Liz Callaway
The Wizard and I: Liz Callaway Sings Stephen Schwartz
March 25, 2026
Reviewed by Alix Cohen
I’m rarely a fan of albums recorded live; applause breaks the flow. In this instance, however, hearing Liz Callaway’s warm reflection on the musicals of Stephen Schwartz and of the man himself (a dear friend for over 30 years) was a great pleasure.
A preface of “The Spark of Creation” (Children of Eden) lifts and carries us, announcing a show of buoyant affection. Callaway first heard Schwartz’s music when she was in high school. She was taken to the see the touring company of Pippin—several times—then, she assures us, at only $15.00 a ticket. “Corner of the Sky” particularly spoke to the teenager at a time in her life when she was “just figuring it out.” Piano accompaniment is like light rain and a musing vocal conjure a furrowed brow. Even towards the end of the song as her voice swells, we hear introspection not performance.
When Callaway performs “Lion Tamer” (The Magic Show), its character morphs from an insecure magician trying to impress a girl to the universal wish to be “someone grand.” In fact, this wise and charming song arrives as if it were the aspiration of a guileless little girl.
The first Schwartz show in which Callaway was cast, at age 19, was an Off-Broadway production of Godspell. Shortly after 9/11, when she began to perform concerts with him, they would open with “Beautiful City” from that show. “In times of darkness, this song gives me hope,” she says. “Out of the ruins and rubble/out of the smoke/out of our night of struggle/Can we see a ray of hope.” Every lyric is sung to be meaningful, earnest, moving. The musical arrangement offers a soft place to land.
Callaway first met Schwartz when he asked her to make a demo for the animated film Pocahontas (written with Alan Menken). We hear an excerpt from “Just Around the Riverbend” from the original tape. It’s another example of emotional flight; no wonder she was hired.
“The Wizard and I” (Wicked) follows: “Did that really just happen/Have I really understood?” she sings, perhaps referring to being chosen by Schwartz. Sparklers go off. “My future is unlimited,” she continues, hopefully and astonished, as if she was hugging herself and whirling.
While gathering songs written for her by composer friends, Callaway asked Schwartz for one. They sat and talked on his porch. She told him how, young and untried, she’d been too shy to sing in public. He wrote “Fearless”: “I used to tell myself/All the things I was not/Not now, I’m someone else/Someone who is fully ready.” Her voice unfurls like a fan, opens like a flower, and spreads wide like welcoming arms. “Fearless” is bespoke, but again, as Schwartz is wont to create, universal.
“Out There” (The Hunchback of Notre Dame, written with Alan Menken) was written for the animated character of Quasimodo. “That doesn’t stop me now,” Callaway says, undoubtedly grinning. Schwartz got clearance to walk the cathedral before the film opened to the public. He climbed to the balcony imagining Paris as it was back then. Callaway has a deep comprehension of longing. The lyric emerges with pluck and determination despite embattlement. Piano is buttery. On its tail, “With You” (Pippin) also arises lustrous, heartsore.
Callaway can sing lightly without fraying and full out without breaking. Her articulation seems as natural as breathing, her control is superb. At the root of it all is empathy and persuasion without which everything else might arrive as a hat trick.
A medley of Schwartz songs gives us a taste of his “infinite variety.”
We hear excerpts from four musicals and two animated films, ending with a triumphant “Defying Gravity” (Wicked).
“This is my favorite song, not just my favorite Stephen Schwartz song,” is how Callawy introduces “Meadowlark” (The Baker’s Wife). “It’s one of these songs where you can’t just sing it, you have to live it while you’re performing it.” She does just that. Those of us familiar with it get a tingle, a frisson from the piano introduction. I find it difficult to hear anyone else perform this song without hearing Liz Callaway’s voice. It’s poignant, bittersweet, wrenching, and overflows with love. The slow surge is a signature, nothing before its time, nothing to just show off. If you thought “Defying Gravity” soared, wait until you hear this one. The former song is sheer happiness; this song’s exaltation pays the price of another’s despair. How many vocalists comprehend the difference?
“For Good” (Wicked) is like a cozy old family sampler: “Who can say if I’ve been changed for the better/But because I knew you/I have been changed for the good.”
This recording is a valentine from Liz Callaway to Stephen Schwartz, one audacious, talented artist to another. Here, we’re privy to share it. It was recorded live at 54 Below with MD/pianist Alex Rybeck, Ritt Henn on bass, Ron Tierno on drums, and backup vocals by Ethan Carlson and Cole Watchman.
