Just saw The Frogs — Page 3

So, you do have it? Oooooooo. You better buy something nice and not a Coke. Senior Coke is the mortal enemy of Sir Mountain Dew and treason is not taken lightly.

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HAHA, I'll just buy cherry coke. It is the most divine of the soft drinks.

I think it's so funny how none of the follow-ups on this post is about THE FROGS. lol

Who's Tyler Hanes. The underwear inventor?

The thing is Sondheim's style is very different from show to show. "Follies," for example, is a pastiche score -- he uses old musical forms from the 20's, 30's, and 40's to tell the story of this reunion of former "Follies" showirls who at the time of the show are 50, 60, 70 and beyond and are reminiscing about the past. The songs sound very much like the stuff Berlin and Porter, Romberg and Gershwin would have written for these women a generation before. The score is unlike anything else he ever wrote.

"Merrily" is a traditional musical theatre score -- no motifs or thematic harmonics (or at least not obvious ones) -- just beautiful songs. And that's totally different from Sweeney (a dark, harmonically complex operatic score) which is totally different from Little Night Music (an era-specific score written entirely in variations of three-quarter waltz time) which is totally different from Pacific Overtures (with asian-inflected rhythm and melodies).

My background is in rock and r&b, too (I was a professional singer), as well as jazz, blues, gospel and opera (I grew up in a very musical home) and whatever your background, if you realy appreciate good music, Sondheim is revelatory. If you like Phantom and other Broadway music, trust me, there's a ton of stuff by Sondheim you'd adore.

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Updated On: 7/7/04 at 02:50 AM

amen Margo.

Sondheim, it seems, is MUCH more appreciated by those with a background in music. All of his intricacies and touches in his scores are never fuly appreciated by "the layman"

It's an interesting thought. Country music's main hallmarks are simple catchy melodies and clever, potent lyrics -- both of which are definitely Sondheim's acumen (or at least Sondheim of the 70's). And Hinkley's ballad "Unworthy of Your Love," a simple 70's style, folksy pop song shows he's probably capable of writing in that idiom. I only wonder whether the 70-something Turtle Bay urban sophisticate Sondheim has much of a passion for the genre (perhaps if Toby Keith spent a few nights crashing over at the Sondheim "ranch," we'd end up getting a few tunes that would do Nashville proud).

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Updated On: 7/7/04 at 03:25 AM

SS is 74 and we should all be as sharp as he is at his age. I do not agree that Ariadne sounds anything like Johanna other than the fact that they are both love songs.

The temp, key, lyrics and flow of the song are all TOTALLY different than Johanna which builds to a soaring and plaintive climax...whereas Ariadne meanders and is very complicated with an odd tonality...at last becoming a sad cry for a lost love...very different songs. As for 'J' who doesn't like Sondheim, I would ask 'why are you planning to see Assassins?' then?

Sondheim may, in fact, be a composer that very young people find it hard to relate to...since he talks of such complex emotions and feelings and writes in such a complex, discordant fashion. But if you can listen to his works and try to get inside them you will find a real master at work and one who is not likely to be followed by an equal talent any time soon. Enjoy him while you have him. It is like seeing Babe Ruth in action!

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I think there is a point where you just connect more viscerally to what SS is doing and for everyone it seems to be a different score. After that, you go back and listen to the other things you've heard before and you hear them with a new ear.

Sunday was it for me too though I have to say that I loved his stuff way back in West Side Story but never knew it was him for YEARS

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"Merrily" got me hooked on Sondheim. I had bought the recording YEARS ago (original one), and could never really get into it. Then, two years ago, I was cast as Charley Kringas in a production of the show, and I absolutely fell in love with it. I now own all three recordings of "Merrily", as well as every other Sondheim cast recording. "Merrily" allowed me to fully appreciate Mr. Sondheim's music and lyrics in a way I never had been able to before. While it's true that "Merrily"'s score is more "Broadway" than most of his more recent shows, the score has enough hints of the "Sondheim" feel to help you ease into his style. It is my goal to see professional productions of all of his shows. I'm getting close...if anybody knows of any productions going on in the Boston area let me know!

COMPANY did it for me. I was still pretty young, but I knew about theatre. And this was so different, I was hooked immediately.

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I admit that there are so pretty bad versions of "Losing My Mind" out there. Have you heard Michael Ball's version? His is my favorite version. Give it a try.

>> "Losing My Mind"

I had just moved into a new apartment, and a friend of mine who was a drag queen on the weekends (and just as effusive the rest of the time) was helping me paint the place. I had FOLLIES on the CD player, and here's Neal sitting on top of a ladder, lip-synching his little heart out.

We get to the point in the song where:

I stand in the middle of the floor
Not turning left (he points to the right)
Not turning right (and then he crosses hands and points to the left)

I stop him at that point and ask, "Uh, Neal, dont you have those backwards?"

He just looked at me and said, "But honey, she's so confused..." :)

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