“When I was in college at Carnegie Mellon, one of my roommates my freshman year was a big opera fan. I had seen some opera before that, but that's when I really got into it, and always thought that maybe someday I would like to try to write one.”

American musical theatre composer and lyricist

Stephen Schwartz is an American musical theatre composer and lyricist whose career has spanned more than five decades. He is known for writing stage musicals such as Godspell, Pippin, and Wicked. Schwartz has also written lyrics for films, including Pocahontas, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, The Prince of Egypt, Enchanted, Disenchanted, and the two-part adaptation of Wicked. His work moves between stage and screen, with songs and shows that have reached broad audiences over many years.