Sondheim and Ives' HERE WE ARE at The Shed — Page 25

RippedMan said: "But I do wonder how the Shed of all places got this and not the Public or Playwrights where he has a history."

I've wondered about that too. The Public hosted the reading/lab, didn't they?

BorisTomashevsky said: "steve.sometime said: "Are we going to get no visual design for Sondheim's last musical??? It's less than 40 days away, there's not even a teaser logo. What is going on???"

I’d guess that if there isn’t even a second act, they’ll be more worried about that.

This is starting to feel like a dastardly ego-fueled endeavor. Would Sondheim have wanted anyone to see this? If he indeed never wanted it performed, should we let our curiosity get the best of us and go watch it anyway?"

Oh ffs is right.
This writer in the Post who confidently states that Sondheim abandoned the piece 7 months before he passed away also manages to cite one source who says he “became reinvested later”. Well, yeah.
Sondheim appeared on Stephen Colbert’s show only TWO months before he died and spoke about the show with great excitement, saying they’d just had a reading a few weeks earlier and he expected it to be produced the following season.
https://youtu.be/GKSYeMgamIA

“Dastardly endeavor”? That he never wanted to see performed, and which they should feel ashamed for producing and we should feel guilty about attending?

I don’t think so.

So they’re hateful, and you’re hating them back and calling for censorship on a discussion forum? You’re turning into the thing you don’t like.


And yes, if the piece wasn’t finished why would Sondheim want the public to see it? Having renewed interest in one’s own project and being enthusiastic on Colbert doesn’t mean you’re done working on it. But the man is dead, clearly with the show still incomplete, and you seem to think the lobby doors should be thrown wide open??

My guess is because Tom Kirdahy is producing it.

Someone showed me this interview where sondheim says that there is atleast one song in act 2

aislestorm2 said: "My guess is because Tom Kirdahy is producing it."

and his relationship with the Shed's Max Hodges and Alex Poots

jkcohen626 said: "TaffyDavenport said: "I don't see any suggestion that this is going to look like a concert/reading/sitzprobe."

Agreed. Just based on the subject matter and the space, I definitely wouldn't expect it to be a mega musical. I think it'll be pretty small. But there is a full design team and a choreographer on the website. So, it definitely won't be a sitzprobe. It could be something more encores style. But, I think it'll be fully staged."

Everyone calm down as the anticipation and anxiety over this is crazy. It will be interesting to see what they do with the limited stage space. 1st previews Sept 28 will be here before you know it.

Updated On: 8/20/23 at 06:02 PM

In J.T. Max's Finale, which is the source of the quotes above, Sondheim says during interviews in July and September 2017 that he's written seven songs for the show and had started the second act, which he expected would have "at least as many."

This was his statement about the progress of the show in September 2017: "There is a complete score and a complete act, but I want to add and tweak. Second act, there is a complete draft of the book, and I've just begun the score."

It is difficult to imagine Sondheim not having made any further progress between 2017 and 2021, even allowing for the fact that he stopped working on it for a time. Even if he didn't complete anything for the second act (beyond the sketch quoted above), he'd finished more than the rumored six songs, though I suppose it's possible he or the creative team decided to cut one of those songs.

We'll know soon enough.

Updated On: 8/21/23 at 12:41 AM

Frank Rich-penned oral history of the show's development: The Final Sondheim

Updated On: 8/28/23 at 09:07 AM

Lol...came to post the same thing. What a terrific read. I may have shed a few tears reading it.

That was incredible. And very interesting that it is setting up the record to be clear - the show as we are seeing IS 'finished'. It may not have been the intended final show, but it's simply not the case that the show was half finished and we are seeing the result of that. The decision to have minimal music in Act Two was a creative one that appeared to solve both the dramatic effect needed for characters who can't escape AND Sondheim's apparent inability to solve with music/his procrastination. Also, very interesting that the Nathan/Bernadette reading, which was described as 'extraordinary', apparently was just spoken words only!

Also, we finally have confirmation why there was confusion over what show was workshopped in 2021, as Sondheim DID return to working on “All Together Now.”