'Wicked' Composer Stephen Schwartz Turns 60

Stephen Schwartz, the acclaimed Academy Award and Grammy Award-winning composer of the blockbuster musical Wicked, turns 60 years old today, Thursday, March 6, 2008.  Mr. Schwartz was recently nominated for three Academy Awards for three songs he co-wrote with Alan Menken for the hit film Enchanted.

Stephen Schwartz has contributed music and/or lyrics to Godspell, Pippin, The Magic Show, The Baker's Wife, Working (which he also adapted and directed), Rags and Children of Eden.  For films, he collaborated with Alan Menken on the scores for Disney's Pocahontas and The Hunchback of Notre Dame and the recent Disney musical Enchanted, and wrote the songs for the DreamWorks animated feature The Prince of Egypt. He has also released two CDs of new songs entitled Reluctant Pilgrim and Uncharted Territory.  Mr. Schwartz is the artistic director of the ASCAP Musical Theatre Workshops and a member of the Dramatists Guild Council. Awards include three Academy Awards, four Grammy Awards and a tiny handful of tennis trophies.

"Long before Dorothy drops in, two other girls meet in the land of Oz.  One, born with emerald-green skin, is smart, fiery and misunderstood.  The other is beautiful, ambitious and very popular.  Wicked tells the story of their remarkable odyssey, how these two unlikely friends grow to become the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good Witch," states press notes.

Wicked currently stars Stephanie J. Block as Elphaba, Annaleigh Ashford as Glinda, Miriam Margolyes as Madame Morrible, Lenny Wolpe as The Wizard, David Burnham as Fiyero, Cristy Candler as Nessarose, Ben Liebert as Boq, and Steven Skybell as Dr. Dillamond.Based on the novel by Gregory Maguire, Wicked has music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz, book by Winnie Holzman, and musical staging by Wayne Cilento.  The production is directed by Joe Mantello. 

Tickets are available through Ticketmaster www.ticketmaster.com.  For more information, visit www.wickedthemusical.com. Wicked is performed at the Gershwin Theatre, 222 West 51st Street, between Broadway and 8th Avenue.