Toronto Symphony to Present THE WIZARD AND I: The Musical Journey of Stephen Schwartz This Week

On Tuesday and Wednesday this week, the Toronto Symphony Orchestra will present a concert featuring the music of Stephen Schwartz (conducted by Steven Reineke) - who's Broadway hit Wicked has been enchanting audiences in New York and around the world for over a decade. Schwartz's other big Broadway hit is the Tony Award winning Pippin, whose 2013 revival earned pseudo-Canadian Andrea Martin her second Tony Award.

The TSO concert will feature vocalists Carrie Manolakos, Christopher Johnstone, as well as standouts Julia Murney and Jeremy Jordan (of Newsies/The Last Five Years film.)

Murney's first exposure to Schwartz was early on in her career. Murney recalls having been familiar with some of his early work prior to their first meeting, which occurred in 1996 when she was auditioning for a showcase of some of his unused songs.

At the audition the director asked her if she knew and would sing something by Schwartz. She replied she knew Meadowlark (from The Baker's Wife), but didn't have the music. The Music Director got up from behind the desk, walked over to the piano and asked her what key she wanted it in.

The Music Director was composer Andrew Lippa (The Addams Family), and he would go on to cast Murney in The Wild Party. "I don't ever sing Meadowlark voluntarily..." Murney told me in a phone interview. But she will be singing it at the TSO on Tuesday and Wednesday - and this may be your only chance to hear it.

"I was certainly intimidated when I met Stephen" she recalled. "I didn't have any major credits (at the time.) But he has been so kind to me over the years... I'm as appreciative of him as I could possibly be."

Murney would later go on to star in his most successful show, Wicked - both on Tour and on Broadway. Murney will be giving audiences a taste of Wicked at the TSO concert. Though when asked what her favorite song in Wicked is - it's not the crowd-pleasing Defying Gravity that she replies with. "I always loved doing No Good Deed - that was a very enjoyable song to sing because that was the last difficult part of the night and then I was done. Another favorite was Popular because I just got to sit and watch whoever was on as Glinda be brilliant."

Jeremy Jordan and I also spoke about the upcoming concert. Jordan wasn't "much of a musical theatre kid" he recalled during our conversation. "My first exposure (to Schwartz) was probably his animated features like Hunchback (lyrics) and Prince of Egypt (music and lyrics)."

"I was a young kid, very impressionable... There was a poeticism to his song that I connected with. His work is iconic and all the big songs we're going to sing are going be hits that people will know. His work is formulated to get your attention and move you. His music is well crafted."

"I'm going to be singing Lost in the Wilderness, Out There, a few group songs... but my favorite is Out There because Hunchback was one of my favorites as a kid."

Jordan tells me audiences need to see the TSO/Stephen Schwartz concert because "Schwartz is an incredible, master composer - and you'll hear songs like you've never heard them before - both sung and played incredibly. There won't ever be a dull moment."

About Stephen Schwartz

Stephen Schwartz, the current president of the Dramatists Guild, wrote the music and lyrics for the current Broadway hits Wicked and Pippin, and has also contributed music and/or lyrics to Godspell, The Magic Show, The Baker's Wife, Working (which he also adapted and directed), Rags, and Children of Eden. He collaborated with Leonard Bernstein on the English texts for Bernstein's Mass and wrote the title song for the play and movie Butterflies are Free. For children, he has written songs for two musicals, Captin Louie and My Son Pinocchio. He has also worked in film, collaborating with Alan Menken on the songs for Disney's Enchanted as well as the animated features Pocahontas and The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and writing the songs for the DreamWorks animated feature The Prince of Egypt. His first opera, Seance on a Wet Afternoon, was produced at Opera Santa Barbara and New York City Opera. A book about his career, "Defying Gravity," has recently been released by Applause Books. Mr. Schwartz has been inducted into the Theatre Hall of Fame. Awards include three Academy Awards, four Grammy Awards, four Drama Desk Awards, and a tiny handful of tennis trophies.

Where and When?

Tue Jun 16, 2015 at 8:00 PM, Wed Jun 17, 2015 at 2:00 PM, and Wed Jun 17, 2015 at 8:00 PM at Roy Thompon Hall. Tickets are available online at www.tso.ca.

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