Stephen Schwartz: 'Afternoon' at the opera

Don't talk to Stephen Schwartz about his BlackBerry. Or "Crackberry," as the famed composer-lyricist calls it. It died recently, during rehearsals for "Séance on a Wet Afternoon," a new opera -- his first, in fact -- which opened at Lincoln Center's New York City Opera Tuesday.

He's no technophile, he admits, bristling at the way gadgets aren't built to last. Unlike Schwartz himself, apparently, who sits in his Manhattan apartment looking fit, relaxed, an Oscar on display near the grand piano.

The Roslyn Heights native, 63, has cranked out Broadway hits, from "Godspell" and "Pippin" in the 1970s to a recent toe-tapper called "Wicked." In between, he's had, well, flops, dashed hopes, a rejuvenating collaboration with Alan Menken writing film scores ("Pocahontas," for one) and awards (three Oscar and four Grammy wins, and six Tony nominations).

"Séance," based on a novel and 1964 film, tells the tale of a medium who plots the kidnapping of a child so she can later earn fame pretending to find the girl through psychic powers. Her plans, alas, go awry.

Schwartz, who is married with two children, sat down recently with Newsday contributor Joseph V. Amodio to discuss sopranos, critics and the virtues of Mineola High.

How long have you been interested in opera?

When I was a toddler, my parents had a recording of a soprano singing arias, and I used to ask for it -- I called her "the high lady." So I've always had some affinity for it, but it was a college roommate who really introduced me to opera.

It's gutsy, trying something new. What's tougher about opera?

Traditional opera isn't miked. So it has to be written in such a way that the voices can be heard. You can't depend on a sound mixer to kick the voice up. That was a real learning curve for me.

What musical theater elements are you bringing in?

One is storytelling. It annoys me when people say, "Opera stories are silly -- just enjoy the music." That's not always true. "Tosca," for instance, has really good storytelling.

"Séance" certainly appears intriguing.

There are surprises, shocks -- you want to come back after intermission to know what happens next. I also thought it'd be nice to leave with some tunes stuck in your head.

What do you recall from your Roslyn Heights days?

It was one of those postwar, quarter-acre developments, a pretty normal suburban upbringing. Mineola High School was fantastic. My friends and I used to sneak out and go to White Castle for lunch.

Were you involved in music?

I played in the orchestra, and did theater. I directed "And Then There Were None" my senior year. The thing about Mineola -- it was such an excellent school. And Mineola isn't wealthy. It's middle class. We're not talking Great Neck South, which we used to refer to as the school that cost more than Alaska, rumored to have swimming pools and bowling alleys inside. But Mineola was strong academically, with lots of extracurriculars -- and it was a major sports school. This is what you expected from a public school. Now, we vilify public school teachers and cut arts funding. I don't understand how priorities have shifted so much. To our detriment, I think.

You hear a lot about how much little girls connect to "Wicked." Why is it such a success?

Well, I think -- well, first of all I should say my collaborators and I get annoyed when people imply it's a musical for little girls. In the audience, you also see boys, teenagers, couples, older people. I've gotten amazing emails from people . . . one from a woman who was in an abusive marriage. A friend took her to see "Wicked" and . . . there was something about the song "Defying Gravity." She wrote to say she'd left her husband, taken her kids and turned her life around. So it's not just little girls.

Point taken. The show's a juggernaut, and that can't just be due to little girls.

It's primarily the character of Elphaba -- taking a quintessential villain and looking at things from her view is empowering to people who feel alienated. Some critics didn't see that. But audiences did.

Do you read reviews?

I don't! I've gotten my share of OK reviews. But I tend not to be the critics' darling. Even good reviews are destructive -- you want to believe them. But if you do, then you have to believe the bad ones, too.

So how do you deal with all that?

It's hard. You have to find survival mechanisms. And you need a thick skin.

Hmm, we could start singing "Defying Gravity" here.

I think all of us have that green girl inside us.