Stephen Schwartz will never be done with Wicked for good. It is more than his most famous creation – it has become who he is. He even titled his memoir Defying Gravity.
The American composer, 77, is reflecting on that backstage at Dubai Opera before the musical’s UAE premiere.
More than two decades after Wicked first took flight, Schwartz is still deeply embedded in its world, having only recently returned to write new material for Wicked: For Good, the second part of the film adaptation.
For Schwartz, Oz – creatively, commercially, spiritually – is a path paved in gold. And it's one he continues to shape, question and return to.
And while he's been hinting for months, Schwartz is now ready to reveal to The National exactly where his next steps could lead: a follow-up film musical to Wicked and The Wizard of Oz, based on the second book in L Frank Baum's series, centred on Princess Ozma – one of the overarching story's most pivotal characters.
Tentatively titled Ozma, Schwartz is developing the project along with his longtime collaborator Winnie Holzman. For Wicked, Schwartz wrote the music and lyrics, while Holzman wrote the book – a dynamic they're set to continue.
“I feel a little funny announcing this, because I don't know that it will happen, but we're at work on it. We went to Universal and they're very interested. So we're going to see if it will lead somewhere.”
Schwartz and Holzman have been working on the idea for “a couple of years” now, he says. It originated from producer and artist George Makrinos – who also wrote the Ages of Oz book series under the pen name Gabriel Gale.
“George approached Winnie and me for this, and we were very taken with the story he wants to tell,” says Schwartz.
Unlike Wicked – which was based on the novel by Gregory Maguire – Ozma will not be a subversive reimagining of the source material, Schwartz says.
“Full marks to Gregory, because telling the Oz story from the Wicked Witch's point of view was a genius idea. And I feel extremely fortunate to have been able to take a ride on that idea that Gregory had,” Schwartz says.
“But Baum's Oz world is very rich also, and he had some very interesting stories that he told subsequent to that first book, and that's what we're playing around with now.
“This is more a direct adaptation of what Baum wrote, although it has its own spin – but it's based on The Marvelous Land of Oz, and is tentatively titled Ozma.”
The seasoned composer – who is an Emmy away from Egot status – hasn't spoken to Wicked director Jon M Chu about the project. “It's too early to discuss with a director at this point. We're still trying to figure the story out.”
He heaps praise on Chu, whom he calls a great collaborator. “Winnie and I felt really listened to. He might not do it exactly the way we had, but he basically addressed all our notes over the course of editing and re-editing the movies,” Schwartz says.
But Schwartz has spoken with his longtime producer Marc Platt – who was behind both the stage musical and its film adaptations – about the idea.
“Marc has such a good sense of storytelling, and he was very helpful to Winnie and me when we were developing the original show. He asked very good questions, and made a couple of very good suggestions that got incorporated into the storytelling. So we're very comfortable developing something with Marc,” he says.
The collaboration between Platt, Holzman and Schwartz continues in myriad ways. Other than the two film adaptations – Wicked (2024) and Wicked: For Good (2025), grossing nearly $1.4 billion to date worldwide – the stage show continues to evolve.
The Dubai Opera run is a “reimagined” production of the Broadway production directed by John Stefaniuk, who also helmed a version in Sao Paulo, Brazil, several years ago.
“They've set aside time for me during the rehearsal with the cast and orchestra, and I'm sure I'll have notes – one always does. But I liked John's last production very much, so I'm pretty confident,” he says.
And while he sees the movie adaptations as their “own thing”, working on the films has changed the way he's thinking about the stage version.
For Wicked: For Good, Schwartz wrote two new songs: Girl in the Bubble and No Place Like Home. While the latter will probably stay only as part of the movie, the other may be added to the stage show.
The song, which is sung by Glinda (Ariana Grande), is pivotal to the film, helping to explain the character's character turn to the audience rather than having it happen offstage, as it does in the original. It's so important to the story, in fact, that the original stage Glinda actor, Kristin Chenoweth, requested such a song at the time – a request that originally went unanswered.
The addition now would be simpler than it may seem. “There's a place for it right in the show – you don't have to create a new scene. And I think it does explore Glinda's story in a way that we just didn't think of when we were doing the show originally,” says Schwartz.
Some songs go through many iterations before Schwartz finally feels done with them. “As Long as You're Mine is actually a version of a tune from a pop song that I had written a long time ago. That song itself never really worked out, but I always liked the tune,” he says.
But Girl in the Bubble came together quickly because the emotional truth of Glinda's character was so easy for him to access.
“It didn't feel like any effort to re-enter where my head was,” says Schwartz.
Part of that – and part of the reason that both the film adaptations and the new stage version in Dubai resonate so strongly – may also be because the story feels more relevant than ever to the world we live in today.
“I wish it didn't, seriously. I wish it were losing relevance instead of becoming more and more. It would be nice if people could go see it tonight and say, 'Remember when that was going on in our world, way back in the day?'” says Schwartz.
“It's always been my fatuous, glib answer when people ask me how I write a song. I say, just tell the truth and make it rhyme. But that first part is what's important – try to tell the truth. Because when it resonates within you, it will resonate with everyone else, too.”
Wicked the Musical runs at Dubai Opera until February 15
