Earlier this week, Princess Cruises raised the curtain on a groundbreaking entertainment partnership with Grammy and Oscar award winner, Stephen Schwartz. Schwartz is the composer of some of Broadway’s most popular hits, including Wicked, Pippin, and Godspell.
The new partnership, announced during an exclusive media event at Broadway’s Hudson Theatre, will bring Magic To Do, a brand new musical to the entire Princess Cruises fleet. Magic To Do will treat guests to a magic infused musical featuring a number of Schwartz’s best Broadway hits as well as a brand new song written exclusively for Princess Cruises.
The new show will first debut aboard the Crown Princess this fall, followed by Emerald and Ruby Princess later in the season.
“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. “Princess is known for introducing product innovations and we’re thrilled to embark on this extraordinary new live-show entertainment, unlike anything any cruise line has ever before offered.”
During the exclusive media event on Broadway, Schwartz fielded questions from a theater full of cruise journalists. Responding to a claim that cruise ship entertainment is “a step down” for his career, Schwartz rejected the idea that cruise ship entertainment should be looked down upon. He defended entertainment at sea, noting that cruise ship entertainment is an important piece of the entertainment world and that many professionals on Broadway have found their start at sea. Combined with Princess’ state-of-the-art Broadway style theaters and professional performers, Schwartz is excited to be bringing this groundbreaking partnership to sea, remarking “There is no reason cruise ship entertainment can’t be on par with Broadway.”
Magic To Do will eventually roll out across the entire Princess fleet and could potentially see unique changes or twists from ship to ship, according to Schwartz. He explained the goal is to keep the show interesting and engaging throughout the year aboard every ship. Whether we will see any special guest performances from his Broadway colleagues, Schwartz decided to just smile and quip, “We’ll see.”
More Magic To Do coverage from our friends at Cruise Radio
