#51
Posted: 4/27/10 at 3:06pm
Thanks very much, Kev, for passing along that list--enormously helpful to those of us who were there and want to remember, remember, and to those who couldn't attend.
Sondheim Gala at City Center! WOW! — Page 3
#52
Posted: 4/27/10 at 3:20pm
I don't really like Milton Babbitt's music but every time I listen to something he wrote, I wonder if that inspired Sondheim to write Sweeney or Pacific Overtures or Passion...
#53
Posted: 4/27/10 at 3:23pm
What did Julie and Glynis say, or send rather?
#54
Posted: 4/27/10 at 3:44pm
"Is there going to be a London tribute."
Where to begin?
There have already been two small scale tributes, a fringe production of Anyone Can Whistle, a Q&A session with Mr Sondheim at the National and an episode of arts TV programme The South Bank Show devoted to him.
Still to come are a larger scale tribute show with Maria Friedman and Graham Bickley that will also be done outside of London. Major productions of Into The Woods and Passion are scheduled. The Donmar also has a schedule of events in the Autumn including concert performances of Merrily and Company, and Q&A sessions with Mr Sondheim and also Sam Mendes and Michael Grandage on directing Sondheim. I think Paul McCartney's college in Liverpool is doing something but I ain't looked it up.
And one of the annual Promenade concerts at the Royal Albert Hall will be devoted entirely to him and screened live on national television.
So, with British understatement, I'd say there was a fair amount going on.
Where to begin?
There have already been two small scale tributes, a fringe production of Anyone Can Whistle, a Q&A session with Mr Sondheim at the National and an episode of arts TV programme The South Bank Show devoted to him.
Still to come are a larger scale tribute show with Maria Friedman and Graham Bickley that will also be done outside of London. Major productions of Into The Woods and Passion are scheduled. The Donmar also has a schedule of events in the Autumn including concert performances of Merrily and Company, and Q&A sessions with Mr Sondheim and also Sam Mendes and Michael Grandage on directing Sondheim. I think Paul McCartney's college in Liverpool is doing something but I ain't looked it up.
And one of the annual Promenade concerts at the Royal Albert Hall will be devoted entirely to him and screened live on national television.
So, with British understatement, I'd say there was a fair amount going on.
Updated On: 4/27/10 at 03:44 PM
#55
Posted: 4/27/10 at 4:00pm
Ah, what I'd give to hear Donna Murphy sing "I Wish I Could Forget You" and "Loving You" live. And I adore Kim Crosby, why doesn't she do shows anymore? I imagine hearing her along with the rest of the INTO THE WOODS OBC was great.
"Some people can thrive and bloom living life in a living room, that's perfect for some people of one hundred and five. But I at least gotta try, when I think of all the sights that I gotta see, all the places I gotta play, all the things that I gotta be at"
#56
Posted: 4/27/10 at 4:34pm
Don't get me wrong: I love every one of those who did send messages (Judi Dench, Julia Mackenzie, Sheila Hancock, Julie Andrews . . . ). But why nothing from Patti and Bernadette, for example, who supposedly had to drop out due to scheduling conflicts?
I would assume because both Patti and Bernadette appeared in person (singing) at the other tribute?
I would assume because both Patti and Bernadette appeared in person (singing) at the other tribute?
#57
Posted: 4/27/10 at 4:56pm
Went there for Raul - weren't disappointed... Wife wanted him to sing "Marry Me a Little" "Being Alive" of course was VERY well received (still think he deserved the Tony.....)
They should have had them all a bit further back - very bad sightlines from above..... Also could only see the bottom half of all the background projections....
Interesting that Mia Farrow served as the other host.
Was hoping that Angela would sing something from Sweeney....
Sounded like B.D. Wong had a cold....
Also hoped to hear "Children Will Listen"
Mr Sondheim was introduced at the end but didn't say anything....
They should have had them all a bit further back - very bad sightlines from above..... Also could only see the bottom half of all the background projections....
Interesting that Mia Farrow served as the other host.
Was hoping that Angela would sing something from Sweeney....
Sounded like B.D. Wong had a cold....
Also hoped to hear "Children Will Listen"
Mr Sondheim was introduced at the end but didn't say anything....
Updated On: 4/27/10 at 04:56 PM
#58
Posted: 4/27/10 at 7:58pm
Debra Monk's "Gun Song" deserves a shout-out. She was flawless--and very funny.
Updated On: 4/27/10 at 07:58 PM
#59
Posted: 4/27/10 at 8:00pm
Debra Monk's was easily one of my favorite performances of the night. And there were a lot of favorite performances.
When I see the phrase "the ____ estate", I imagine a vast mansion in the country full of monocled men and high-collared women receiving letters about productions across the country and doing spit-takes at whatever they contain.
-Kad
#60
Posted: 4/27/10 at 8:16pm
Debra Monk was brilliant! Effortless is definitely the word, and sounded fantastic.
Some people paint, some people sew, I meddle.
#61
Posted: 4/27/10 at 8:21pm
Farrow and Sondheim, per the Seacrest bio, were a comfort to each other when the crap with Woody happened and he was also going through a breakup.
"Broadway...I'll lick you yet!"
#62
Posted: 4/28/10 at 12:53am
Time to declare a moratorium on Sondheim---forever!
Every celebration, fete, festival, tribute, birthday bash, blowout, commemoration, party, jubilee, retrospective, anthology, salute and ovation is an unconscious way of saying the Broadway musical is conclusively, unconditionally, unambiguously, decisively and definitely...DEAD.
Every celebration, fete, festival, tribute, birthday bash, blowout, commemoration, party, jubilee, retrospective, anthology, salute and ovation is an unconscious way of saying the Broadway musical is conclusively, unconditionally, unambiguously, decisively and definitely...DEAD.
Updated On: 4/28/10 at 12:53 AM
#64
Posted: 4/28/10 at 7:35am
I'm looking forward to the celebrations for his 85th.
#65
Posted: 4/28/10 at 8:04am
As long as Raul is a part of it (for my wife), and Sutton is there (for me).....
#66
Posted: 4/28/10 at 9:54am
Two days later and I am still basically incoherent over this, heh.
A work of art is an invitation to love.
#67
Posted: 4/28/10 at 12:59pm
I planned a trip to NY around this, paid more than I could afford for mid mezz seats... and it was every bit worth it. Especially to see Raul sing Being Alive. I was shaking during his performance. It's unbelievable the physyical effect Sondheim's music can have on me sometimes, shakes and chills. Wow.
Great show.
Great show.
"As we all should probably have learned by now, to be a Stephen Sondheim fan is to have one's heart broken at regular intervals" - Frank Rich
"I think it's appropriate: iSondheim - a Sondheim for the new generation! (wailing guitar riff) Get your kids hooked early on Sondheim, so they'll grow up to be just as emotionally stilted and self-conscious as we are! - BustopherPhantom
"I think it's appropriate: iSondheim - a Sondheim for the new generation! (wailing guitar riff) Get your kids hooked early on Sondheim, so they'll grow up to be just as emotionally stilted and self-conscious as we are! - BustopherPhantom
#68
Posted: 4/28/10 at 6:21pm
I also planned a trip to NYC to see the gala. I loved every minute of it. My personal favorite was Raul Esparza singing "Being Alive," but there were so many other great moments. Nathan Lane and Debra Monk were wonderful and funny, and it was so touching to see Angela Lansbury and Len Cariou.
I'd never been to City Center before. I was in the second row of the gallery, and I still felt as though I had to lean forward to see the stage. And, by the time we arrived, they'd run out of Playbills!
But it was worth it. So, so worth it.
I'd never been to City Center before. I was in the second row of the gallery, and I still felt as though I had to lean forward to see the stage. And, by the time we arrived, they'd run out of Playbills!
But it was worth it. So, so worth it.
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