SONDHEIM HYPOCRISY?

Does anyone find it strange that Sondheim in his 60 Minutes interview (Overtime) talks about the validity of the reinterpretation of theatre works, especially the current West Side Story and bringing it into the 21st Century when he wrote a diatribe against the revised Diane Paulus-Suzi Lori Parks production of "Porgy and Bess" without having seen it, arguing for the original's preservation. Does anyone remember the mini cause celebre that resulted...I had heard the company was up in arms as there hadn't as yet been any performances of that production. Did Sondheim ever go?:

I don’t know for sure as I haven’t read Sondheim’s letter, but I think his criticism is more due to them making alterations to an opera to change it into a musical. I also know that he was upset about the title The Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess as he thought it downplayed DuBose Heyward’s work.
Again, maybe I’m missing the mark, but I think Sondheim is fine with something like the new West Side Story because it’s reimagining it but is still staying true to the original text. The controversial removal of I Feel Pretty and the Somewhere Ballet could be seen as a less noticeable change than the cutting and altering of Porgy and Bess’ music to create spoken word portions. Also, I think Sondheim (especially since he’s often critical of his own work) may be more willing to accept changes to his work than that of others.
And maybe he’s just changed his mind about Porgy and Bess. I don’t know. I’m just a big Sondheim fan and trying to see if I can get why he thinks these might be different cases.

Edit: after looking a little bit into it, it looks like that revival also changed some music besides just cutting singing and adding talking, so I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s part of why Sondheim was upset. He’s written a few numbers that are considered optional in performances for his show, so I don’t think cutting of numbers that are seen as unnecessary (as someone who doesn’t like the cutting of I Feel Pretty, I’ll acknowledge outside of giving Maria her big solo, the song’s not really necessary), but altering music for a classic score may be seen as too much for him to stomach. Again, I haven’t read his letter, so I can’t be sure about all this.

Updated On: 2/18/20 at 01:46 AM

"Sondheim, who has revisited structural moments within several of his own works along with his collaborators after their initial productions (and approved of re-imaginings like those of John Doyle), pointed out that he was not attempting to stifle the creativity of directors who wish to bring "fresh perspective" to classic works, but was concerned with "wholesale rewriting," especially when the creators themselves are no longer here to speak for their original intent."

Please remember that Sondheim's criticisms of P&B came before even the A.R.T. production, when nobody had seen it; it was a knee-jerk reaction to a very premature feature article that Pat Healy wrote, and the way that the creative team spoke of the work. The final product ultimately wasn't as drastically different as some of us had feared.

It's also a matter of Sondheim being a living author of his work and overseeing the interpretations himself (on WSS, Company, and other revisals).....of course, I doubt Van Hove & Rudin would get away with this production if Laurents, Bernstein, or Robbins were still around (though maybe Laurents would have cut I Feel Pretty), but that's a whole other matter.

Updated On: 2/18/20 at 09:47 AM

It is worth remembering that (a) Sondheim's opinions on this sort of thing are entitled to no more deference than anyone else gets, (b) he is a very old man, (c) one characteristic of aging can be that we edit ourselves less, and (d) he seems, in this video and elsewhere, to be very present, which is a wonderful thing.

Mmm, he doesn't really speak that highly of himself. But it is clear he is passionate about the artform, and in particular he is somewhat a surrogate of Oscar Hammerstein himself and was literally 'In the room when it happened' for many of these historic shows, so of course it makes sense that he might feel a little protective over it. His comments about Lady Gaga are probably still even true - it was the versatility of her singing that everyone was impressed with.

Hmm. Stephen Sondheim was the lyricist of WSS and is the composer/lyricist of the upcoming Company. Creators have a right to tinkle with their own works, even though sometimes I think Sondheim is his own worst editor.

But Sondheim is also a musical theater fan and he's allowed to express his opinions on various revivals like any other MT fan ... like the people on this board. I did not know his partner is only 36 though. Yikes.

As for Porgy, "Bring my goat!" does not equal "Where's my cane?" Big and unjustified change of the original.

I'm not even sure what NoName meant to write, Hogan.

In the Met production, Porgy has a cart, but it is propelled by his better leg rather than a goat. He seems to use it only when he goes out of town, however, and relies on a heavy, leg brace and one or (sometimes) two canes when at home. I found it quite successful in conveying Porgy's "weakness" and explaining why he has no woman.

I admit I missed the final image of the goat cart: I never believe there is any way Porgy is going to find Bess in New York City, which is what makes the hopeful ending so tragic. The goat cart seems particularly fragile.

In the Met production Porgy simply limps toward the way out of town. If I had never seen the goat cart, I wouldn't have missed it. But a man who can walk can board a train or hitchhike: Porgy doesn't seem quite so delusional as in traditional productions. But this is a minor quibble re a production I loved.