Video: Stephen Schwartz Opens Up About Nearly Leaving Broadway on CBS SUNDAY MORNING

On Sunday, Broadway songwriter Stephen Schwartz sat down with CBS Sunday Morning for a career-spanning conversation from Godspell to Wicked to his latest show, The Queen of Versailles, now running at Broadway's St. James Theatre.

"My glib joke where people say, 'How do you write a song?' [is] 'Tell the truth and make it rhyme.' If I can be honest enough, then that'll speak to other people," the composer said. 

Schwartz found success early in his career in shows such as Godspell, Pippin, and The Magic Show, which he admits made him "kind of difficult to deal with...  I lost somewhat the ability to collaborate." During the interview, he revealed that he quit Broadway in the 1999s following a series of flops, with the intention of becoming a therapist. Instead, that break from composing offered him a newfound appreciation for the art of collaboration. "I think that time away reminded me of how to behave myself and how to collaborate and how to deal with other people, and not just come in like a bull in a china shop."

Kristin Chenoweth, who originated the role of Glinda in Wicked and has reunited with Schwartz for The Queen of Versailles, was also interviewed for the piece. "I'm working with my Rodgers and Hammerstein, it's just packed into one person. There's not five of him. There's one. He's original. He's singular. And there's nobody else like him." Check out the aired segment now, along with the extended interview below.

Stephen Schwartz is best known for composing and writing lyrics for the Broadway and film phenomenon Wicked, as well as Godspell, Pippin, and Children of Eden. His work spans stage, film and opera, including Oscar-winning contributions to Disney’s Pocahontas and DreamWorks’ The Prince of Egypt.