Schwartz writes strong tunes that he sets to stories with a wide mass appeal. Between the Bible and The Wizard of Oz, he chose to work on material related to two of the biggest literary franchises in the Western World, which partly explain the runaway success of Godspell and Wicked. Notably, Pippin is not proving as strong a property, and its success is heavily tied to a strong director with a novel concept.
It might be that a few of his songs are kept alive as standards, and the popularity of Jesus and Dorothy may keep his two big hits playing for years to come, but no one should mistake Schwartz for a Great composer today, and no one will in the future. |
