Applause Theatre & Cinema books will release an updated and revise edition of Carol de Giere's Stephen Schwartz biography, Defying Gravity, The Creative Career of Stephen Schwartz, from Godspell to Wicked.
The release, due October 16, celebrates the upcoming 15th anniversary of Wicked on Broadway, which opened at the Gershwin Theatre October 30, 2003.
The expanded edition builds upon the initial 2008 release with a new forward by composer and frequent Schwartz-collaborator Alan Menken, who offers a behind-the-scenes look at his work with Schwartz on such titles as The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Pocahontas, and Enchanted.
Also new to this edition are passages detailing Schwartz's work with translators for international productions of Wicked, as well as the recent stage adaptation of the 1998 animated film The Prince of Egypt.
Defying Gravity covers Schwartz's entire career, with stories and insights from his work on such shows as Godspell, Pippin, The Baker's Wife, and Children of Eden, but the book gives special attention to Wicked, for which de Giere was granted exclusive interviews with Schwartz and his collaborators during the show's development process. Mostly drawn from over 100 hours of interviews with Schwartz and his colleagues, friends, and family, the book also features photographs and handwritten notes from Schwartz's personal archives.
For more information and to pre-order Defying Gravity, visit ApplauseBooks.com.
