Join us for a night full of music from Broadway's best!
Academy Award Winner
Stephen Schwartz
Composer of Wicked, Godspell, Pippin and more
Since 1999 "Stephen Schwartz & Friends" has enthralled audiences around the world -- and received a standing ovation at every stop along the way. The Grammy® and Oscar®-winning songwriter teams with Liz Callaway, Scott Coulter and Tony® award winner Debbie Gravitte for breathtaking performances of songs from his legendary songbook including "Colors of the Wind,"Corner of the Sky,""Day by Day,""Meadowlark,""When You Believe,""Popular,""For Good" and "Defying Gravity." It's an unforgettable evening of musical theatre.
Stephen Schwartz was born in New York City on March 6, 1948. He studied piano and composition at the Juilliard School of Music while in high school and graduated from Carnegie Mellon University in 1968 with a B.F.A. in Drama. Upon coming back to live in New York City, he went to work as a producer for RCA Records, but shortly thereafter began to work in the Broadway theatre. His first major credit was the title song for the play BUTTERFLIES ARE FREE; the song was eventually used in the movie version, as well. In 1971, he wrote the music and new lyrics for GODSPELL, for which he won several awards, including two Grammys. This was followed by the English texts in collaboration with Leonard Bernstein for Bernstein’s MASS, which opened the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. The following year, he wrote the music and lyrics for PIPPIN, and two years later, THE MAGIC SHOW. At one point, GODSPELL, PIPPIN and THE MAGIC SHOW were all running on Broadway simultaneously. He next wrote the music and lyrics for THE BAKER’S WIFE, followed by a musical version of Studs Terkel’s WORKING, to which he contributed four songs and which he also adapted and directed, winning the Drama Desk Award as best director. He also co-directed the television production, which was presented as part of the PBS “American Playhouse” series. Next came songs for a one-act musical for children, CAPTAIN LOUIE, and a children’s book, THE PERFECT PEACH. He then wrote music for three of the songs in the Off-Broadway revue, PERSONALS, lyrics to Charles Strouse’s music for RAGS, and music and lyrics for CHILDREN OF EDEN. He then began working in film, collaborating with composer Alan Menken on the scores for the Disney animated features POCAHONTAS, for which he received two Academy Awards and another Grammy, and THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME. He also provided songs for DreamWorks’ first animated feature, THE PRINCE OF EGYPT, for which he won another Academy Award for the song “When You Believe.” He most recently collaborated with Alan Menken on the songs for Disney’s ENCHANTED. Mr. Schwartz provided music and lyrics for the original television musical, GEPPETTO, seen on The Wonderful World of Disney and recently adapted for the stage as MY SON PINOCCHIO. He has released two CDs on which he sings new songs, entitled RELUCTANT PILGRIM and UNCHARTED TERRITORY. Mr. Schwartz’s most recent musical, WICKED, opened in the fall of 2003 and is currently running on Broadway and in several other productions around the United States and the world. In 2008, WICKED reached its 1900th performance on Broadway, making Mr. Schwartz the only songwriter in Broadway history ever to have three shows run more than 1900 performances.His first opera, SEANCE ON A WET AFTERNOON, premiered at Opera Santa Barbara in the fall of 2009 and was recently produced by New York City Opera.Mr. Schwartz has recently been given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and inducted into the Theatre Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame. A book about his career, “Defying Gravity,” has recently been released by Applause Books.Under the auspices of the ASCAP Foundation, he runs musical theatre workshops in New York and Los Angeles and serves on the ASCAP board; he is also currently President of the Dramatists’ Guild. For further information, please visit http://www.stephenschwartz.com.
LIZ CALLAWAY
Tony nominee and Emmy winner Liz Callaway made her Broadway debut in Stephen Sondheim’s Merrily We Roll Along. She has gone on to star in Baby, Miss Saigon, The Look of Love, The Three Musketeers, and for 5 years appeared as Grizabella in Cats. Off-Broadway appearances include The Spitfire Grill (Drama Desk nomination), No Way to Treat a Lady, Marry Me a Little and Brownstone. Liz sang the Academy Award-nominated song “Journey to the Past” in the animated feature Anastasia. Other film work includes Jasmine in the two Aladdin sequels, The Swan Princess, and The Rewrite with Hugh Grant. She received an Emmy Award for hosting Ready to Go, a daily, live children’s program on CBS in Boston. Other TV credits include In Performance at the White House, Inside the Actor’s Studio: Stephen Sondheim, The David Letterman Show and Senior Trip (CBS Movie of the Week.) Her extensive concert and symphony career has included appearances in London, Paris, Iceland, Vietnam, Australia, China and nearly every major city in the U.S. She performs regularly with her sister Ann Hampton Callaway, as well as composer Stephen Schwartz, and has had the great pleasure of singing with Jimmy Webb, Paul Williams and the legendary Johnny Mathis.Liz has six solo recordings: Passage of Time, The Beat Goes On, The Story Goes On: Liz Callaway On and Off- Broadway, Anywhere I Wander: Liz Callaway Sings Frank Loesser, Merry and Bright, and her newest album, The Essential Liz Callaway.
SCOTT COULTER
For his work in cabaret, Scott has received five MAC Awards, five Bistro Awards and two Nightlife Awards for Outstanding Vocalist. He was director and star of A CHRISTMAS CAROL: THE SYMPHONIC CONCERT in its world premiere with the Baltimore Symphony and reprised his performer role in the Emmy-nominated PBS production. He regularly performs in concert around the world with legendary artists including Stephen Schwartz, Sheena Easton and Ben Vereen. Scott was a 2017 Emmy nominee for "American Songbook at NJAPC." He is creator, arranger and director of several touring shows (symphonic and non-) including MUSIC OF THE KNIGHTS, YOU'VE GOT A FRIEND, BLOCKBUSTER BROADWAY!, THE FELLA SINGS ELLA, THE KING: THE MUSIC OF ELVIS and, for The ASCAP Foundation, JERRY HERMAN: THE BROADWAY LEGACY CONCERT. As a director his credits include many shows for The Town Hall in NY (BROADWAY BY THE YEAR, BROADWAY’S RISING STARS, BROADWAY ORIGINALS) and BBTY for The Berkshire Theatre Festival and Broadway by the Bay. Along with Michael Kerker and ASCAP, he's a regular producer/director of Michael Feinstein's STANDARD TIME at Carnegie Hall.
DEBBIE GRAVITTE
One of Broadway's biggest personalities, Debbie Gravitte has found herself in demand from the Broadway stage to the concert stage and beyond. She won the prestigious Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for her performance in JEROME ROBBINS’ BROADWAY, along with a Drama Desk Award Nomination and New York Showstopper Award. After making her Broadway debut in the original cast of THEY’RE PLAYING OUR SONG, she went on to appear in: PERFECTLY FRANK (DRAMA DESK AWARD NOMINATION), BLUES IN THE NIGHT, AIN’T BROADWAY GRAND, ZORBA, CHICAGO, and LES MISERABLES. Debbie has appeared in the ENCORE’S series productions of THE BOYS FROM SYRACUSE, TENDERLOIN, and CARNIVAL at New York’s CITY CENTER.Debbie has performed her nightclub act worldwide, from New York’s RAINBOW AND STARS, 54 BELOW, to London’s PIZZA ON THE PARK, and back home again to Atlantic City, where she’s had the honor of performing with JAY LENO, HARRY ANDERSON, and the legendary GEORGE BURNS. A favorite with Symphony audiences, she has sung with over 100 Orchestras around the world. She has toured with KEITH LOCKHART AND THE BOSTON POPS, appeared with LANG LANG and the CHINESE PHILHARMONIC in Beijing, along with PETER NERO AND THE PHILLY POPS, NATIONAL SYMPHONY (WITH MARVIN HAMLISCH), THE NY POPS WITH THE LEGENDARY SKITCH HENDERSON, ATLANTA SYMPHONY, CLEVELAND ORCHESTRA, PITTSBURGH SYMPHONY, UTAH SYMPHONY, ST. LOUIS, HOUSTON, DALLAS and SAN DIEGO SYMPHONIES.Overseas, Debbie has sung with the LONDON, AALBORG and BIRMINGHAM SYMPHONY ORCHESTRAS, STOCKHOLM PHILHARMONIC, the GOTESBORG and JERUSALEM SYMPHONIES, MUNICH PHILHARMONIC, the ROYAL SCOTTISH NATIONAL ORCHESTRA, ORCHESTRA MASSIMO DEL PALERMO andSYMPHONICA OF BRAZIL, along with THE MALAYSIAN PHILHARMONIC.On television, Debbie co-starred on the CBS series TRIAL AND ERROR, was seen on NBC’S PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS, and has starred in several specials for PBS, including LIVE FROM THE KENNEDY CENTER, THE BOSTON POPS CELEBRATE BERNSTEIN, RODGERS AND HART for GREAT PERFORMANCES, and IRA GERSHWIN’S 100th BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION.Debbie has 3 solo CD’s to her credit: DEFYING GRAVITY, THE MGM ALBUM, and PART OF YOUR WORLD, THE MUSIC OF ALAN MENKEN. Her other recordings include: CALAMITY JANE, UNSUNG SONDHEIM, LUCKY STIFF, MISS SPECTACULAR., LOUISIANA PURCHASE, A BROADWAY CHRISTMAS, as well as MACK AND MABEL IN CONCERT: live from the DRURY LANE THEATRE among others. She is currently working on her latest project: BIG BAND BROADWAY.Debbie has sung with the NEW YORK CITY BALLET in PETER MARTIN’S “THOU SWELL” at LINCOLN CENTER, appeared with BETTE MIDLER in the Universal Feature, ISN’T SHE GREAT?, and can be heard as one of the voices in DISNEY’S THE LITTLE MERMAID. Debbie is the proud mother of three beautiful children. For more info, please visit www.debbiegravitte.com or www.debbietunes.com.
