Reading of New Sondheim Musical with Nathan Lane and Bernadette Peters- Page 4

[ljay889]

Posted: 9/16/21 at 7:27pm

The musical, Sondheim said, is about “trying to find a place to have dinner.” The first deals with interruptions to dinner, the second is about “people who have dinner and can’t leave,” which “is my cheerful view of the world today.”
https://www.playbill.com/article/matthew-morrison-says-sondheims-new-bunuel-musical-is-challenging

The title Square One would definitely make sense based on that explanation and the plot of both films.

Updated On: 9/16/21 at 07:27 PM

[SpiritualGangster]

Posted: 9/16/21 at 7:34pm

binau said: "Bernadette Peters while not exactly Bette Milder still had decent box office for both Hello, Dolly and Follies. And she is still active on television. Unless her fanbase has died recently (which sadly I guess there might be some truth) I still think her involvement means something. Not that she is actually moving forward with the project or that a production has even been announced lol but still."

Bernadette Peters is a legend. I don’t think her fan base has died, her popularity spans several generations at this point,  from those who first saw her in “Dames at Sea”, to those who saw her on TV (especially on “Carol Burnett), to her co-starring with Steve Martin in “The Jerk” - which is a comedy movie classic - and then her return to Broadway in the 80s to now with her appearances on “Mozart in the Jungle” and “The Good Wife”. 

I do love me some Bernadette - her performance in “Pennies from Heaven” is one of my all time favorites - she broke my heart in that. 

 

 

[SpiritualGangster]

Posted: 9/16/21 at 7:37pm

ljay889 said: "The musical, Sondheim said, is about “trying to find a place to have dinner.” The first deals with interruptions to dinner, the second is about “people who have dinner and can’t leave,” which “is my cheerful view of the world today.”
https://www.playbill.com/article/matthew-morrison-says-sondheims-new-bunuel-musical-is-challenging

The title Square One would definitely make sense based on that explanation and the plot of both films."

Hey thanks for the explanation! I am going to see if I can get my hands on the two films that are the basis for this show so I can get a better understanding of it. 

[ljay889]

Posted: 9/16/21 at 8:03pm

Well…The NY Times is reporting that it is NOT Bunuel. Wow!

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/16/theater/sondheim-new-musical.html

[SpiritualGangster]

Posted: 9/16/21 at 8:06pm

ljay889 said: "Well…The NY Times is reporting that it is NOT Bunuel. Wow!

https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/16/theater/sondheim-new-musical.html"

Okay! So I guess it's back to square one to figure out what this new musical is even about! 

Whatever it is, I am just super-excited we are getting a new Sondheim show in my lifetime!

Updated On: 9/16/21 at 08:06 PM

[HogansHero]

Posted: 9/16/21 at 8:13pm

wow is right. and wow we have expended some energy of this lol.

Paulson must know something he is not saying, though, because he did not really connect the dots.

Updated On: 9/16/21 at 08:13 PM

[PianoMann]

Posted: 9/16/21 at 8:19pm

If it's not Buñuel, then maybe it's what was rumored to be All Together Now? It makes sense that Lane and Peters were named for the reading, since Sondheim had described that potential project as centering on a couple.

[Ravenclaw]

Posted: 9/16/21 at 8:41pm

As I posted earlier today (on page 3 of this thread)

In 2012, Sondheim said he was working with Ives on a musical that "...reportedly follows a similar structure to Sondheim's Merrily We Roll Along, in which the storytelling occurs in reverse chronological order. He tells The Times that the project centers on “two people and what goes into their relationship."" That piece was called All Together Now.  https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Stephen-Sondheim-Reveals-New-Details-on-David-Ives-Collaboration-ALL-TOGETHER-NOW-20120305

"Square One" does sound like an appropriate title for this piece.

[SpiritualGangster]

Posted: 9/16/21 at 8:44pm

Ravenclaw said: "As I posted earlier today (on page 3 of this thread)

In 2012, Sondheim said he was working with Ives ona musical that "...reportedly follows a similar structure to Sondheim's Merrily We Roll Along, in which the storytelling occurs in reverse chronological order. He tells The Times that the project centers on “two people and what goes into their relationship."" That piece was calledAll Together Now.https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Stephen-Sondheim-Reveals-New-Details-on-David-Ives-Collaboration-ALL-TOGETHER-NOW-20120305

"Square One" does sound like an appropriate title for this piece."

Thank you Ravenclaw.

 

 

[g.d.e.l.g.i.]

Posted: 9/16/21 at 9:21pm

....huh... but he was reported to have abandoned that at one point because -- reading between the lines -- Last 5 Years stole his thunder...

(Also, it has an extant book by the late Terrence McNally; don't know why he'd need Ives to futz with it.)

[ljay889]

Posted: 9/16/21 at 9:23pm

Everything is so vague right now. I hope we get more clarification soon. I was hoping for Buñuel, but of course, I’d be happy with anything new.

[PianoMann]

Posted: 9/16/21 at 11:53pm

ljay889 said: "I was hoping for Buñuel, but of course, I’d be happy with anything new."

I agree that the Buñuel sounds like the more unique and appropriately Sondheimian project, but I certainly won't quibble about which show he felt was more viable. Still thrilled, if not totally confused about what's actually going on...

 

[Wayman_Wong]

Posted: 9/17/21 at 12:29am

Regardless of what it's called or what it's about, I hope I'll get to see it ASAP. News about a new Sondheim show is always cause for celebration.

Back in 2016, Michael Riedel in the Post had reported that Sondheim and Ives' new musical, based on Luis Bunuel's films, was called ''Bunuel.''

I was fortunate enough to email Sondheim and he later set the record straight for BroadwayWorld.com: ''For your info (feel free to be the first on your block to report it): 'Buñuel' was never the title of the show. That was just misreporting by Michael Riedel (surprise, surprise), whose spy at the Public thought the file name was the title. (We don't have one yet.)''

Since there was no title, I jokingly suggested a couple to Sondheim: ''Everybody Loves Luis'' or ''Sing Out, Luis!''

Updated On: 9/17/21 at 12:29 AM

[Georgeanddot2]

Posted: 9/17/21 at 8:54am

Remember the Tom Hiddleston stan with the playbill? That's going to be me with this show.

[Valentina3]

Posted: 9/17/21 at 10:23am

Georgeanddot2 said: "Remember the Tom Hiddleston stan with the playbill? That's going to be me with this show."

The one pleasuring themselves in the audience? Please don't be that person haha

Posted: 9/17/21 at 10:55am

ljay889 said: "Well…The NY Times is reporting that it is NOT Bunuel. Wow!"

So this tweet was just 100% incorrect. Further evidence that we should never trust anyone or anything associated with OnStageBlog.

[g.d.e.l.g.i.]

Posted: 9/17/21 at 11:03am

The Tweeter was a reputable, soon-to-be-published author who is a cut above literally anyone else associated with OnStageBlog, in my estimation. I asked her the minute the Times reported the opposite, and she said, in what I felt was honesty, "I'm not saying anything anymore. I've had information given to me and revoked about 12 times today. At this point I am considering everything up in the air." Her intel always comes from those she works with, and given the subject of her forthcoming book, she is assuredly in a position to know. This was not speculation. The confusion is not her fault.

Updated On: 9/17/21 at 11:03 AM

[ljay889]

Posted: 9/17/21 at 11:47am

She did the start the confusion with her original tweet, but the confusion over the show’s subject matter isn’t her fault. I’m sure more details will be released over the next few months.

[HogansHero]

Posted: 9/17/21 at 11:54am

Everyone has been confused, to the point that I wonder if the confusion is not a brilliant PR stunt. And to this point, no one knows anything beyond what Sondheim said on TV and as I said above even the Times piece does not lift the gauze. As I have said in another context, patience. 

Posted: 9/17/21 at 12:13pm

I understand the confusion, but I'm just pointing out that, now and in the future, if OSB is the only source for some piece of information, the smart money is that it's wrong (or entirely fictitious).

In this case I'm glad they were wrong. While this is probably the #1 most exciting announcement of my theatergoing life, I will admit the idea of a surrealist musical was not the most appealing concept to me, even if it's from Sondheim. Now knowing that it's a more traditional musical, plus comparisons to Merrily, have me back at maximum excitement. I cannot wait for next season.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 9/17/21 at 12:25pm

Sondheim could announce he’s writing “Baby Shark: The Musical” and only using variations of the original song and I’d still sh*t my pants with excitement.

[HogansHero]

Posted: 9/17/21 at 1:40pm

To add to the mix: https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=4666179376779571&set=gm.1015761185942498

[PianoMann]

Posted: 9/17/21 at 2:06pm

What a saga this has become! Since Paulson's article said Sondheim didn't respond with comment, I wonder if he just made an assumption that it wasn't the Buñuel based on the news from April? I wouldn't expect that from the New York Times, but the piece is clear that neither Sondheim nor Ives spoke to him to clarify exactly what the heck they're up to.

[ljay889]

Posted: 9/17/21 at 3:04pm

Wow, this is getting interesting!
Good points, PianoMann.

[g.d.e.l.g.i.]

Posted: 9/17/21 at 5:59pm

A separate source entirely, another reporter who would be in the know (with some digging), had simply this to say when I asked them: "I'm hearing reports of three different projects at various states right now, so truly I do not know which is titled Square One. If he doesn't clarify in the next couple of weeks I'll shake him down to save my own sanity."

Well, the good news hidden in the confusion is that, with three different projects in varying states of completion, he is far from done, and -- even posthumously -- this sure ain't his last.

Updated On: 9/17/21 at 05:59 PM