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Defying Gravity: The Creative Career of Stephen Schwartz, from Godspell to Wicked (Applause Books) |  | Author: Carol de Giere
Publisher: Applause Books
Category: Book
List Price: $24.99
Buy New: $10.56
as of 9/9/2010 05:38 CDT details
You Save: $14.43 (58%)
New (30) Used (14) Collectible (1) from $9.05
Seller: magers_and_quinn
Rating:  22 reviews
Sales Rank: 364754
Media: Paperback
Edition: illustrated edition
Pages: 544
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2.4
Dimensions (in): 8.8 x 7.4 x 1.3
ISBN: 1557837457
Dewey Decimal Number: 782.14092
EAN: 9781557837455
ASIN: 1557837457
Publication Date: September 1, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| • | ISBN13: 9781557837455 | | • | Condition: New | | • | Notes: BUY WITH CONFIDENCE, Over one million books sold! 98% Positive feedback. Compare our books, prices and service to the competition. 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed |
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Product Description
Defying Gravity takes readers into the creative world of Broadway and film composer Stephen Schwartz, from writing Godspell's score at age 23 through the making of the megahit Wicked. For this first authorized biography, de Giere draws from 80 hours of interviews with Schwartz and over 100 interviews with his colleagues, friends, and family. Her sympathetic yet frank narrative reveals never-before-told stories and explores both Schwartz's phenomenal hits and expensive flops. The book also includes a series of “Creativity Notes” with insights about artistic life, and more than 200 photographs and illustrations.
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 22
A marvelous book October 13, 2008
Gary Chartrand (Kalamazoo, MI USA)
9 out of 9 found this review helpful
For decades, I have been fascinated by Broadway musicals and Broadway music, even though my occupation has nothing to do with the field of entertainment. However, it does deal with creativity. I think this is part of the reason I was drawn to the work of such composers and lyricists as Rodgers and Hammerstein, Gershwin, Kern, Porter, Lerner and Loewe, and Sondheim. I have read everything I could get my hands on about this individuals and others. What in their background led them to this occupation? What led them to become so successful?
Stephen Schwartz is a member of the current generation of Broadway composers and lyricists. Probably because there are so few opportunities for individuals with this talent and desire, each generation produces a very small number of successful composers and lyricists. In his case, Schwartz is both a composer and lyricist. Anyone with an interest in show music will have his or her favorite shows and favorite songs. Schwartz is the composer-lyricist of WICKED, my favorite of his shows and an amazing accomplishment. He wrote the lyrics to the songs from Disney's HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME (and the German stage production of it) and to the song "If I Never You" from POCAHONTAS, also bordering on masterpieces in my opinion.
The author of this marvelous book is Carol de Giere. This book is not only extremely interesting to read, the author has capured the story of the steps along the path that led Schwartz from childhood to where he is today. This includes such great successes for someone so very young to great diappointments and how he handled them. We are left with an extraordinarily talented artist who received encouragement when he needed it and possessing an abundance of self-confidence.
There have been many movies in the past about composers (including Rodgers and Hart, Kern, Gershwin, and Porter). As I read this book, I thought: This book would make a good basis for a very interesting movie. For those individuals interested in Broadway, Broadway musicals and the people who create them (and creative people in general), I highly recommend this book and compliment the author.
An Amazing Analysis... October 5, 2008
Morgan L. Thornburgh (Seattle, WA United States)
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
Carol de Giere delivers an Amazing analysis of Stephen Schwartz. No one has done this, and de Giere's analysis is fascinating.
She talks about "Godspell,", and "Pippin," and "The Magic Show," and "The Baker's Wife", and "Working," and "Rags", and finally, and most importantly, de Giere spills the whole story of "Wicked." And she tells amazing backstage stuff. She was actually there.
Buy the book. It's amazing.
Wonderful journey with an amazing artist February 28, 2009
Joni L. Rodgers (Houston)
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
While I was working with Kristin Chenoweth on her memoir, A Little Bit Wicked: Life, Love, and Faith in Stages, I read "Defying Gravity" as part of my research, and I absolutely loved it. The creative genius of Stephen Schwartz is a force of nature and helped make Kristin a Broadway icon.
Kudos to de Giere and Schwartz November 5, 2009
C. H. Horrigan
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
It is rare to find a biography written so well that you don't want to put it down, with characters so vivid they live in your head when you do manage to briefly walk away. For anyone interested in the crafting of words and music, there is much to learn here. Carol de Giere describes in depth, not only Stephen Schwartz's work, but how he works. You need not come to this book a Schwartz fan, but you will probably be one when you finish it. I can not recommend Defying Gravity highly enough, particularly for anyone interested in music, writing, and theatre.
A Down To Earth Encounter! October 2, 2008
Jan DeFour (Grosse Pointe, MI)
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
If you are a fan of the music and genius of Stephen Schwartz, then you will not be disappointed in Carel de Giere's account of his journey as songwriter and lyricist from Godspell to Wicked in Defying Gravity. I have been a fan of Stepehn Schwartz's music for over thirty years and found Ms. de Giere's detail, via a chronological narrative, with personal notes, reflections, interviews and photos to be a marvelous insight into Stephen's musical career. It's as though you've been given a free ticket to the window of his musical life and can sit back and enjoy the show as you turn every page. The stories about the development of various songs and the singers/actors who performed them were so engaging that I found myself searching the internet to hear them perform. This is a book that will be read more than once. Bravo!
Showing reviews 1-5 of 22
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