| Contents |
Creative career. Act I, 1948 to 1974: early success: Godspell, Pippin, and The Magic Show. A focused childhood -- Morning glow: the college years -- Transitions: keep dancing through -- Godspell off-off-Broadway -- Godspell at Cherry Lane -- Godspell meets Mass and Pippin -- Pippin comes to Broadway -- The Magic Show conjures up a crowd -- Act II, 1974 to 1991. Downturn: The Baker's Wife, Working, Rags, and Children of Eden. The Baker's Wife: mixed ingredients -- Working: help wanted -- Mid-journey reflections -- Rags and the 1980s -- Children of Eden: second chances -- Act III, 1991 to 2003. A comeback: Pocahontas, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and The Prince of Egypt. Pocahontas and The Hunchback of Notre Dame -- Mulan and The Prince of Egypt -- Wicked. Landing in Oz -- Structuring twists and turns -- On the right track -- Story by committee -- Somewhere over the keyboard -- First drafts and "adjustifications" -- We're off to see a reading -- Turning points in Oz -- If we only had a team -- Character development -- The countdown begins -- Shock at first sight -- Pre-Broadway summer -- Wicked on Broadway -- Epilogue: after the Tonys -- Extras. About an author and a songwriter -- From idea to audience: the odyssey of a song -- Godspell song stories -- Updates and new projects -- An Enchanted conversation -- Workshops and concerts -- Wicked outline by Stephen Schwartz -- Recordings -- Licensing information for the musicals. |
| Abstract |
When twenty-three-year-old Stephen Schwartz wrote the score for Godspell in 1971, he launched a legendary career in musical theater and film that included the blockbuster Broadway hits Pippin, The Magic Show, and Wicked. The Academy Award-winning songwriter also wrote lyrics for three Disney movies (Pocahontas, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and Enchanted), as well as songs for the DreamWorks feature The Prince of Egypt. For this first authorized career biography, Carol de Giere draws from eighty hours of interviews with the songwriter, as well as from interviews with his colleagues. Defying Gravity delves into the challenging collaboration issues and decisions that led to phenomenal hits as well as expensive flops. It includes many never-before-told stories, a series of "Creativity Notes" with insight about artistic life, and more than 200 photographs and illustrations. |
| Bibliography note | Includes bibliographical references (pages 518-519) and index. |
| ISBN | 9781557837455 |
| ISBN | 1557837457 |
