Is Stephen Sondheim Overrated?- Page 4
Is Stephen Sondheim Overrated?
#75Is Stephen Sondheim Overrated?
Posted: 11/1/16 at 1:48pm
Guess.
Ah, quoting the final line of one of a song from Follies! See, you ARE a Sondheim lover, you old coot.
#76Is Stephen Sondheim Overrated?
Posted: 11/1/16 at 2:14pm
I'm pretty sure I saw A8 have a nuclear meltdown over a meal at 54 Below once. Anyone who behaves like that can't have the skills to comprehend the deep layers of humanity found in Sondheim's work.
"Broadway...I'll lick you yet!"
After Eight
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/5/09
#77Is Stephen Sondheim Overrated?
Posted: 11/1/16 at 2:32pm
^
Wasn't me, Mildred, wasn't me. But I hope you enjoyed both the show and the meal at 54 below.
#78Is Stephen Sondheim Overrated?
Posted: 11/1/16 at 5:25pm
After Eight said: "why not accept the (admittedly outrageous) notion that people actually mean what they say?"
This doesn't seem to be your attitude with respect to people who say they love Sondheim. You've clearly implied that we're brainwashed, or afraid to disagree with the elites, or something other than sincere in our appreciation for his work.
#79Is Stephen Sondheim Overrated?
Posted: 11/1/16 at 5:51pm
Beyoncé is not an ally. Actions speak louder than words, Mrs. Carter. #Dubai #$$$
#80Is Stephen Sondheim Overhttp://www.broadwayworld.com/board/index.php?rated?
Posted: 11/1/16 at 6:13pm
After Eight said: ""No compromises to appeal to those who don't understand or don't want to hear his truth"
Truth? What truth? Hogwash is more like it. Bitter, rancid hogwash that is as far from truth as Pluto is from the sun.
As you have probably read before, or noticed in his books, Hammerstein believed that most people were good, and if they did wrong, they were usually entitled to clemency. Ravenol was not a self-centered gambler who enticed his bride with lies about himself and then abandoned her with child when it suited him. He was, we learn in advance, truly in love with his wife and when he devastated Magnolia by deserting her he did not know she was pregnant and thought that going back home was best for her.
Depending on what revival of Show Boat you are watching and how the second act was put together, he may or may not be fully redeemed.
Billy Bigelow, a man who strikes his wife and is killed during a robbery attempt. We have learned in advance from "Soliloquy" that he is adamant in his determination to see his daughter not raised in poverty with a father she would be ashamed of. Unfortunately for Billy, the job market for carousel barkers in New England at that time was weak.
Sondheim. For the sake of brevity, what first you see of a character is what you are going to get. Please, George, just be a little more attentive to Dot, do some minor paintings in the popular technique of the day to mollify the other artists. You know that Sondheim will not change George to something he is not, that George and Dot do not have Niagara Falls in their future, and you will be watching a train wreck.
As with any tragedy, the inevitable train wreck may be exquisite to watch. Others have seen enough train wrecks to make them long for something with a better ending. You know Sonheim will not change what he sees as the truth of the man to please audiences.
"
#81Is Stephen Sondheim Overhttp://www.broadwayworld.com/board/index.php?rated?
Posted: 11/3/16 at 1:50pm
On the thread subject I deliberately put 'Is Stephen Sondheim Overrated?', I could've put instead 'Am I The Only One That Thinks Stephen Sondheim Is Overrated?' I wanted to leave the thread as open as possible to gauge people's reactions, thankfully most of the have been intelligent and thoughtful. I have to say I haven't really been trolled on this one.
Also I didn't use the thread title 'Am I the Only One Who Thinks Stephen Sondheim Is Overrated', because I don't think he is - he has done some stuff that is incredible. Do I worship him? I have always been Atheist.
Sadly Stephen Sondheim hasn't been done on Broadway for a long time now, as his material hasn't much commercial appeal and when it does you need a star name to sell it. Where in London's West End it is done on a regular basis, the British are the only ones who can seem to interpret his work now.
#82Is Stephen Sondheim Overhttp://www.broadwayworld.com/board/index.php?rated?
Posted: 11/3/16 at 1:53pm
"The British are the only ones who can seem to interpret his work now."
Wow, that was a pretty rude and offensive statement.
#83Is Stephen Sondheim Overhttp://www.broadwayworld.com/board/index.php?rated?
Posted: 11/3/16 at 3:06pm
there were 18 productions of Sondheim musicals on Broadway between 1994 and 2012. So maybe producers think Broadway got worn out on Sondheim?
"Contentment, it seems, simply happens. It appears accompanied by no bravos and no tears."
#84Is Stephen Sondheim Overhttp://www.broadwayworld.com/board/index.php?rated?
Posted: 11/3/16 at 3:52pm
ljay889 said: ""The British are the only ones who can seem to interpret his work now."
Wow, that was a pretty rude and offensive statement.
I don't read it that way. My take is that Phantom is saying the British 'paying public' are more inclined to sit in a theatre and enjoy Sondheim than the majority of tourists coming to Broadway.
Certainly not to offend American-or other nationalities re their love of 'the man'.
#85Is Stephen Sondheim Overhttp://www.broadwayworld.com/board/index.php?rated?
Posted: 11/3/16 at 4:35pm
I have to say I haven't really been trolled on this one...the British are the only ones who can seem to interpret his work now.
Now you're just trolling us, you bloody wanker. Go back to the London board.
#86Is Stephen Sondheim Overhttp://www.broadwayworld.com/board/index.php?rated?
Posted: 11/3/16 at 6:44pm
Oops ! Someone who professess to know everything about everything is also offended.
Another storm in a teacup and anyone can contribute with opinions anywhere thank you very much.
PS. Perhaps stay with politics where you have lots to say.
#87Is Stephen Sondheim Overhttp://www.broadwayworld.com/board/index.php?rated?
Posted: 11/3/16 at 8:30pm
I don't know how you could ever defend such a claim, either by the quality of productions or number/success of the productions. It just seems like a very odd thing to say to me.
"You can't overrate Bernadette Peters. She is such a genius. There's a moment in "Too Many Mornings" and Bernadette doing 'I wore green the last time' - It's a voice that is just already given up - it is so sorrowful. Tragic. You can see from that moment the show is going to be headed into such dark territory and it hinges on this tiny throwaway moment of the voice." - Ben Brantley (2022)
"Bernadette's whole, stunning performance [as Rose in Gypsy] galvanized the actors capable of letting loose with her. Bernadette's Rose did take its rightful place, but too late, and unseen by too many who should have seen it" Arthur Laurents (2009)
"Sondheim's own favorite star performances? [Bernadette] Peters in ''Sunday in the Park,'' Lansbury in ''Sweeney Todd'' and ''obviously, Ethel was thrilling in 'Gypsy.'' Nytimes, 2000
godlessondheimite
Understudy Joined: 7/30/15
#88Is Stephen Sondheim Overhttp://www.broadwayworld.com/board/index.php?rated?
Posted: 11/4/16 at 9:11am
Is After Eight Overrated?
#89Is Stephen Sondheim Overhttp://www.broadwayworld.com/board/index.php?rated?
Posted: 11/4/16 at 9:14am
no
#90Is Stephen Sondheim Overhttp://www.broadwayworld.com/board/index.php?rated?
Posted: 11/4/16 at 8:56pm
PalJoey said: "
I have to say I haven't really been trolled on this one...the British are the only ones who can seem to interpret his work now.
Now you're just trolling us, you bloody wanker. Go back to the London board.
That is a great place to start on a theatre debating forum, but then again with posts like that, we know you're not representing the intelligent side of America.
"
#91Is Stephen Sondheim Overhttp://www.broadwayworld.com/board/index.php?rated?
Posted: 11/4/16 at 9:15pm
Stupid f*cking thread.
#92This Thread is Done
Posted: 11/4/16 at 9:28pm
I get a headache every time I see this stupid thread title.
They/them.
"Get up the nerve to be all you deserve to be."
BroadwayConcierge
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/24/15
After Eight
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/5/09
#94This Thread is Done
Posted: 11/4/16 at 9:35pm
Cinders, BC, and others,
Who is forcing any of you to a) read the thread, or b) post in it?
#95This Thread is Done
Posted: 11/4/16 at 9:49pm
After Eight, how did you like the show "After Midnight"? Curious!
They/them.
"Get up the nerve to be all you deserve to be."
After Eight
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/5/09
#97This Thread is Done
Posted: 11/5/16 at 7:17am
Phantom of London said: "...
Sadly Stephen Sondheim hasn't been done on Broadway for a long time now, as his material hasn't much commercial appeal and when it does you need a star name to sell it. Where in London's West End it is done on a regular basis, the British are the only ones who can seem to interpret his work now.
"
How old are you?! Three? I'm not trying to insult your intelligence, just questioning your sense of time.
FOLLIES was revived five years ago and there were six of his shows presented in the two years before that. Meanwhile, his work is done all over the country. I'll be seeing INTO THE WOODS in a couple of months in LA. (No star has been announced, BTW.) LA is also getting a major revival of MERRILY in the next few months.
