Defying Gravity: The Creative Career of Stephen Schwartz, from Godspell to Wicked

Defying Gravity takes readers into the creative world of Broadway and film composer Stephen Schwartz, from his experiences writing Godspell's score at age 23 through the collaborative journey for the making of the megahit musical Wicked. For this first authorized career biography, Carol de Giere draws from 80 hours of interviews with Schwartz and over 100 interviews with his colleagues, friends, and family members. Her sympathetic yet frank narrative reveals many never-before-told stories and delves into the challenging issues of collaboration and the decisions that led to phenomenal hits as well as expensive flops. Named after the heroine's song at the exhilarating first-act climax of Wicked, the book attests to Schwartz's determination to follow his vision despite setbacks and negative criticism. And, in a series of "Creativity Notes," the composer shares his insights on tapping the subconscious mind, overcoming creative blocks, writing for character detail, surviving countless rewrites, working with feedback, and other topics. The book also covers the movie songwriting that landed Schwartz three Oscar nominations for Enchanted and three Academy Awards for Pocahontas and The Prince of Egypt.