Behind-the-scenes stories galore!
Revised and Updated Second Edition
Defying Gravity
The Creative Career of Stephen Schwartz
from Godspell to Wicked
by Carol de Giere with a Foreword by composer Alan Menken
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Wicked Fans – enjoy stories behind the songs
and the making of Wicked.
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Step inside Stephen Schwartz’s creative world
DEFYING GRAVITY: The Creative Career of Stephen Schwartz, from Godspell to Wicked, Revised and Updated Second Edition. Author Carol de Giere takes readers behind the scenes, from Stephen Schwartz’s writing of Godspell’s score at age 23 through the making of the megahit Wicked and beyond. Overall, de Giere draws from more than 100 hours of interviews with Schwartz and his colleagues, friends and family. The book features “Creativity Notes” about Schwartz’s writing process, and it includes rare photographs, many from Schwartz’s private archives. Don’t miss the fascinating stories revealing how Stephen Schwartz wrote his iconic songs like “Defying Gravity,” “For Good,” and so many others. This book was published by Applause Theatre and Cinema Books in 2018 and is still relevant for fans of the new Wicked movies (2024 and 2025).
Defying Gravity – See Contents Page
Defying Gravity – Read Excerpt, Chapter 16
What’s New in the 2nd Edition of this Stephen Schwartz Biography?
Adding to the 14 chapters about Wicked, readers will now also find
- 30: Wicked Worldwide and the Life-Changing Milestone: Wicked since the Broadway opening; Schwartz’s own changes after Wicked’s success,
- 31: From Movies to Stage Musicals: The Hunchback of Notre Dame and The Prince of Egypt,
- 32: Hollywood Calls Again: The Wicked movie, Disney’s Enchanted, and other movie projects,
- 33: Always More Magic to Do – Schwartz’s array of creative ventures, the lost musical Houdini, and more.
CREATIVITY NOTES: For this 2018 edition, both the author and Stephen Schwartz revisited every chapter, sometimes adding new stories. In Defying Gravity, de Giere also offers additional “Creativity Notes,” a popular feature of the first edition. Schwartz comments about overcoming creative blocks, collaboration, and the artistic life.
FOREWORD BY ALAN MENKEN: Schwartz and Menken recently collaborated on the stage production of The Hunchback of Notre Dame. In his Foreword, Alan Menken reveals the inside story of their creative efforts for both the stage and movie versions of Hunchback, and comments on their work for Pocahontas and Enchanted.
What Stephen Schwartz says about this Biography
“I have always appreciated the unique way Carol organized the book, so that instead of a standard biography jumping from career peak to peak, it shows the struggles, setbacks and daily frustrations of trying to be a professional writer, and it includes creativity ideas from not just me but other talented colleagues, which I think are inspiring to anyone (and remain useful for me to re-read). I have to say that I really like this new version, which is both shorter and more complete at the same time, so kudos to Carol for that.” – Stephen Schwartz in a newsletter, October 2018.
“In Defying Gravity, Carol de Giere pulls back the curtain and gives us a fascinating glimpse into the creative process of one of the musical theater’s greatest wizards. Enjoy!”
~Stephen Flaherty
Tony Award-winning composer (Anastasia, Ragtime, Once on this Island)
“I devoured Defying Gravity, the Stephen Schwartz bio….”
~Lin Manuel Miranda
Tony Award-winning writer & composer (Hamilton, In the Heights)
“I had the opportunity to interview Stephen Schwartz and was lucky enough to buy his fantastic biography on Amazon to prep! I devoured it—not only because it’s wonderfully written and tells a great story, but because it was so refreshingly honest about the vulnerability and pressure we face as artists. I have recommended it to everyone and anyone who wants to write for the stage or movies since. Each chapter has a “creativity notes” section which gives hands on insight into process, not only of songwriting, but how to navigate the mental game of show business.”
~Kristen Anderson-Lopez
Academy and Grammy-award winning songwriter (Frozen)
Praise for Defying Gravity Revised & Updated 2nd Edition
“A thoroughly fascinating read”
A stunning 512 pages (with photographs and handwritten notes), de Giere’s book is a thoroughly fascinating read as well as something of a musical theatre master class in written form — one that has been lovingly lensed through the life and creativity of Stephen Schwartz …. READ MORE: Defying Gravity 2nd Edition Soars
“Changed For Good”
This new version of what had been an already an impactful book offers deeper and wider insights into the creative mind of Stephen Schwartz…As she did in the original edition, the author has captured not only the genius of the man, but his spirit, as well.
READ MORE: Changed for Good…. Defying Gravity II review
“A treasure-trove of information, stories, insights…”
The second edition of Defying Gravity is a treasure-trove of information, stories, insights and creative advice for anyone one who wants to know more about Stephen Schwartz, or about the creative process of writing songs for the stage and screen. READ MORE: ‘Defying Gravity’: Even Better the Second Time Around
“Reflects all [Schwartz] has accomplished in the last decade.”
The problem with writing a biography of a man who’s still alive is that he may still achieve more after the book’s release.
Stephen Schwartz has done just that, so Carol de Giere had to write a new edition of her ten-year old Defying Gravity to reflect all that the composer-lyricist has accomplished in the last decade. READ MORE A Second Look at Stephen Schwartz
Praise for Defying Gravity First Edition
“Not just a he-did-this-then-he-did-this biography”
“Defying Gravity, which takes its name from the Act 1 closer in “Wicked,” is not just a he-did-this-then-he-did-this biography: de Giere reconstructs the collaborative process that brought Schwartz’s works to the Great White Way. There were turbulent roads (‘The Baker’s Wife‘ was particularly rocky) and there are many moments of inspiration. Along the way, de Giere sprinkles in insight from the composer-lyricist, peppering the narrative with archival photos and quotes from dozens of interviews….”
“a must-have for fans”
“Carol de Giere’s Defying Gravity: The Creative Career of Stephen Schwartz from Godspell to Wicked isn’t just about these two shows, although a remarkable 152 pages (out of 535) are dedicated to the current hit Broadway show. De Giere seamlessly interweaves details about Schwartz’s personal life with accounts of the creative process of all of his musicals, plus such animated films as Pocahontas and The Hunchback of Notre Dame. The book also includes several full-page photographs and copies of Schwartz’s original hand-written music, making it a must-have for any of the composer’s many fans.”
“the mind, heart and soul of Stephen Schwartz”
Ms. de Giere has done a masterful job of entering into the mind, heart and soul of Stephen Schwartz in learning to understand his creative and collaborative processes. She has structured her insights with a wonderful dramatic arc – early successes, troubled middle career, recent acclaim amid some continuing travail and disappointment. The resulting book is a gift to fans of musical theater and to students of creativity…
“Illuminates Schwartz’s particular genius”
“For all lovers of the works of Stephen Schwartz, this is essential reading. Thorough and well-written, it is most interesting on the complex collaborations behind his work and illuminates his particular genius for combining lyrical and melodic invention in the service of a good story.”
“makes fascinating reading”
Yes, she covers the creative career of Stephen Schwartz, but in the process she does something much greater. Here is a book that explains just why it is so hard to make a musical – what “collaboration” actually means over the months and years that it takes to carry a concept from brainstorm to curtain call.
“revealing”
“I marvel at how well you tell a story, how quickly your reader gets to know Stephen Schwartz, as a person and an artist. You have assembled an enormous amount of detail and manage to pack it all into your pages while still maintaining an easy-to-read flow. With all this, your approach to Stephen is intimate and comfortably human, but always respectful and compassionate. I am your admiring fan! Your book reveals so much about the enormous complexity and beauty of musical theatre: What lies behind a minute in time when an audience is moved to that special place where they have never been before. Your book is not only a journey, but an education.”
About the “Defying Gravity” Title and the Wicked Coverage
Carol de Giere titled this career biography after the “Defying Gravity” song from Stephen Schwartz’s hit musical Wicked. Within Wicked, the song represents the moment when the green girl, Elphaba, realizes she must stand for what she believes in regardless of previous expectations and the response from people around her. The biography portrays a songwriter whose dreams were often dashed and whose work was often criticized, but who found new ways to defy burdening problems and opinions.
The most extensive behind-the-scenes coverage in DEFYING GRAVITY is for Wicked. The author was granted interviews with Schwartz and his collaborators during the musical’s development process, and DEFYING GRAVITY includes quotations from them that are not available in other sources.
Q & A: How did you get started writing a Stephen Schwartz biography?
In December of 1999 I joined a project with several hundred other freelance writers who were helping prepare a music website. We were supposed to spend 1-2 hours writing brief biographies of musicians based on information we found on the internet. I was assigned to write about musicians whose last names start with the letter “S.”
After spending about 10 hours absorbed in the answers Stephen provided on www.stephenschwartz.com, I realized he was someone who could describe his creative process and had plenty of interesting stories. Plus, I liked his musicals. So, I emailed him to ask if I could write a book about him. He wrote back, “No one to date has asked.” That was January 2000.