Stephen Schwartz To Perform Songs From Wicked At Oz-stravaganza
It was confirmed this week that Stephen Schwartz, composer/lyricist of WICKED, has added music to his personal appearance at the annual OZ-Stravaganza! WIZARD OF OZ Festival in Chittenango, NY, on Saturday, June 2nd. His on-stage, free-to-the-public interview was announced earlier this month, but Mr. Schwartz has now offered to perform songs from the score of WICKED during that presentation. Schwartz, a three-time "Oscar" and four-time "Grammy" Award winner, will appear as the headliner of the 6:30 p.m. event at Chittenango High School, 150 Genesee Street. (Doors open at 6:15.)
WICKED has long since achieved legendary status as one of Broadway's all-time, record-breaking musical productions and celebrates its fifteenth anniversary this year. Two of the Broadway stars of WICKED, Tiffany Haas ("Glinda") and Michael McCorry Rose ("Fiyero"), will also take part in the June 2nd program. They'll be interviewed together about their Ozian theatrical experiences and then later appear with Mr. Schwartz, as well. Emmy Award-winning producer, best-selling author, and Oz historian John Fricke moderates the Saturday evening showcase.
Mr. Schwartz will also offer a meet-and-greet/autograph session on Sunday, June 3rd, from 10 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. at Chittenango's All Things Oz Museum & Gift Shop, 219 Genesee Street, (315) 333-2286. The public is encouraged to arrive early, as space is limited, and the session time cannot be extended.
Ms. Haas and Mr. McCorry will be available for autographs and photographs at Chittenango's Oz Park on both Friday and Saturday afternoons from 3 - 5:30 p.m. They will also appear in the annual Oz Parade, which travels Genesee Street and kicks off at 2 p.m. on Saturday.
OZ-Stravaganza! 2018 runs from Friday morning, June 1st through Sunday afternoon, June 3rd. Oz Park will be open from 1 p.m. - 9 p.m. on Friday, from 10 a.m. - 9 p.m. on Saturday, and 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. on Sunday. The hours for the All Things Oz Museum & Gift Shop are 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, and 10 a.m. - 3 p.m. on Sunday.
This is the forty-first annual OZ-Stravaganza! in Chittenango; it is the largest, best-attended, and longest-running Oz Festival in the world. The village itself is the birthplace of L. Frank Baum, author of THE WIZARD OF OZ - the book that inspired the best-loved, best-known motion picture of all time, starring Judy Garland. Baum wrote thirteen additional Oz stories, and after his passing in 1919, the series was continued by six other writers until there were forty official "Oz Books" in all.
Other special guests at OZ-Stravaganza! 2018 include Baum's great-granddaughter Gita Dorothy Morena, a transpersonal psychotherapist and lecturer from San Diego, and author of THE WISDOM OF OZ; Broadway composer, orchestrator, and symphonic arranger Steve Margoshes, who wrote the songs for FAME - THE MUSICAL, and who is now penning Oz-related material, as well; costume designer Shawn Ryan, who will premiere at OZ-Stravaganza! his wardrobe recreations heralding WICKED, THE WIZ, the original 1902-1903 WIZARD OF OZ stage musical, and the more recent Andrew Lloyd-Webber incarnation of Baum's story; and Gabriel Gale, conceptualizer and coauthor of the new book trilogy for children and young adults, AGES OF OZ, published by Simon & Schuster. (OZ-Stravaganza! will launch volume two of that series, A DARK DESCENT, which was officially published on May 15 - the birthday anniversary of L. Frank Baum.) All four of these guests will appear "in interview" with John Fricke during the Friday evening OZ-Stravaganza! presentation at 6:00 at the First Presbyterian Church; the entrance to their fellowship hall is adjacent to the west edge of Oz Park, just off Genesee Street. They'll also be available in the park itself during the Friday/Saturday/Sunday afternoon hours throughout the weekend.
Please continue to check the OZ-Stravaganza! site for more specific information and further biographical details about these celebrities: www.oz-stravaganza.com
Photo Credit: Ralf Rühmeier
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