![]() ![]() Don't let anyone tell you too much about this show! You will want to be surprised and you will be. At one point I saw Winnie rush over to Stephen full of surprise and delight at the new lyrics. The amazing thing was that this was only the second time this script had been read publicly and I was transported to "Oz" without one single costume, set piece or magical illusion. There was a feeling in the air that we were witnessing Musical Theatre history. ![]() I imagine it was what the folks who saw early versions of A Chorus Line must have felt. There was something very exciting about it. I don't want to give you too many details about the show, but I will tell you that it was one of my favorite theatrical experiences. The overture started and we were off to an Oz we've never seen before. The whole event was accompanied by the musical director, Stephen Oremus, on a baby grand in the corner of the room. Marc Platt, the producer, greeted us, told us a few things about the show and asked us not to give away the plot twists to anyone who asked us about the show. There were enough microphones placed on the tables to pick up all of the voices. They each had scripts and scores and bottles of water. The cast members were all seated at a long table on a raised platform at one end of the room. I would guess there were about 150 people in attendance in a rehearsal room on the Universal lot. The purpose of this reading was so the head of Universal could see the show and give her decision on the funding of the next step in the process of development: a workshop in New York City. He wanted this to be a surprise for Winnie Holzman (book writer and collaborator on the project) because she didn't expect the song to be "fixed" in time for this reading. Fifteen minutes later we were off to see WICKED! We arrived at Universal Studios and the first thing Stephen did was take Stephanie Block (the actress who at that time was playing Elphaba, the Wicked Witch of the West) aside and teach her the new lyrics. While I was scrambling, Stephen took the opportunity to sit down at the piano and re-write the lyric to the one song in the show that wasn't working. ![]() Stephen had just returned from breakfast and told me that he wanted to depart for Universal earlier than originally planned, so I had to scramble to get myself ready to leave. It certainly made the five-hour flight much more enjoyable. I decided, however, that I would pretend the reason I was making the trek across the country was to see WICKED. So the real reason I was flown to LA: packaging, shipping and cleaning. He took an apartment there while he was working on the animated features and since that work has long been finished, he decided to let go of the apartment and ship everything home. Michael Cole: I was actually not officially making the trip to see WICKED, but rather to close up Stephen's Los Angeles apartment. Michael comments on his experience at the Los Angeles reading for Stephen's new show, Wicked, based on Gregory Maguire's novel Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West. Part of The Schwartz Scene back issue archives. They will give readers further insight into the life of the famed Broadway and film songwriter who is Michael's boss. When asked if he'd write some articles for The Schwartz Scene newsletter, he took time to contribute the following pieces that have now been extracted from the back issues and included here. ![]() Photo: Carol de Giere (Schwartz biographer, website publisher, and The Schwartz Scene Editor) and Michael Cole in 2008. In addition to being Stephen's right hand man, Michael is a talented professional actor and singer, and a water skiing enthusiast. Michael Cole has been Stephen Schwartz's personal assistant since 1993. Michael Cole Assistant to Stephen Schwartz ![]()
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