Musical Theater of Stephen Schwartz

Paul R. Laird is professor of musicology at the University of Kansas, where he teaches courses in music history, musical theater, and directs the Instrumental Collegium Musicum. He is the coauthor of Historical Dictionary of the Broadway Musical (2007) and author of The Baroque Cello Revival: An Oral History (2004) and Wicked: A Musical Biography (2011), all published by Scarecrow Press.

• AcknowledgmentsIntroductionChapter 1: An Introduction to Stephen SchwartzChapter 2: GodspellChapter 3: Leonard Bernstein’s MassChapter 4: PippinChapter 5: The Magic Show Chapter 6: The Baker’s WifeChapter 7: WorkingChapter 8: RagsChapter 9: Children of EdenChapter 10: Animated Features for Disney and Dreamworks Chapter 11: Geppetto Becomes My Son Pinocchio: Geppetto’s Musical TaleChapter 12: WickedChapter 13: Séance on a Wet AfternoonChapter 14: Stephen Schwartz’s Works Outside of Broadway and Hollywood Epilogue Bibliography

Seated next to Stephen Sondheim in the front row of the American musical theater pantheon is the prolific and prodigiously talented composer/lyricist Stephen Schwartz (b. 1948). Throughout a career spanning four decades that includes such hits as Godspell, Pippin, and Wicked, Schwartz has been honored with multiple Tony nominations, three Grammys, and three Academy Awards. Musical theater scholar Laird has written an in-depth study focusing on Schwartz’s projects and music. Acknowledging Carol de Giere’s biographical contributions in her 2008 book, Defying Gravity, the author concentrates on the music and musical styles of Schwartz’s theater and film work. Arranged chronologically, the title begins with an introduction to Schwartz with individual chapters on Godspell; his collaboration with Leonard Bernstein on Bernstein’s Mass; Broadway and off-Broadway shows Pippin, The Magic Show, The Baker’s Wife, Working, Rags, and Children of Eden; Schwartz’s work on animated features for Disney and DreamWorks; then the success of the musical Wicked; his opera, Seance on a Wet Afternoon, and works outside Broadway and Hollywood. VERDICT Laird offers a definitive musical analysis of Schwartz’s incredible career to date. A trenchant investigation that is both erudite and accessible, this book is an essential acquisition for all academic, professional, and large public library collections.