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Stephen Oremus has lived inside the world of Wicked since 2000, when he sat beside Stephen Schwartz as the score was first played at the piano. Twenty-five years, countless productions, and two feature films later, that journey brought him back to where it all began: live performance. As Music Director for Wicked: One Wonderful Night — NBC’s two-hour musical special celebrating the release of Wicked: For Good, featuring Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande alongside a full orchestra, and an emotional reunion performance of “For Good” with original Broadway stars Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth — Oremus conducted these songs live for the first time with the film’s cast, after years of studio recordings and layered post-production.
We had the pleasure of asking Stephen about pulling the special together on an extraordinarily tight timeline, the magic of that opening sequence, and what it felt like to stand on the same Gershwin Theatre stage where he once conducted Idina and Kristin over two decades ago — only this time, with Ariana and Cynthia by his side.
Read the full conversation below!
You’ve been the worldwide music supervisor of Wicked since the very beginning in 2000, and you were executive music producer on both films. When they came to you about One Wonderful Night, what did taking on the Music Director role for a live television special feel like – and how did it differ from everything you’d done with this material before?
The live television special felt like a beautiful full-circle moment for me, returning to a live performance after making both films. Getting to conduct the orchestra and perform the songs live with Ari and Cynthia and the gang from the film felt so exciting, because we never got to perform the songs together with a full orchestra. When they filmed, we had recorded demos for them to sing along to and then we added the orchestra later. It was an unforgettable experience because we got to really play with the material in new ways and present songs slightly differently, which was a blast for the fans and for us.
The special featured a 37-piece live orchestra — assembled and rehearsed on a very tight timeline. Walk us through what that process actually looks like. How quickly did this come together and what were the early priorities?
We had about two weeks to pull it together once we knew exactly what songs were being done. Our priorities were all about crafting fresh versions of these classic songs in a way that captures the excitement of live performance, while still honoring the timelessness of the original material. I was lucky to have a brilliant music team to help me pull it together — while working around the clock with Chris Scott, our choreographer, as he staged the numbers. We also had to create all the bumpers that play people on and off during the special. We rehearsed with the movie cast for only the last few days. The dancers, ensemble vocalists, and orchestra were all added to rehearsals layer by layer. The movie cast came into rehearse with everyone for the last few days. So many elements had to come together so quickly in those final few days, just like putting on a Broadway show, and it was thrilling to perform.
The Overture is really a music director’s territory above almost anything else — you’re setting the sonic world for the entire evening in one piece. What were the decisions you made about how it builds, how it balances, and what it needed to announce to the audience at the Dolby Theatre?
We knew we wanted to have the iconic music that opens both the Broadway show and film be a part of the opening, but the sequence was built with practical sets to creatively introduce all the stars of the show in one long shot. Before the camera entered the building it was this long drone shot that started far above Los Angeles and eventually entered the Dolby and made its way to the stage. I had to create an extended opener that felt dreamy and magical and Wicked without taking away from the excitement of the music that eventually leads us to Ariana in the bubble. I got to be the first live shot of the show, when a dancer hands me the conductor’s baton and the curtain rises with me conducting the audience and the orchestra as they all sing along with “Good news! She’s dead!” from “No One Mourns The Wicked.” It instantly put us in a beautiful space where we were all coming together to celebrate these incredible songs performed by these extraordinary performers.
“For Good” brought together the original Witches — Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth — alongside Cynthia and Ariana, performing from the Gershwin Theatre in New York while the rest of the special filmed in LA. Musically and logistically, what did it take to make that moment land the way it did?
That was a very special moment. Stephen Schwartz wrote a new bridge to the song that so beautifully acknowledged the original two witches passing the torch to the current witches. We filmed it onstage in the morning. They flew a drone inside the theatre to capture some of the shots. It was a very emotional day for all of us. Here they were, on stage where I conducted Idina and Kristin 23 years before with Ari and Cynthia, with whom I had just spent 3 years making the films. To have Stephen Schwartz at the piano was just glorious. We also added strings to enhance the arrangement and give it more warmth. It was truly unforgettable.
The closing number was “Get Happy / Happy Days Are Here Again,” which came out of a request from Ariana. How did that request land with you creatively, and what did it take to build an arrangement that could close a show of this scale?
Ari had the idea to do the song and we were all so very excited about it. I tried to hunt down the original orchestration but only came up with a version that Judy Garland had done with Liza, so I enlisted Lenny Wee to reconstruct the original which had some different material. The version we performed was a note-for-note replica of the version that Judy and Barbra performed on The Judy Garland Show. I really wanted to honor the legacy of this iconic moment with Ari and Cynthia, who are truly two of the greatest singers of this generation, in my opinion.
Is there a single moment from filming One Wonderful Night — a take, a choice, a surprise — that you’ll carry with you? Something that happened in the room that the audience at home may not have fully clocked but that you know was extraordinary?
Having the opportunity to conduct the opening — when the curtain flew out and I was conducting the entire audience singing, then rushing back to the orchestra to continue conducting the orchestra and ensemble just as Ariana flies in, in a bubble… it doesn’t get more exciting than that! The thrill of being part of such an exciting live performance will never get old.
Wicked has now lived in your life for 25 years across every possible format — Broadway, international tours, a Halloween special, two films, and now this. What does this material still give you that keeps bringing you back to it?
Wicked changed my life. Stephen Schwartz has written a score that still delights, moves, and thrills me all these years later, just like it did when he first sat at the piano and played them for me over 25 years ago. The power and beauty of these songs continues to shine through in all of these incarnations, and it is the greatest honor to be there at every step along the way to help bring each of them to vivid life.
Photo Credit: Griffin Nagel/NBC
