Ethel Merman and Sondheim
Ethel Merman and Sondheim
#1Ethel Merman and Sondheim
Posted: 3/25/15 at 7:44pmWhy did Ethel Merman hate Sondheim? Also, who wrote Roses Turn? Isn't there a story about how Sondheim wrote that whole song or am I making that up?
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Gothampc
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/20/03
#2Ethel Merman and Sondheim
Posted: 3/25/15 at 7:53pmI don't think Merman hated Sondheim, it's just that he was young and unproven and she was a Broadway legend.
If anyone ever tells you that you put too much Parmesan cheese on your pasta, stop talking to them. You don't need that kind of negativity in your life.
#2Ethel Merman and Sondheim
Posted: 3/25/15 at 7:53pm
I think the story is Jerry Robbins and Stephen Sondheim kind of improvised the whole thing over a few hours together in the rehearsal space, although he used existing melodies from other numbers from the score that had been written by Jule Styne, so Sondheim didn't want to take credit for composing it (although I suppose he arranged it).
As for the Merm hating Sondheim, I wasn't aware that she did.
"Contentment, it seems, simply happens. It appears accompanied by no bravos and no tears."
#3Ethel Merman and Sondheim
Posted: 3/25/15 at 7:57pmDon't encourage it. Just ignore it and maybe it will go away.
"Sticks and stones, sister. Here, have a Valium." - Patti LuPone, a Memoir
#4Ethel Merman and Sondheim
Posted: 3/25/15 at 8:02pmSally, what are you talking about?
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#5Ethel Merman and Sondheim
Posted: 3/25/15 at 8:03pmSorry, Sally.
"Contentment, it seems, simply happens. It appears accompanied by no bravos and no tears."
Fantod
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/3/14
#6Ethel Merman and Sondheim
Posted: 3/25/15 at 8:13pmFrom what I've read, Sondheim thought Merman wasn't too bright and he was hurt by Merman's insistence on hiring a proven composer thanks to Happy Hunting being only her second flop ever (though I think Happy Hunting's score is super fun).
#7Ethel Merman and Sondheim
Posted: 3/25/15 at 8:15pm
I don't think they "hated" each other, though. Even if he and Arthur used to go around calling her "The Talking Dog."
Fantod
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/3/14
#8Ethel Merman and Sondheim
Posted: 3/25/15 at 8:16pmThat was probably more Arthur, sociopath that he was, with Sondheim meekly agreeing.
#9Ethel Merman and Sondheim
Posted: 3/25/15 at 8:17pm
It definitely was an Arthur joke. But in a way, Merman was "The Talking Dog." Everything about that performance was very, very calculated by her and Jerome Robbins. And she had a habit of walking through the show as the run went on, as far as I've heard.
#10Ethel Merman and Sondheim
Posted: 3/25/15 at 8:23pmIn an interview with her and Mary Martin, she said she would never disappoint, but would think about other things while performing
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Fantod
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/3/14
#11Ethel Merman and Sondheim
Posted: 3/25/15 at 8:26pmDifferent people say different things about her performance. I have no doubt that Ethel's performance decreased in quality over the two years that she played the role, but wouldn't anybody be tired out from that show? It also might be possible that her performance was calculated, but most people who saw her thought she was incredible. Some people claim it was the greatest performance they have ever seen. I've heard Ethel, Angela, Patti, Bernadette, Tyne, and Bette, and for my money nobody sings the role with more emotion than Ethel. That's a rather uncommon thing to say, but for example her Rose's turn on recording is just so much more heartbreaking.
#12Ethel Merman and Sondheim
Posted: 3/25/15 at 8:28pmI wonder what she thought of?
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#13Ethel Merman and Sondheim
Posted: 3/25/15 at 8:33pm
she thought of errands
from 1:07
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#14Ethel Merman and Sondheim
Posted: 3/25/15 at 8:37pmOh, there's no denying it was extraordinary, just because she was Ethel Freakin' Merman, and the role was tailor made for her. I just want to make it clear that I wasn't saying she stunk or was boring. Merman couldn't be boring.
FindingNamo
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/22/03
#15Ethel Merman and Sondheim
Posted: 3/25/15 at 8:45pmEverybody's posting like they were there.
Twitter @NamoInExile
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#16Ethel Merman and Sondheim
Posted: 3/25/15 at 8:47pm
Well for the record, I wasn't. Wish I had been, though.
#17Ethel Merman and Sondheim
Posted: 3/25/15 at 9:01pmIf I had seen that interview and gone to see Ethel the whole time I'd be thinking about what errands she was thinking about.
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#18Ethel Merman and Sondheim
Posted: 3/25/15 at 9:35pm
She didn't hate Sondheim. She didn't want to work with him on Gypsy at first because she felt that he didn't have enough experience. She was concerned about this due to the fact that her previous show was a flop and she blamed the composers for their lack of experience.
I believe Sondheim said this in Six by Sondheim, but i may be wrong.
Fantod
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/3/14
#19Ethel Merman and Sondheim
Posted: 3/25/15 at 9:38pmI said that already, but thanks for restating it.
#20Ethel Merman and Sondheim
Posted: 3/25/15 at 9:46pm
I DONT APPRECIATE YOUR SASS
but
you are quite welcome.
Updated On: 3/26/15 at 09:46 PM
Phyllis Rogers Stone
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/16/07
CurtainPullDowner
Broadway Legend Joined: 11/4/04
#22Ethel Merman and Sondheim
Posted: 3/25/15 at 10:22pm
Ethel: "Does this Ma...Ma...Ma...Mama, come before or after the beat?"
Stephen: "Rose is having a breakdown at this point so she is trying to get the word out, but it's not coming easy."
Ethel: "Oh, OK. But does it come before or after the beat?"
As Sondheim tells it.
#23Ethel Merman and Sondheim
Posted: 3/25/15 at 11:05pm
Why did Ethel Merman hate Sondheim?
She didn't.
Next stupid troll-like question?
FishermanBob
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/9/12
#24Ethel Merman and Sondheim
Posted: 3/25/15 at 11:17pm
"I DONT APPRECIATE YOUR SAS"
I once flew SAS from Copenhagen to Stockholm. Nice people those swedes.
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