The prolific composer talks about the early days of the musical and how he feels about bringing stage shows to the screen.
It wasn’t originally conceived as a way to celebrate the return of live Broadway performances but given its airdate, PBS’ Wicked in Concert: A Musical Celebration of the Iconic Broadway Score has become just that with live Broadway shows now slated to return on in just a few weeks, on Tuesday, September 14 th. In this special, some very recognizable names in musical theater will be performing songs from the smash hit Wicked, arranged musically by Stephen Schwartz, with Winnie Holzman as the book writer. The special is co‑hosted by Wicked’s original Broadway stars, Emmy- and Tony Award‑winner Kristin Chenoweth and Tony Award‑winner Idina Menzel, and features performances by Ariana DeBose, Cynthia Erivo, Stephanie Hsu, country artist Jennifer Nettles, Alex Newell, Isaac Powell, Amber Riley, Gabrielle Ruiz, and also includes EGOT winner Rita Moreno, among others. « Wicked” in Concert is directed by Broadway legend Baayork Lee with musical direction by Luke Frazier. The orchestra arrangements are created by Frazier with members of the American Pops Orchestra. Reminiscing about the early days of the musical, Schwartz says, “We did a whole lot of workshops and readings leading up to actual performances, but the first performance, we were, of course, terrified. The show was at least a half‑hour longer than it is now. We didn’t even know if the scenery was going to fall down. But when it started and Kristin came out and said, ‘It’s good to see me, isn’t it,’ and got a wonderful response from the audience, we were a bit relieved. Then when Idina made her entrance as the Wicked Witch of the West and she got entrance applause, we thought, ‘okay, maybe we are going to be all right here.
