Who Are The Finest Lyricists on Broadway Today?- Page 3

[Someone in a Tree2]

Posted: 10/4/15 at 4:42pm

I love how passionate this discussion of lyrics with or without true rhymes has become.

 

On that front, I still stand with Sondheim's justification for true rhymes over any other kind: the simple click they make in the brain when the properly matched rhyme lands properly. It isn't a question of what's traditionally approved or what's correct or incorrect, it's a question of what lands with the most power.

 

As for Stephen Schwartz's lyrics, I'd say in decades past he was a meticulous craftsman with great ideas. (The RAGS lyrics are by and large impeccable.) By the time he got to WICKED, something had changed within him, something was not the same. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 10/4/15 at 5:16pm

Sally, I have the recording made when or after the first tour ended. Is "Meadowlark" shortened? I only know the song from Russ Thacker's nightclub act (30 years ago) and can't remember it well enough to know how long it might be. The lyric sounds complete to my ear.

 

But I'd say almost every song on the American album I have is excellent. In its way, "Proud Lady" is as brilliant as "Meadowlark"; and Paul Sorvino is astonishingly good on both of his soliloquies during the Wife's absence.

 

Even "Where Is the Warmth?" is a lovely ballad; though I agree it's a rather weak argument since it has to support the entire plot reversal. Perhaps there's something in the book that makes it stronger.

 

But as for character and rhyme, yes, I think we're saying the same thing. Someone, I think Schwartz has always been hit or miss in that area. To me, WICKED is by no means the worst (and I've said elsewhere that I think his musicalization of "Loathing" is sheer brilliance). I love THE MAGIC SHOW as a pop album in which most of the songs seem tailored for Bette Midler; however, the lyrics are nearly incomprehensible in the theater. Of course there's not much "character" in that show to begin with.

[Sally Durant Plummer]

Posted: 10/4/15 at 5:30pm

I was talking about two "live" recording of the show. The song as it is on the official recording is complete. Here is the shortened version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvddL4mbWis

 

I actually love "Where Is the Warmth?" as a song. I think the way it musically connects to "Meadowlark" is amazing and actually gives her some reason to leave ("Meadowlark" then return ("Where Is the Warmth?". I just wish the score was supported by the book. Ironically, Schwartz has said he wrote the show for Betty Buckley - then she auditioned and didn't get the part. I think she was more lucky than she knew, if Patti's memoirs are to be believed (and I see no reason to doubt them).

 

Someone, I agree completely about Sondheim and perfect rhymes. Maybe when I have time, I'll type up his reasoning from the introduction of Finishing the Hat...

[Someone in a Tree2]

Posted: 10/4/15 at 10:43pm

Re THE BAKER'S WIFE, I actually saw the original production in its Boston leg of the out-of-town tryout. At the time, it was more important to me that I was seeing the very last Jo Mielziner-designed set for a show (the great set designer died during the tryout, and his faithful assistant Ming Cho Lee completed the designs-- talk about a brilliant passing of the baton!) The show itself was a lengthy bore with completely unpersuasive chemistry between Patti LuPone and Paul Sorvino. After a great sendoff like "Meadowlark" there was no convincing reason in the world why she would return to the baker in the second act. So you were stuck with an untenable shape for the evening, whatever the charms of the individual songs. 

[Fan123]

Posted: 10/5/15 at 4:37am

Speaking of rhyming, this is a bit of a digression, but: the current Spring Awakening production got me curious about poetry in sign language, which I Googled briefly. I can't understand any sign languages, but it's an intriguing concept that I hadn't thought about before: poetry in which the satisfying 'click/s' that Someone in a Tree2 mentioned might come from, for example, similar or repeated gestures rather than the hypothetical sounds of spoken words. I can imagine the BWW-esque discussions that might ensue between sign language poetry afficionados, regarding whether sign x is really similar enough to sign y to make a "perfect rhyme" (for lack of a better term), etc.
http://www.deafjam.org/poetry.html
http://io9.com/check-out-these-fantastic-examples-of-sign-language-poe-1578335974

Anyway, back to lyricists...

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 10/5/15 at 5:17am

Thank you, Sally and Someone, for the additional info. What a shame there was no chemistry between LuPone and Sorvino, because the latter is an amazing tenor as character actors go. And to be fair, the show had been on the road for six months with Carole Demas/Topol and, later, LuPone/Topol. Sometimes a lack of chemistry isn't the fault of the actors...

 

I like the version of "Where Is the Warmth?" that Judy Kaye includes on her tribute to Broadway divas. Her version actually sounds like a song. I don't know what happened in the LuPone recording or who was to blame, but the version on that album sounds like somebody (singer or orchestra) has wandered so far from the beat that the song form is barely recognizable. To me, it's the only clunker on that abbreviated CD.

 

Thanks for the YOUTUBE link, Sally. I don't know if I can bare an abbreviated "Meadowlark", but I still look forward to watching it.