When twenty-three-year-old Stephen Schwartz wrote the score for Godspell in 1971, he launched a legendary career in musical theater and film that included the blockbuster Broadway hits Pippin, The Magic Show, and Wicked. The Academy Award-winning songwriter also wrote lyrics for three Disney movies (Pocahontas, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and Enchanted), as well as songs for the DreamWorks feature The Prince of Egypt. For this first authorized career biography, Carol de Giere draws from eighty hours of interviews with the songwriter, as well as from interviews with his colleagues. Defying Gravity delves into the challenging collaboration issues and decisions that led to phenomenal hits as well as expensive flops. It includes many never-before-told stories, a series of "Creativity Notes" with insight about artistic life, and more than 200 photographs and illustrations.