NO PLACE LIKE SCHWARTZ

A star-studded birthday gala
honors one of musical theater’s
most enduring songwriters

The New York Pops celebrated its 43rd Birthday Gala at Carnegie Hall on April 27 with Changed for Good: A Celebration of Stephen Schwartz, honoring the Academy, Grammy, and Tony Award-winning composer-lyricist. Led by music director Steven Reineke, an all-star lineup of Broadway performers celebrated Schwartz’s remarkable body of work, with songs spanning Godspell, Pippin, and, of course, Wicked.

The roster of singers made for an impressive and expressive evening. One especially notable birthday gift came when a huge group of young people from Camp Broadway filled the stage and aisles to join Telly Leung for a stirring version of “All Good Gifts” from Godspell. Former Elphaba Shoshana Bean, fresh from opening The Lost Boys, delivered a big, belted “Bless the Lord” from Godspell, with Camp Broadway happy campers joining her and dancing for a holy revival meeting.

Last year’s Broadway venture, The Queen of Versailles, was not ignored, its short-lived run be damned. Sherie Rene Scott, who’d played the lead in selected performances, was commanding with “This Is Not the Way.” But it was Schwartz’s better-known works that dominated the evening.

The peppy, poppy Pippin was represented by “Corner of the Sky,” a classic “I want” song that has long been a go-to audition staple for every other young actor and his brother. This time it fell to Ben Platt, who delivered the yearning and burning desire. Lindsay Mendez found nuance and grace in the too-rarely heard “Stranger to the Rain” from Children of Eden. Contrastingly, the take-no-prisoners Mary Testa made “It’s an Art,” the proud waitress’s confident assertion of her expertise, a treat.

Tituss Burgess took on the traditionally female solo “Meadowlark,” an interesting programming choice that paid off powerfully. Written for The Baker’s Wife, this story-song was so disliked by the show’s producer, David Merrick, that he removed the sheet music from the orchestra pit so it would not be done in the show, which he opted to close before it could even reach Broadway.

Substituting for an indisposed Paulo Szot, Emmett O’Hanlon stepped in on short notice to successfully take over “You Didn’t Know Her” from Schwartz’s opera, Séance on a Wet Afternoon. Numbers from animated films were included, too. Judy Kuhn, who’d provided the singing voice for the title character in Pocahontas (1995), sang the ballad “Colors of the Wind” (music by Alan Menken) with rewardingly earnest sincerity. Aisha Jackson and Jasmine Amy Rogers proved a powerhouse pair on the showstopper “When You Believe” from The Prince of Egypt (1998, composer: Hans Zimmer). Kyle Dean Massey, a frequent Fiyero in Wicked, burst out with “Out There” (music by Menken, again), from The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1996).

The evening then turned to Wicked, the mega-success, starting with a potpourri of songs in a big instrumental medley. Another former Fiyero, Michael McCorry Rose, joined Mr. Schwartz, who sang from the piano, for “No Place Like Home” and “Beautiful City.” “For Good” was performed touchingly by alumnae witches Brittney Johnson and Mary Kate Morrissey, with the songwriter himself singing some harmonies. Cheers greeted “Popular,” sung by Miss Johnson, who tossed coy flirtations toward Mr. Reineke. Miss Morrissey mesmerized with the expected “Defying Gravity.”

The emphasis on Wicked, regrettably, came at the expense of less-popular but no less enchanting projects: The Magic Show, Rags (which had featured Ms. Kuhn), Schikaneder, My Fairy Tale, Captain Louie, Geppetto (AKA My Son Pinocchio), and Disenchanted (2022). Still, it was a richly rewarding, resonant night with much to savor. When one’s cup runneth over, how can one complain about being thirsty?

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photos by Rebecca J. Michelson

Changed for Good: A Celebration of Stephen Schwartz
The New York Pops
Carnegie Hall, 881 Seventh Ave. in New York City
performed April 27, 2026
for future shows, visit The New York Pops

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