Schwartz talks about his "bitterness"

[FOAnatic]

Posted: 3/13/05 at 11:28am

From a GlobeandMail.com article:

"That was a big deal,' Schwartz acknowledges now with a pained look, seated at a round glass table in the dining room of the two-bedroom Hell's Kitchen apartment he uses as his base in New York. "But in retrospect I'm glad about it because it completely cured me entirely of ever thinking about these things or dealing with them again. People kept saying to me this year, 'Were the Grammys fun?' [Wicked beat Avenue Q at last month's awards for Best Musical Show Album.] And I was like, I don't know, because I wasn't there, because I'm never going to another awards show as long as I live. That's it.

'I'm extremely bitter about it,' he adds, with a curdled purr. 'I'm happy to talk about it, I took it extremely personally, I consider it a personal repudiation. I'm very, very bitter and I expect to be bitter about it for the rest of my life.' Schwartz pauses, then adds, tongue-in-cheek,' he said cheerfully."

The link to the full article is below.
"Wicked" composer is bitter but better

[uncageg]

Posted: 3/13/05 at 11:35am

He walked out of the Tonys after he lost. He should have taken the high road and stayed. I guess he wasn't even there to see Idina win. It is ashame that he lost but I feel that the winner last year should have been Tesori for Caroline if not Schwartz. Very ambitious and good score. I listen to both of the OBCRs. Don't own Avenue Q and never will. Just don't care for it.

Updated On: 3/13/05 at 11:35 AM

[SallyBrown]

Posted: 3/13/05 at 11:37am

if you ask me, he should just accept it like a man that he didn't win, many other people who have lost awards did

[judy_in_disguise]

Posted: 3/13/05 at 11:38am

Wicked didn't deserve to win. If Schwartz couldn't see that his score was schmaltzy and frivolous, he's got other stuff to work out.
Wicked is entertaining but by no means the breakthrough musical of our time. Get over it.

[Blue J]

Posted: 3/13/05 at 11:39am

Shouldn't it just be an honor to be nominated in the first place? As cliche as this sounds, winning really isn't everything.
Updated On: 3/13/05 at 11:39 AM

[Corine2]

Posted: 3/13/05 at 11:41am

Long live Q.

[TheGaIsSilent]

Posted: 3/13/05 at 11:43am

judy, while I agree that Wicked's score isn't the strongest score in the world, MANY Tony voters have gone on record saying they were swayed by the fact that Q said it was touring as well, and that's why they voted for it.

[SallyBrown]

Posted: 3/13/05 at 11:44am

exactly Blue J!

[whatyouown223]

Posted: 3/13/05 at 11:45am

I don't know, I really don't care for Avenue Q's score. I mean, it's fun, but there's nothing groundbreaking about it. I did like Wicked's score better. Avenue's book's better, but I like the score to Wicked better.

[Matt_G]

Posted: 3/13/05 at 11:56am

I don't think either of them deserved to win. The best new musical of last year was CAROLINE, OR CHANGE.

If Schwartz wants to be a little bitch about losing than let him. Does he think that people are going to have more respect for him after saying something like that?

[whatyouown223]

Posted: 3/13/05 at 12:00pm

I never got into Caroline. I saw the CD, but I was like "$24.95, screw it!", so I just never found out about it. I wish I had, though.

[Corine2]

Posted: 3/13/05 at 12:02pm

Drop it. Jeff Marx won. And i am still doing a happy dance.

[TheGaIsSilent]

Posted: 3/13/05 at 12:02pm

::shivers at the thought of Caroline winning a Tony for Best Score::

ugh.

[riv]

Posted: 3/13/05 at 12:12pm

Mr. Schwartz was well within his rights to walk and his bitterness is completely understandable. Wicked is a Broadway musical. Avenue Q is a glorified revue.

I have no problem with young writers cutting their teeth on such material, but let's see what Lopez & Marx come up with next. Show us what you can REALLY do.
Updated On: 3/13/05 at 12:12 PM

[SallyBrown]

Posted: 3/13/05 at 12:13pm

I second what Matt_G said. does he think that saying this is gonna get him pity from friends? he should be happy he got a nomination! being a nominee for a Tony award is no joke and a real honor. So he should shut up. (that was aggressive...)

[TheGaIsSilent]

Posted: 3/13/05 at 12:15pm

Sally, I disagree. These days, all you have to do is write a non-awful score and you're gonna get a nomination.

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 3/13/05 at 12:16pm

He needs to go to the recently opened "Frank Wildhorn Turn The Other Cheek & Smile While Being Crapped All Over" school.


The Oscars never gave an award to Hitckcock or Cary Grant or Richard Burton . O Toole had to get a lifetime achievement award. Susan Lucci stuck in there. Steve, if you cannot take the heat, get out of the kitchen.


Them's the breaks Stevo

[SallyBrown]

Posted: 3/13/05 at 12:17pm

ok, so I guess there have been nominations that aren't really fair and undeserving, but I'm sure you can't help but feel honored if you've have a nomination, even if it is for something not bad

[Mythus]

Posted: 3/13/05 at 12:17pm

Jeez, somebody's a sore loser. Not getting an award doesn't mean your music is terrible - just like getting an award doesn't necessarily mean it's good. I think I like Schwartz even less now, if possible.

[FOAnatic]

Posted: 3/13/05 at 12:18pm

How is "Avenue Q" a glorified revue? It is a full fledged Broadway musical. It has characters, a plot (and a damn good and funny one), and a great score. Revue's are basically just concerts with choreography.

AVENUE Q has something that WICKED doesn't...an ORIGINAL CONCEPT. Wicked took a book and added some music. AVENUE Q was a simple thought in the minds of the composers that blossomed into a wonderful Broadway musical. Please do NOT refer to it as a "glorified revue" because it is not.

Updated On: 3/13/05 at 12:18 PM

[SallyBrown]

Posted: 3/13/05 at 12:19pm

FOAnatic, I agree with you there, but I just gotta thread jack really quickly and say that I think Wicked would have done better with its book if they stayed more with the original novel

ok end of thread jack, sorry

[riv]

Posted: 3/13/05 at 12:20pm

As if the creators of Avenue Q never saw or heard of Sesame Street. Yes, it was certainly a completely original concept.

Sure. Right. Okay.
Updated On: 3/13/05 at 12:20 PM

[Mythus]

Posted: 3/13/05 at 12:21pm

Avenue Q is in the style of Sesame Street, not based on it. Big Bird never shows up.

[FOAnatic]

Posted: 3/13/05 at 12:23pm

It was an original concept for Broadway. Nothing like that had ever been done. It's pretty damn easy to day..."Hey, nice book. I think I'll write some music for it and call it a musical." Instead the Q creators said "Hey, let's take this concept that had never been tried on Broadway and write a COMPLETELY ORIGNAL BOOK AND SCORE FOR IT! We'll actually use our brains to write a story ourselves and not one that's already written for us."

good one, riv.

[TheGaIsSilent]

Posted: 3/13/05 at 12:24pm

::giggles at the thought of Big Bird making an appearance during "You Can Be As Loud As The Hell You Want"::