Special Guests 2018 - oz-stravaganza2018

Special Guests for 2018 Oz-Stravaganza!

Stephen Schwartz

Stephen Schwartz wrote the music and lyrics for the current Broadway hit WICKED, and has also contributed music and/or lyrics to GODSPELL, PIPPIN, THE MAGIC SHOW, THE BAKER’S WIFE, WORKING (which he also adapted and directed), RAGS, and CHILDREN OF EDEN. He collaborated with Leonard Bernstein on the English texts for Bernstein’s MASS and wrote the title song for the play and movie BUTTERFLIES ARE FREE. For children, he has written songs for two musicals, CAPTAIN LOUIE and MY SON PINOCCHIO. He has also worked in film, collaborating with Alan Menken on the songs for Disney’s ENCHANTED as well as the animated features POCAHONTAS and THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME, and writing the songs for the DreamWorks animated feature THE PRINCE OF EGYPT. His first opera, SEANCE ON A WET AFTERNOON, was produced at Opera Santa Barbara and New York City Opera. A book about his career, “Defying Gravity,” has been released by Applause Books. Mr. Schwartz has been inducted into the Theatre Hall of Fame and the Songwriters Hall of Fame, and has been given a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame . Awards include three Academy Awards, four Grammy Awards, and a tiny handful of tennis trophies. http://www.stephenschwartz.com

Gita Dorothy Morena (Great Granddaughter of L. Frank Baum)

As a transpersonal psychotherapist, author, and lecturer, Dr. Gita Dorothy Morena is dedicated to finding the pathway home, and shines as a beacon of light for all those traveling along the yellow brick road of life. Her great grandfather, L. Frank Baum, provides a rich tapestry of fairy tales which Dr. Morena draws upon in a variety of ways to exemplify her teachings. Her book, The Wisdom of Oz, stimulates readers to discover the brilliance of their own associations with the story, and find the wisdom, compassion and courage that lie within them.
With the given name of Dorothy, Dr. Morena embodies the beloved heroine of her great grandfather. She encourages others to explore the mysterious realms of the inner world just as Dorothy traveled the magical territories of Oz. She consults with individuals and groups in San Diego, California, and creates a safe, supportive space where inner feelings can be shared, hidden attitudes brought to light, and intuitive wisdom recognized. Matilda Gage, Baum’s mother in law and early suffragist, seems to whisper encouragement as Dr. Morena carries the fight for freedom into the inner realms of the psyche. You can find out more about her at www.gitamorena.com

John Fricke

John Fricke is widely regarded as the world's preeminent Wizard of Oz and Judy Garland historian/author. He has written seven books on those topics, the latest of which—The Wonderful World of Oz—has just appeared as a trade paperback. He is a two-time Emmy Award-winning producer/writer of Garland documentaries for PBS-TV and the A&E cable network; a Grammy Award nominee for his journalism; and the annual host/emcee of Oz and Garland festivals nationwide. Fricke has spoken about Oz and Judy Garland everywhere from the Turner Classic Movies network (TCM) and "The Today Show" (four appearances) to CNN, NPR, and Sirius Radio; at The Museum of Modern Art, The Film Society of Lincoln Center, and The Paley Center in New York, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the TCM Film Festival in Los Angeles, and the Deauville Film Festival in France. John delivers the commentary track on the DVD of The Wizard of Oz movie, as well as on seven other Garland DVD releases. He is currently working with Warner Bros. on Oz-related projects; with The Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., on their new, forthcoming exhibition of their pair of ruby slippers from the Oz film; on the pre-Broadway stage musical, Chasing Rainbows: The Road to Oz; and on diverse Judy Garland assignments. John's eighth book will be published this autumn.

Tiffany Haas

Tiffany Haas has enjoyed a ten-year Broadway career, during which time she played the highly-coveted role of Glinda in the much-loved musical, Wicked, both in New York and on National Tour. She has also toured with the Tony Award-winning musicals, The Drowsy Chaperone and Hello, Dolly!, in addition to offering performances in numerous regional theater productions. Among her other careers, Tiffany appears as a concert vocalist and works as both a designer and passionate entrepreneur. She received her BFA in Opera and Musical Theater from the Cincinnati College Conservatory of Music; at the same time, she entered and won the title of “Miss Ohio” (2002) and competed in the “Miss America” Pageant in Atlantic City. Tiffany continues to appear regularly as a guest soloist with symphony orchestras all over the country. She and fellow Broadway performer, Michael McCorry Rose created the concert, Cheek to Cheek: A Broadway Romance, an acclaimed presentation that features music from the Great American Songbook and which debuted to sell-out crowds in New York City. Currently, Cheek to Cheek is being booked in cabarets and with symphonies across America (www.cheecktocheek.info). Tiffany is also the Artistic Director and vocal coach for Destination Broadway, a summer teaching intensive for aspiring young performers held in New York City (www.destinationbroadway.org), and she recently launched her own line of cosmetics, cosmetic bags, and handbags. FullBeat by Tiffany Haas is available for purchase online, and more can be learned more about living the FullBeat lifestyle by visiting www.FullBeat.com.

Michael McCorry Rose

Michael McCorry Rose has appeared on Broadway as Fiyero in the legendary Oz stage musical, Wicked. Most recently, Broadway audiences have enjoyed him in the Tony Award-winning musical, A Gentleman’s Guide To Love and Murder. In New York, Michael has also appeared in concert at Jazz at Lincoln Center, Birdland, Symphony Space and Feinstein’s/54 Below. He recently performed two evenings with the Orlando Philharmonic as part of the singing group Trí: The New Irish Tenors, and regularly sings in concert with his Wicked co-star Tiffany Haas in their show, Cheek To Cheek: A Broadway Romance. Michael’s regional credits include productions at Albany’s Capital Rep (where he starred in She Loves Me last winter), the Paper Mill Playhouse, the Williamstown Theatre Festival, Yale Rep, and Project Shaw. Originally from San Diego, he holds a B.A. in Mass Communication Studies from U.C.L.A. (Visit: michaelrose.me)

Shawn Ryan

Shawn Ryan has been making costumes for theater and special events for more than a decade. He attended school for fashion design but has also been self-taught via his own research and creative experimentation. Currently, Shawn works out of his studio in Palm Harbor, FL. Among his theater credits are Chicago at the St. Pete Little Theatre and The Producers at the Largo Cultural Center. He also did original costume design for Largo’s Lost at Sea. Shawn interned with Susan Hilferty on the workshop of Wonderland: Alice’s New Musical Adventure. (Hilferty is the Tony and Drama Desk Award winner for Best/Outstanding Costume Design for Broadway’s Wicked.) His costume recreations include such iconic fictional characters as Elphaba and Glinda (Wicked), Ozma (Return to Oz), Winifred Sanderson (Hocus Pocus), Rose (Titanic), and Cinderella. For exhibition at last year’s International Wizard of Oz Club national convention, Sean duplicated eleven classic Dorothy Gale costumes, ranging from that worn in the 1903 Broadway musical to Judy Garland’s iconic MGM garb and those dresses seen in The Wiz, Return to Oz, and etc. He’ll present four new Oz costume recreations at OZ-Stravaganza! 2018, one of which will thereafter become a permanent part of the All Things Oz Museum collection.

Steve Margoshes

Steve Margoshes composed the score for Fame-The Musical, the inspirational show about New York’s High School of the Performing Arts. Fame has played worldwide for 25 years, and is still going strong. He has orchestrated many Broadway musicals, including Big River (Drama Desk Award), The Who’s Tommy (Drama Desk Award), Aida (by Elton John & Tim Rice), Smokey Joe’s Café, and Soul Doctor (Drama Desk nomination). He has contributed to many Jim Steinman recordings (including Bat Out of Hell), orchestrated Steinman’s musical Tanz der Vampire (directed by Roman Polanski and still running in Germany and Austria after 20 years), and has written special symphonic arrangements for Andrew Lloyd Webber. With Hair authors James Rado & Gerome Ragni he composed the musicals Sun and Jack Sound. Steve has composed for symphony, ballet, rock recordings, and songs in various styles in addition to his many-faceted shows. An extensive body of his “pops” pieces for orchestra was recorded by the Budapest Symphony on Hungaraton & Albany Records. This Is Forever, an after-life piano rhapsody, featured Steve at the piano with the orchestra. The solo piano version (also with Steve performing) was choreographed by Jacqulyn Buglisi & presented at the Joyce Theater NYC as part of the 20th anniversary of Buglisi Dance Theatre. Also among the body of work recorded in Budapest is American Parade, which was performed by the West Point Army Band and became the subject of a documentary (of the same name) by filmmaker Frank Basile.