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New York Post
13-06-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Post
Why 'Wicked: For Good' team is 'nervous' about sequel
Can 'Wicked: For Good' be 'Wicked: As Good'? That's the pressure facing the filmmakers behind the sequel to 'Wicked,' which set a box-office record as the highest-grossing movie adaptation of a Broadway musical after its release last November. 'Everybody's thrilled that the first movie was so incredibly well received and had such cultural impact,' composer Stephen Schwartz, 77, exclusively told The Post on the red carpet of the Songwriters Hall of Fame induction ceremony — where he received the Johnny Mercer Award — on Thursday night. 4 Stephen Schwartz is still 'working really hard' on the 'Wicked' For Good' sequel just five months before its release. ©Universal/Courtesy Everett Collection 4 Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo return as Galinda/Glinda and Elphaba, respectively, in 'Wicked: For Good.' ©Universal/Courtesy Everett Collection 'But it does raise the bar,' he admitted of the film that received 10 Oscar nominations, including Best Picture. 'So we're all a little nervous.' Indeed, Schwartz is still 'working really hard' on the sequel — once again starring Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande as Elphaba and Galinda/Glinda, respectively — just five months before its release on Nov. 21. 'I'm still doing scoring,' he said. 'We have our orchestral recording sessions next month, so gotta get ready for that.' Schwartz is also busy working on another Broadway musical that will reunite him with Kristin Chenoweth, who originated the role of 'Galinda/Glinda' in the stage version of 'Wicked' in 2003. 'We have a new Broadway show opening in November, 'The Queen of Versailles,' ' he said. 'Again, we're working very hard. We had a really good tryout last summer, but we learned a lot from it and are, you know, continuing to make improvements. But we feel like we're ready to go a few months from now.' 4 Stephen Schwartz was honored by Kristin Chenoweth and Mary Kate Morrissey for receiving the Johnny Mercer Award. Getty Images for Songwriters Hall Of Fame For those expecting more of 'Wicked' in his new musical, Schwartz explained that we're not in Oz anymore. 'It's contemporary America and a little bit of 17th century France, so not Oz at all,' he said. 'Kristin obviously will still be using that enormous gift of hers vocally and her comic gifts. So in that there will be a continuity, but it's a very, very different character, and you see another side of Kristin.' 'It's always great to work with Kristin,' he went on. 'We do a lot of stuff. We did some concerts together, and I've done classes for her Broadway Bootcamp. We're friends.' 4 Stephen Schwartz performed his 'Pippin' tune 'Corner of the Sky' after receiving the Johnny Mercer Award. Getty Images for Songwriters Hall Of Fame Indeed, Chenoweth showed up for her friend at NYC's Marriott Marquis, bringing the house down on the 'Wicked' duet 'For Good' with Mary Kate Morrissey — who ended her run as Elphaba on Broadway in March — before giving Schwartz his latest SHOF honor on Thursday. 'It's amazing just to be here tonight when so many amazing songwriters are being celebrated,' said Schwartz, who was previously inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2009. 'I looked at the list of the Johnny Mercer Award winners, and it's just all the great musical theater writers of the last, I don't know, 40 years or so,' he added. 'The fact that my name will be on that list now is so stunning to me and so humbling. They are writers who I've listened to all my life, who I've learned from, I've stole from. And I am forever grateful to the Songwriters Hall of Fame.'
Yahoo
02-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
2025 Truth Awards Ceremony Starring NLE Choppa, Sheryl Lee Ralph & More to Air on KTLA
UPDATE (June 2): The Truth Awards and its organizers Better Brothers Los Angeles announced Monday (June 2) that the annual ceremony would earn its television debut on Saturday, June 7. A full taping of the March 15 ceremony will broadcast on Los Angeles' KTLA at 8 p.m. and 10 p.m. PT, while the ceremony will also stream on the news channel's KTLA+ app starting at 8 p.m. PT. In a statement shared with the news, BBLA co-founder Scott V. Hamilton called the 2025 Truth Awards 'a testament to the indomitable spirit of individuals who dare to be authentic in a world often resistant to change.' More from Billboard Stephen Schwartz to Receive Johnny Mercer Award at 2025 Songwriters Hall of Fame Gala Cynthia Erivo Opens Up About Her Queerness: 'The More Yourself You Are, The Better Understanding Starts to Happen' The Roots Apologize to Fans After First Day of 2025 Roots Picnic Marred By Long Lines: 'Safety Will Always Be Our Number 1 Priority' PREVIOUSLY (March 13): Awards season might be over, but a number of A-list stars are ready to keep the celebrations going on Saturday (March 15) at the 2025 Truth Awards. On Thursday (March 13), the show's organizers Better Brothers Los Angeles and The DIVA Foundation announced the official slate of performers and presenters for the annual awards ceremony celebrating Black LGBTQ+ creatives, including NLE Choppa, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Coleman Domingo, Ava DuVernay and Tamar Braxton. While most of the newly announced attendees will serve as presenters and special guests at the ceremony, Choppa will offer his debut performance during the ceremony. 'True progress requires us all to lean into discomfort and emerge stronger,' BBLA co-founder Scott V. Hamilton said in a statement. 'The presence of allies like NLE Choppa underscores that our stories resonate beyond boundaries.' This won't be the rapper's first time celebrating the LGBTQ+ community during his career: When he thanked the community in 2024 for their support of his song 'Slut Me Out 2,' Choppa made his position on acceptance clear in a post to X. 'IDC what's normalized as a rapper, I was raised to F— with who f— with you! So thank y'all for appreciating my craft,' he wrote. 'My music For ALL we do NO Discrimination.' The new slate of stars will join in celebrating the evening's honorees, including filmmaker Lee Daniels, who is set to receive the event's lifetime achievement award. 'Visibility transforms lives; it disrupts outdated scripts and writes new ones where love conquers fear,' Ralph, who also serves as founder of the Diva Foundation, said in a statement about the Truth Awards. 'This celebration serves as a mirror reflecting our truth and a window into what lies ahead.' The 2025 Truth Awards will take place Saturday at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles. Tickets for the event are currently available at the Truth Awards' website. Best of Billboard Chart Rewind: In 1989, New Kids on the Block Were 'Hangin' Tough' at No. 1 Janet Jackson's Biggest Billboard Hot 100 Hits H.E.R. & Chris Brown 'Come Through' to No. 1 on Adult R&B Airplay Chart
