Scott Schwartz Archives - TheaterScene.net

Scott Schwartz

ON THE TOWN WITH CHIP DEFFAA… AT CONCERTS HONORING BETTY BUCKLEY AND TONY BENNETT

November 9, 2023

This fall, I saw two of the most rewarding tribute-type concerts I’ve seen in recent years—one a glittering (if overlong), star-filled salute to “the Voice of Broadway,” Betty Buckley; the other a sincere tribute to the late master song-stylist Tony Bennett by young students from the school that he founded (and told me he was so proud of). Both of these very different events gave me some moments I’ll never forget…. [more]

Gigantic

December 8, 2015

"Gigantic," the new feel-good musical, is a dynamic up-to-date show about teenagers at a summer weight-loss camp. Previously seen as Fat Camp in the 2009 New York Musical Theatre Festival, Gigantic’s book by Randy Blair & Tim Drucker may be conventional, but its pulsating pop-rock score by Matthew roi Berger to lyrics by Blair is vigorous and high-powered and the energetic, first-rate cast under the fast-paced direction of Scott Schwartz makes the material seem better than it is. This is one of the few teen musicals in which the characters actually sound like modern youth rather than what adults think they sound like. [more]

ON THE TOWN with Chip Deffaa, March 31st, 2015

April 1, 2015

Of course, not everybody in the arts who has potential will stick with it. There’s a high rate of attrition in the arts. The stresses and strains of pursuing a career will be too much for many people. One must have not just talent, but energy and drive and determination, plus a certain stubborn kind of stick-to-it quality that is simply all-too-rare. And you also have to be a risk-taker, with an instinct for knowing when to move out of your comfort zone and take the chance on something that excites you, even it may appear risky. [more]