Princess Cruises & Oscar-Winning Composer Stephen Schwartz Are A Winning Combination

Stephen Schwartz

Cruise ship entertainment has often unfairly received black marks in the past for being amateurish, predictable, or even dull. However, as we reported yesterday, with the wealth of partnerships being forged between cruise lines and highly-rated entertainment entities, that's no longer the case. While we can't all live in close proximity to Broadway, we can enjoy high caliber shows at sea thanks to Princess Cruises and their new first-of-its-kind cruise industry partnership with three-time Oscar winner and composer of Wicked, Pippin, and Godspell—Stephen Schwartz. The cruise line's new relationship with such a major creative talent from Broadway and Hollywood includes a multi-year agreement to oversee the creative development of four new musicals to debut across the fleet over the next several years.

During his 40-year career, Schwartz has won four Grammys, three Academy Awards for "Best Song" and "Best Score" for Pocahontas and "Best Song" for The Prince of Egypt, and has been nominated for six Tony Awards. He is the only songwriter in Broadway history to ever have three shows run more than 1,900 performances. His first musical for Princess Cruises will celebrate Schwartz's lifelong fascination with magic. Called Magic to Do, the show will combine thrilling magic with some of Schwartz's most famous songs and a brand new song written exclusively for Princess. The show will debut aboard Crown Princess in the fall.

"Stephen is hands down one of the most talented and accomplished Broadway composers of all time and we couldn't be more honored to partner with him to ideate and bring fresh talent together to create memorable entertainment experiences for our guests," said Jan Swartz, Princess Cruises president.

Schwartz will oversee the creative development for all four shows, bringing together a cadre of Broadway talent to support the productions through direction and design.

"I'm excited about the possibility of using the enormous resources available with Princess to create new and innovative theatrical entertainment," said Schwartz. "Their onboard theatres are Broadway-caliber venues with state-of-the-art technical capability, and coupled with their access to first-rate performers, I see it as an extraordinary and almost irresistible opportunity. I have already received overwhelming and enthusiastic interest from talented colleagues—writers, directors, and designers to whom I have spoken—and I hope together we will create new kinds of cruise ship shows to entertain and inspire Princess guests unlike any other productions at sea."

Image Courtesy Princess Cruises