Should 'Subways are for Sleeping' be considered for an Encores! Presentation?- Page 2

[Paul W. Thompson]

Posted: 9/26/08 at 3:38pm

Isn't this the show with the tap-dancing Santa Clauses? And the one for which David Merrick did his infamous "seven critics" newspaper ad? On these bases alone, yes, Encores should definitely do it!

[Scripps2]

Posted: 9/28/08 at 7:33am

"Would you happen to know if he was pleasurable to work with, or was he egotistical?"

I've read in interviews that his attitude was one of the nails in the coffin of Barmitzvah Boy, my personal favourite of his scores.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 9/28/08 at 8:17am

as much as I like Stephen Sondheim, his lyrics cannot hold a candle to the brilliance of Comden and Green's in any show, but especially "Subways are for Sleeping"

Um...

[sondheimgeek]

Posted: 9/28/08 at 3:10pm

"as much as I like Stephen Sondheim, his lyrics cannot hold a candle to the brilliance of Comden and Green's in any show, but especially "Subways are for Sleeping"

Um..."

Yeah, I agree. Um...

[monestere]

Posted: 9/28/08 at 6:27pm

as much as I like Stephen Sondheim, his lyrics cannot hold a candle to the brilliance of Comden and Green's in any show, but especially "Subways are for Sleeping"

Um...

You have a right to your opinion and I have a right to mine. But I stand by my statement as is my right but do respect your right to disagree. We all have a passion for our favourites and Comden and Green are mine as Sondheim is apparently yours.

[sondheimgeek]

Posted: 9/28/08 at 6:32pm

"You have a right to your opinion and I have a right to mine. But I stand by my statement as is my right but do respect your right to disagree. We all have a passion for our favourites and Comden and Green are mine as Sondheim is apparently yours.
"

Oh no, I agree that we all have the right to our own opinions haha. I honestly feel that they are on the same level. I don't prefer one over the other. I love both and happen to adore all of their lyrics. I just meant that I wouldn't have said that Sondheim couldn't hold a candle to them. I just respect both and feel they are both incredible.

[monestere]

Posted: 9/28/08 at 9:45pm

I agree with you 100 per cent Sondheimgeek. It was a poor choice of words to say that Sondheim could not hold a candle to Comden and Green as a lyricist. What I should have clarified is that at the time of Subways are for Sleeping Comden and Green had already carved a place in musical theater history whereas Sondheim was just starting to get noticed as a lyricist and his greatest body of work as a composer & lyricist was before him. Even Sondheim seems to think that his work on West Side Story or Gypsy is not anywhere near the level of his later works, and while I tend to agree with him concerning West Side Story, I disagree with Sondheim on his lyrics for Gypsy and Forum, which I think are perfect and show a maturity beyond his years. "Anyone Can Whistle" is the show that convinced me that Sondheim would become one of the greatest of all Broadway composers. Even thought the show was a failure, the music and lyrics are brilliant and it remains to this day as one of his most revered scores. To clarify things further, as of today I believe that Sondheim is fully equal to the brilliance of Comden and Green as a lyricist and of course as a composer he is the greatest Broadway has seen (and ever likely to see) since the mid 1970's. One of the reasons I would like to see Subways revived is it will introduce a new audience to Comden and Green, who were at the peak of their powers as lyricists at the time of this show.

Updated On: 9/28/08 at 09:45 PM

[sondheimgeek]

Posted: 9/28/08 at 10:09pm

Ah, that I agree with.

Sondheim was still developing while Comden and Green were at their peak. That's one reason why I love 'Subways are For Sleeping'. I think their peak started with 'Bells Are Ringing' and ended with 'On the Twentieth Century'. They were an incredible team.

[nobodyhome]

Posted: 9/30/08 at 7:59am

I used to have a copy of an interview with Comden and Green. I think it was from about 10-15 years ago. I don't remember throwing it out, but I couldn't find it last time I looked for it.

Anyway, my memory is that in the interview, they were asked about Subways Are For Sleeping and whether they thought it might work in revival, and they said no.

IIRC, they said that the book didn't work at the time it was produced and that it would be even harder to take now because of its attitude toward homelessness (as Ken Mandelbaum wrote in Not Since Carrie). While monestere is right that technically it's about people who choose to live an unconventional lifestyle, I think that's part of the problem. It makes it seem like homelessness is a choice and not all that serious.

I think it's the only Comden and Green book musical to have made it to Broadway without ever being licensed. And it may be that Comden and Green didn't want it licensed, that they didn't want it produced again.

It does have a terrific score, but this is one where I think we're going to have to content ourselves with listening to the OBCR.

Re Music in the Air: The late and much-lamented New Amsterdam Theatre Company (the precursor to Encores) did it at Town Hall in the 1980s with Rebecca Luker (her New York debut), John Reardon, Kurt Peterson and Patrice Munsel. It sure is hell would not be getting any sort of New York production with full orchestra if not for Encores. Musicals in Mufti or Musicals Tonight might have done it, but I think we'd rather see it at Encores with full orchestra, wouldn't we?

And while Finian's Rainbow was produced at Irish Rep a few years ago, the attempt to produce a full-scale revival a few years ago never made it to New York. Encores is really going to be our only chance to hear it with full orchestra, and I'm glad they're dong it. It seems to me a perfect choice for them.

Argue with On the Town if you want, but to my mind the other two choices are exactly what Encores should be doing. I felt that last year's Encores choices, except for Juno, were not what it should be doing, but this year is a real improvement.

[Smaxie]

Posted: 9/30/08 at 8:55am

>Even Sondheim seems to think that his work on West Side Story or Gypsy is not anywhere near the level of his later works<

I know he mocks his West Side Story lyrics, but where has he ever disparaged his work on Gypsy?

[nobodyhome]

Posted: 9/30/08 at 9:04am

"I know he mocks his West Side Story lyrics, but where has he ever disparaged his work on Gypsy?"

I don't think he ever has, except for mildly criticizing the last line of "Small World" for having a tiny bit of alliteration, suggesting that perhaps it should have been "Small and funny and nice" instead. (No, Steve.)

[sondheimboy2]

Posted: 9/30/08 at 10:46am

Phyllis Newman tells the story that she was sitting right next to David Merrick at Tony Awards Ceremony the year of "Subways" and, right before they were about to announce the winner of "Best Supporting Actress in a Musical", he turned to her and told her that he had voted for Barbra Streisand for "I Can Get It For You Wholesale."

And, I'd rank Tom Morrow's logo for the show of the babydoll nightie clad cutie hanging from the subway strap and holding the alarm clock up there with his cupid for "She Loves Me" as one of his best.