz's own experiences of feeling "green" and navigating life with inner strength.
There were things he knew right away - how it would start, how it would end, who Elphaba was, and why this story felt autobiographical despite being about a green girl from Oz. When Schwartz sat down in his LA apartment, he began capturing all his ideas for the musical, writing snatches of inspiration onto lined pages. It wasn't long before these scraps coalesced into something new.
Schwartz knew it wouldn't be easy adapting "Wicked" - but with his passion and vision, it could become something more than a simple stage adaptation of a pre-existing novel. The question was whether he had the right collaborators to bring this ambitious project to life.
! I mean, have you seen that red carpet moment when he won those Oscars? It was like the universe was setting him up for something big. 
. I love how he saw himself in the character - quirky, strong, and all that jazz 
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. I think we're still feeling the impact of Wicked today - it's like a cultural phenomenon, you know?
! Remember when Stephen Schwartz was all about movie songwriting? Now look at him, adapting "Wicked" for Broadway – it's like a whole new chapter in his career 
. I mean, who would've thought that reading a novel about the Wicked Witch of the West would spark something so big? 
It just goes to show how creativity can strike at any moment, and sometimes all it takes is someone with a keen eye to see its potential 
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And I gotta say, Elphaba sounds like an amazing character – kind of like a modern-day girl who's all about embracing her weirdness 
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i cant believe steve schwartz was like "aha i gotta make this happen" after readin that book lol, its so cool how it all came together - the snorkeling trip and the convo with john buchino and holly near just put all the pieces in place 
and lets be real, elphaba is literally the ultimate girlboss of oz 
, but then came "Wicked" and everything changed 
It's like he took all these crazy ideas and just went with them... and man, did it pay off 
! I love how Schwartz was all about reimagining stories from different perspectives - like in "Godspell" or "The Prince of Egypt". It shows you didn't have to stick to traditional stuff when making something new. And can we talk about how Elphaba is literally the OG misunderstood outcast? 
Anyway, I think Schwartz totally nailed capturing that special something with this adaptation... now let's see if it all stays together 
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have u read the book? it's so different from the typical oz stories, but schwarz is all about reimagining familiar tales. can't wait to see what he does with it 