NJPAC to Host A WICKED EVENING WITH THE WIZARD: STEPHEN SCHWARTZ & FRIENDS With Pops Orchestra
The event is on Saturday, February 21.
On Saturday, February 21, 2026, at 7:30 p.m., The New Jersey Performing Arts Center will celebrate one of Broadway's most influential composers with A Wicked Evening with the Wizard: Stephen Schwartz & Friends with Pops Orchestra.
The one-night-only concert will pay symphonic tribute to Schwartz's five-decade career and the enduring legacy of Wicked, which recently marked its 22nd year on Broadway and will soon return to the big screen with Wicked: For Good. A lineup of Broadway stars-featuring Liz Callaway, Debbie Gravitte, Kelli Rabke, Shaleah Adkisson, Michael McCorry Rose, Scott Coulter, John Boswell, and Evan Roider-will join a twelve-piece pops orchestra, with Edward W. Hardy (The Woodsman), Jen Herman (Stephen Sondheim's Old Friends), and Mairi Dorman-Phaneuf (The Great Gatsby), to perform selections from Schwartz's celebrated catalogue, including Godspell, Pippin, Wicked, Children of Eden, and The Prince of Egypt.
Stephen Schwartz's work has defined generations of musical theatre and film. A native New Yorker and graduate of Carnegie Mellon University, Schwartz began his Broadway career in 1971 with Godspell, winning two Grammy Awards. His subsequent hits include Pippin, The Magic Show, and Children of Eden.
Schwartz has also left an indelible mark on Hollywood, penning Oscar-winning songs for Disney's Pocahontas ("Colors of the Wind") and The Prince of Egypt ("When You Believe"), as well as beloved scores for The Hunchback of Notre Dame and Enchanted.
His 2003 musical Wicked-with its unforgettable score and the hit "Defying Gravity"-remains one of the most successful Broadway shows in history, earning him another Grammy Award and cementing his reputation as one of the most prolific songwriters of his era. Schwartz has received a Tony Award for humanitarian contributions to the theatre, a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and induction into both the Theatre and Songwriters Halls of Fame.
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