More info on the new Sondheim and David Ives musical (UPDATE, 2018)- Page 5

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 8/2/16 at 12:51pm

Yeah, I'm already getting jittery and anxious just thinking about how awful it's going to be trying to get into this one.

[trpguyy]

Posted: 8/2/16 at 1:05pm

I would think that becoming a Member of the Public would put you a step ahead of most other people. Members are given the opportunity to purchase tickets before the general public, if I'm reading their website correctly. 

[RJ14]

Posted: 8/2/16 at 1:18pm

Such good news!!! 

I'm so excited for this. A new and possibly last :'(( Sondheim show. Knowing how Sondheim used to work, they should just go to rehearsal now, it will motivate him not to proscatinate

I second the idea of Carmen Cusack. She's just so darn amazing I felt in love with her since SITPWG. 

 

[ljay889]

Posted: 8/2/16 at 1:19pm

Imagine attending the first preview of most likely the final Sondheim musical? This is going to be crazy.
Any predictions on the sound of the score? I'm expected more of a Passion/Sunday style than Assassins and Road Show.

[gypsy101]

Posted: 8/2/16 at 1:43pm

The subject of this possibly being his final show reminds me: I'm still bummed about Sondheim spending all that time on Wise Guys / Gold! / Bounce / Road Show. I've never seen it but just from the score (and what he wrote in Look I Made a Hat) I wasn't too big of a fan, which was depressing considering I hold basically all of his work up to and including Passion very near to my heart. Sure it wasn't like the '70s where he was churning them out (6 new musicals in 9 years) but even in the '80s he had a new show every three years or so, and then after Passion, just...nothing. 14 years until Road Show finally opened off-Broadway. Now it will have been another 9 years waiting for this one. Some composers obviously slow down in their old age (and he probably did so deliberately considering most don't have any hit shows once they reach a certain age) but it seemed so sudden for him. I hope this new musical is just as wonderful as all those from back then.

Updated On: 8/2/16 at 01:43 PM

[RippedMan]

Posted: 8/2/16 at 1:58pm

I had no problem getting a rush ticket to the first preview of Road Show which was directed by John Doyle, so it seemed like a big deal to me at the time. 

I have a fondess for Road Show. I think it's a really great story, and I really enjoy the music, I just don't think they've figured out a successful way to stage the show. I'm not sure if it's a big, splashy traditional musical like Bounce or a stripped down dark musical like Road Show. 

[indytallguy]

Posted: 8/2/16 at 2:15pm

Jordan Catalano said: "So what's going to be the best way to get tickets for this? Since this is going to sell out, I'm guessing almost instantly, what's he smartest way to guarantee I get tix?"

I'm thinking it may be to quit my job, relocate to NYC, and get hired at The Public.

[binau]

Posted: 8/2/16 at 5:09pm

Praying to god it'll be open next April when I'm in town!!

[buhbuhbilly]

Posted: 8/2/16 at 5:41pm

For the record Scott Rudin has also said in a podcast on NPR before the announcement today (about a month ago) they are planning a production in 2017 at the Public

[ljay889]

Posted: 8/2/16 at 6:56pm

Road Show had been gestating for years, including two major out of town productions as BOUNCE. I think this is going to be a much, much bigger deal. 

[Play Esq.]

Posted: 8/2/16 at 6:58pm

I'm in Salzburg for the festival and caught Thomas Adès' Exterminating Angel last night. The opera and production were thrilling!  Easily, One of the best new operas of the 21st century. 

I will say that, considering that the Met hasalready committed to the Adès opera, Sondheim may have been prompted to push this out sooner rather than later. 

[gypsy101]

Posted: 8/2/16 at 9:14pm

oh I know it existed as Bounce, I just meant it took 14 years to see it in its final form in New York.

who cares what the reason is! he's said himself he needs someone or something to get him to write faster than is his wont, if it's this opera than so be it.

[MichelleCraig]

Posted: 8/2/16 at 10:04pm

I saw BOUNCE or whatever it was called back in Chicago. I am such a Sondheim fan...as are my friends that came along. Being Sondheim fanatics, we bought tickets for two consecutive evening performances. Well, we eschewed the second performance and hit a bar instead. None of us liked the show...

BUT, there was one beautiful ballad in the show that has now been recorded by Barbra Streisand and Alec Baldwin on Streisand's new CD coming out later this month. You can Google it; Streisand's camp released a video track today.

[binau]

Posted: 8/2/16 at 10:13pm

Yes, I think "Best Thing" is pretty catchy, but overall I do agree the show is pretty boring...I find "Wise Guys" a bit more compelling than other versions though because of the humour and cast. I'm optimistic that the new show will be a bit more inspired than Road Show - given the new collaborator and different content it's very possible. 

[ljay889]

Posted: 8/2/16 at 10:25pm

gypsy101 said: "oh I know it existed as Bounce, I just meant it took 14 years to see it in its final form in New York.

who cares what the reason is! he's said himself he needs someone or something to get him to write faster than is his wont, if it's this opera than so be it."

I was referring to those who think there might not be a huge demand for this because there wasn't for Road Show. But the two can't be compared. We literally know nothing about this one, likely his final musical. 

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 8/2/16 at 11:29pm

Jordan Catalano said: "Yeah, I'm already getting jittery and anxious just thinking about how awful it's going to be trying to get into this one.

 

"

You're gonna be jittery for a long time.  I wouldn't expect to hear anything at all until Summer 2017.

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 8/2/16 at 11:35pm

buhbuhbilly said: "For the record Scott Rudin has also said in a podcast on NPR before the announcement today (about a month ago) they are planning a production in 2017 at the Public

 

"

Yeah--that was brought up a page or two back--I got the impression Rudin was doing his best to check in on Sondheim and make sure he was progressing as quickly as possible.

It's been a long time since I've seen either film--longer for Discreet Charm--and I get the sense that this won't be too faithful an adaptation (but could be wrong)--but I do wonder if the characters will be joined for each act.  I also remember that both films have rather large casts--certainly larger than a lot of other more experimental musicals nowadays or Road Show...

[ljay889]

Posted: 8/23/16 at 6:35pm

This link was originally posted by 1086sunset, but I thought I would add it here. 

http://nypost.com/2016/08/23/stephen-sondheim-is-halfway-done-with-his-new-musical/

Looks like my guess was right that the score is more Passion than old fashioned Sondheim.

“The music was gorgeous,” says one of my spies (let’s call her Mrs. Lovett). “It reminded me of ‘Passion,’ where Steve’s music flows in and out of the storyline. It’s not an old-fashioned Sondheim show — you know, song, dialogue, then a song. It’s much more seamless.”

Eustis put together a cast of Broadway first-raters, including Norm Lewis, Shuler Hensley, Sierra Boggess, Nancy Opel and Marc Kudisch.

It’s not an old-fashioned Sondheim show — you know, song, dialogue, then a song. It’s much more seamless

 - A source

There’s no director yet, but Joe Mantello attended the reading, and I don’t think you can get much better than that.

I love that we are finally finding out more info about this!!

[CarlosAlberto]

Posted: 8/23/16 at 7:07pm

Has anyone seen the two movies this musical is based on. Are they connected by a character or a theme? They were filmed at least 10 years apart. 

[CarlosAlberto]

Posted: 8/23/16 at 7:37pm

Ah, I found the link between the two films: A DINNER PARTY.

[CarlosAlberto]

Posted: 8/23/16 at 7:54pm

I am going to watch the two films this weekend. They sound fascinating, especially The Exterminating Angel which stars two of my favorite actresses Silvia Pinal and Jacqueline Andere. 

Ive only ever watched Bunuel's Belle de Jour and Tristana. 

[AnOrdinarySunday]

Posted: 8/23/16 at 8:12pm

I think Sondheim has explained the thematic connection quite clearly, with one being the quasi counterpart of the other. ANGEL is indeed based on just one single idea: the guests somehow just couldn't leave the room, in which they had a party. DISCREET CHARM on the contrary is IMO a better film, with a more complex structure and some better intergrated surrealistic elements. The cast of six (or seven in you count the bishop) are trying to have dinner, but it keeps getting interrupted by some incidents. That said, ANGEL never leaves you bored, because it has a bigger ensemble, and each character has his/her own thing to say, so that new perspectives are being thrown in. Both films are satires about rich people, and talk about the anxieties and insecurities of this certain class.

There is no direct connection on the level of character between the two, but since the characters could be seen as typos of people in this class, similarities can be found.

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 8/24/16 at 12:39am

I am intrigued if they will combine the characters. 

[gypsy101]

Posted: 11/17/16 at 10:08pm

http://www.playbill.com/article/joe-mantello-to-direct-stephen-sondheims-new-musical

did y'all see there's now a working title and a director? BUÑUEL directed by Joe Mantello (for now at least)

[ljay889]

Posted: 11/18/16 at 12:11am

Just that tonight too! How did we miss that article in the Post on November 18?

Possible Broadway 2018 opening!