Stephen Schwartz To Be Honored With Johnny Mercer Award At Songwriters Hall Of Fame Gala
The composer and lyricist wrote all the songs featured in ‘Wicked.’
Stephen Schwartz, the celebrated composer and lyricist for all the songs in Wicked, is set to receive the 2025 Johnny Mercer Award at the Songwriters Hall of Fame Induction and Awards Gala on Thursday, June 12, at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City.
The Mercer Award, the highest honor given by the Songwriters Hall of Fame, is reserved for a songwriter or songwriting team who has already been inducted into the SHOF. Schwartz was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2009.
“With every lyric and melody, Stephen invites us on an unforgettable journey,” SHOF chairman Nile Rodgers said in a statement. “From his iconic list of award-winning musicals, including Godspell, Wicked and Pippin, Stephen continually proves that he is the only person who can turn a simple story into a Broadway musical masterpiece, one catchy chorus at a time!”
The award comes on the heels of the 2024 filmic release of Wicked, which quickly became the highest-grossing film ever based on a Broadway musical.
The movie-musical soundtrack arrived on November 22, the day that the film opened in theaters. The soundtrack is available on CD, double vinyl, double picture disc, and digital.
Based on the 1996 novel and 2003 musical, Wicked follows the stories of two witches from L. Frank Baum’s novel, and the famous 1939 movie adaptation of, The Wizard Of Oz. Ariana Grande stars as Glinda (the Good Witch) who was adolescent friends with Elphaba, the misunderstood woman who would go on to be known as the Wicked Witch Of The West, played here by Cynthia Erivo. Bridgerton’s Jonathan Bailey, Academy Award-winner Michelle Yeoh, and Game Of Thrones alum Peter Dinklage round out the cast. Jeff Goldblum is also featured as The Wizard.
Notably, both the film and the soundtrack cover the first act of the Broadway show, ending with the show-stopping “Defying Gravity.” Every song from the first act of the musical is here, including the vocal showcase “The Wizard And I” and the fun Grande solo “Popular.” Wicked: Part Two will be released in 2025.
