Ethel Merman and Sondheim
Ethel Merman and Sondheim
Ethel Merman and Sondheim#1
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?
Ethel Merman and Sondheim#2
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.
Ethel Merman and Sondheim#2
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.
Ethel Merman and Sondheim#3
Posted: 3/25/15 at 7:57pmDon't encourage it. Just ignore it and maybe it will go away.
Ethel Merman and Sondheim#4
Posted: 3/25/15 at 8:02pmSally, what are you talking about?
Ethel Merman and Sondheim#5
Posted: 3/25/15 at 8:03pmSorry, Sally.
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/3/14
Ethel Merman and Sondheim#6
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).
Ethel Merman and Sondheim#7
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."
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/3/14
Ethel Merman and Sondheim#8
Posted: 3/25/15 at 8:16pmThat was probably more Arthur, sociopath that he was, with Sondheim meekly agreeing.
Ethel Merman and Sondheim#9
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.
Ethel Merman and Sondheim#10
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
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/3/14
Ethel Merman and Sondheim#11
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.
Ethel Merman and Sondheim#12
Posted: 3/25/15 at 8:28pmI wonder what she thought of?
Ethel Merman and Sondheim#13
Posted: 3/25/15 at 8:33pm
she thought of errands
from 1:07
Ethel Merman and Sondheim#14
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.
Ethel Merman and Sondheim#15
Posted: 3/25/15 at 8:45pmEverybody's posting like they were there.
Ethel Merman and Sondheim#16
Posted: 3/25/15 at 8:47pm
Well for the record, I wasn't. Wish I had been, though.
Ethel Merman and Sondheim#17
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.
Ethel Merman and Sondheim#18
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.
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/3/14
Ethel Merman and Sondheim#19
Posted: 3/25/15 at 9:38pmI said that already, but thanks for restating it.
Ethel Merman and Sondheim#20
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
Broadway Legend Joined: 11/4/04
Ethel Merman and Sondheim#22
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.
Ethel Merman and Sondheim#23
Posted: 3/25/15 at 11:05pm
Why did Ethel Merman hate Sondheim?
She didn't.
Next stupid troll-like question?
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/9/12
Ethel Merman and Sondheim#24
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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