Winnie Holzman and Stephen Shwarts

Wicked is one of the greatest musical phenomenons of past five years, the constantly brilliant casts have brought the visions of Gregory Maguire to life onstage. But the real heroes of the story are writer Winnin Holzman and composer Stephen Shwartz. It is amazing that these two creative powerhouses did not collaborate together before, but fans of the musical are all very glad that they did.

Winnie Holzman is from New York City and grew up in Long Island. Not surprisingly she majored in English and Creative Writing when she was in college, attending the prestigious Princeton Univeristy. During her time there she was the recipient of numerous poetry awards, she went on to study the theater as an MA student at New York University - learning from some of the best in the business.

Her first musical was Birds of Paradise, which she wrote with composer David Evans and was produced in 1987. She began her collaboration with Stephen Schwartz after meeting him at a party. Schwartz had already been trying to get the rights to turn Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West, into a musical. When he succeeded, Winnie Holzman was just the woman for the job. Be sure to get your tickets to see Wicked on a stage near you!

Posted in Uncategorized on September 19, 2008

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