An Evening With Stephen Schwartz

Overview

In this video presentation, students meet one of American musical theater’s most talented composers, Stephen Schwartz. Topics include his musical education, his break into show business, and the creative process behind his musicals.

Suggested Use

This informative discussion with Stephen Schwartz is an excellent opportunity to both introduce younger students to musical theater through association with familiar films (The Wizard of Oz, Disney’s Pocahontas) and to explore concepts of musical theater with more experienced students (education and training, career paths, and the creative process).

Videos in this lesson may be watched as a class or individually. You may wish to incorporate other materials (books, films, soundtrack recordings) into activities based on this lesson.

• Ask students to define musical theater as it applies to stage productions and films. Lead a discussion on what distinguishes a "musical" from a "story with music." Discuss how the incorporation of dance into musical theater conveys ideas and emotions in abstract but effective ways.
• Have students research the history of musical theater, including influential composers, lyricists, and choreographers such as Cole Porter, Irving Berlin, Rodgers and Hammerstein, Frank Loesser, Lerner and Loewe, Leonard Bernstein, Jerry Herman, Jerome Robbins, Stephen Sondheim, Meredith Wilson, Bob Fosse, Stephen Schwartz, Andrew Lloyd Webber and many others.
• Explore how songs (as monologues) in musical theater can further character development and storylines in ways realistic dialogue cannot. Compare the use of songs by composers of musical theater to the use of soliloquies by Shakespeare and other playwrights.
• Have students list familiar books and movies that have been developed into popular musicals (e.g, Les Misérables, Phantom of the Opera, etc.) How were the original works modified to include songs for character and plot development? In what other ways was the original work changed to fit the structure of a stage musical?
• Select a filmed version of a musical (e.g., Chicago, West Side Story, Little Shop of Horrors, etc.). What elements of stage production remain in the filmed version? How does the moveable point of view of the camera compare with the fixed point of view of a theater audience member?
• Have your students read a book that has been developed into a stage or film musical (e.g., The Wizard of Oz, Wicked, Les Misérables, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Romeo and Juliet, etc.) After reading the book, have the students listen to the soundtracks from the film or stage musical. Ask them to identify the characters singing based on the subject of the song. Have the students explore plot elements of the story they are communicating in the songs, and how effectively the musical delivery succeeds as compared to the text in the book.
• Encourage students to select an existing work of fiction (book or film) they feel could be successfully developed into a musical. Have them identify and define plot elements and moments of character development they feel could be expressed effectively through song. Have students develop and present an outline of their musical’s story with song titles inserted at appropriate points.
• A printable study guide, including more detailed biographical information on Stephen Schwartz, may be downloaded by clicking "Get Study Guide" within the interactive resource. Teachers may wish to provide students with the guide as a supplementary resource when viewing the videos.

Technical Requirements

This multimedia site is bandwidth-intensive, requiring a high-speed Internet connection. Users should be equipped with speakers (or headphones in a lab or classroom setting) and will need the Flash 7 player.