Sondheim and Lady Gaga - Page 3

[Pippin]

Posted: 3/14/15 at 12:04pm

You will probably all think I'm some sort of anti-christ for saying this:

I don't really feel anything about Gaga's performance either way. I thought she did an admirable job, and she was visibly nervous, having to go out there in front of an entire industry of movers and shakers, and that being said, I thought she did absolutely fine, but I agree with Sondheim's assessment that people were more impressed that she could actually sound like that rather than how she actually performed it.

But I don't think she HAS to be in character...... were they performing the entire Sound of Music that night? No. So the song was out of context. She was introduced as Lady Gaga, and not as "Lady Gaga playing Maria Von Trapp", so she was appearing as herself, not as Maria. She was doing basically a concert version of a medley from TSOM. If she were to do that in the middle of one of her concerts, what would you expect her to do? stop the show while she emotionally prepares to "become" Maria?

people are being a little harsh on her, I think because their "expectations" weren't met. So what? I hate when people say "well, it's not what I expected, so I don't like it" Lyrically Sondheim said it himself: "If you have no expectations, you can never have a disappointment"

Take it for what it was: a pop singer doing an admirable job singing, not acting, a song from TSOM. She wasn't auditioning for the next revival of the show. She was singing the song as a pop song, just as Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr, Eydie Gorme, et. all would have performed it back in their heydays. Frank never "got into the character" when he sang. He performed jazzy versions of showtunes without a hint of a character. Look up "I believe in you" or, even any of the songs he sang from TSOM like Climb Every Mountain.

So, I don't know. I thought she did fine, and I think some people like being bitchy for the sake of being bitchy sometimes.

Let the crucifixion commence.

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 3/14/15 at 12:19pm

I seem to be the only one not bothered by the "fag" lyric in COMPANY.

[CoverYou]

Posted: 3/14/15 at 1:07pm

I thought she did a really fine job and don't understand him feeling compelled to belittle her performance.

[actor24601]

Posted: 3/14/15 at 1:22pm

I love Sondheim, he is my favourite Musical Theatre composer, but he can kiss my ass when it comes to this. He is coming across as a very bitter, old snob.

Gaga wasn't performing in The Sound of Music on Broadway, she was singing a tribute medley and an awards show.

He obviously has a prejudice against contemporary pop music but, to quote Gaga herself, 'Pop music will never be low-brow'.

How about praising the fact that she is bringing some theatricality and old-school musical theatre to a pop culture audience, instead of bashing her for not being up to your standard? She is head and shoulders above her contemporary pop artists.

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 3/14/15 at 2:42pm

She was one of the few bright spots on a otherwise dreary & interminable Oscar show.

Lighten up Stevie . If you did not like her fine. It was not akin to having Jim Nabors singing the opera Aida. It was a tribute and no one expects her to be doing the next Sound revival anytime soon. It would however sell a ton of tickets. Imagine her doing Do Re Mi

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 3/14/15 at 3:00pm

I can more easily imagine her doing a lonely goat herd.

[Musical Master]

Posted: 3/14/15 at 3:03pm

I don't disagree with what he says but given the fact that Gaga's work has mostly been delightfully stupid pop songs, I really enjoyed the heck out of her Oscars performance.

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 3/14/15 at 5:58pm

It showcased what is a great voice. All I think about when I see her is crazy costumes singing pop songs. Between this and her singing with Tony Bennett, it has opened many eyes re her real talent.

[ljay889]

Posted: 3/14/15 at 6:00pm

Found these two excerpts interesting.



Favorite Recent Broadway Show: Honeymoon in Vegas–“The essence of the musical theatre I grew up on.”

TV Musicals, like the recent “Peter Pan Live!”: “From what little I’ve seen, they’re so embarrassingly bad you have to sit and make fun of them or you’re just wasting your time.”

[degrassifan]

Posted: 3/14/15 at 6:21pm

Sondheim is too old to be this petty. He just comes off as a bitter, grumpy man.

[actor24601]

Posted: 3/14/15 at 9:47pm

"I don't disagree with what he says but given the fact that Gaga's work has mostly been delightfully stupid pop songs, I really enjoyed the heck out of her Oscars performance."

You obviously know nothing of Gaga or her work. Her music is very well written, deep and complex. And do not quote me with lyrics from Just Dance to try to dispute me, her hit singles (especially her earlier ones) do not represent her overall music/message/performance art.

Updated On: 3/14/15 at 09:47 PM

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Posted: 3/14/15 at 9:50pm

Ro ma ma!

[gangtey]

Posted: 3/14/15 at 9:55pm

I had a similar reaction to Lady Gaga's performance. I was impressed by her big voice and talent for singing that kind of music so well, and turned off by the style in which she sang it. To me, the tattooed pop star mimicking Julie Andrews, English accent and all, came across as campy. I wished she'd sung it in a more personal style.

[Mattbrain]

Posted: 3/14/15 at 10:29pm

Well.....there goes my last remaining shreds of respect for him as a person.

Still love his music though.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 3/14/15 at 10:33pm

"deep and complex"

Well, maybe one but not the other.

[actor24601]

Posted: 3/14/15 at 11:57pm

""deep and complex"

Well, maybe one but not the other."

Are you very familiar with her work? This is coming from someone who has followed her career closely for 6 years and knows each of her songs from her 4 albums by heart aswell as her countless unreleased music.

On the surface a lot of Gaga's music can come across as simple catchy pop songs to someone who has only heard her hits on the radio. If you read the lyrics she has wrote they are incredibly emotional, powerful and thought-provoking. Her work is full of references and metaphors. Each album she has produced had its own theme/message and each song on the album explored that theme deeply, and told a story.

She pours her heart into her music and is an incredibly talented, witty song-writer. She then brings that music to life in theatrical, intriguing performance art and live tours. She was raised listening to the best musical influences (Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, David Bowie..) and studied at the prestigious Tisch school. It annoys me when people pass her off as manufactured pop fluff, because it couldn't be farther from the truth.

[ScottyDoesn'tKnow2]

Posted: 3/15/15 at 12:45am

I had a similar reaction to Lady Gaga's performance. I was impressed by her big voice and talent for singing that kind of music so well, and turned off by the style in which she sang it. To me, the tattooed pop star mimicking Julie Andrews, English accent and all, came across as campy. I wished she'd sung it in a more personal style.

That's similar to how I felt with her Tony Bennett duets. At the Grammys, I thought her voice sounded strong but I didn't like the style she chose for "Cheek to Cheek". It was way too bombastic and sort of show-offy. Although I was really impressed with the strength other voice at the Oscars (sort of amazed) again, stylistically, it was just her showing off and there was a disconnection to the lyrics.

Updated On: 3/15/15 at 12:45 AM

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 3/15/15 at 12:54am

Suhweeeetie, I had tickets to the first two US dates of The Monster's Ball which were in a theater, not a sports arena, so yeah, I've been aware of her for quite some time. I enjoyed reading your essay and you cover why she was an exciting fireball when she emerged and I agree that the music on Fame Monster and Born this Way are a lot of great things and even skirts the occasional deeper issue here and there. All I am saying is that "deep and complex" are not two words that I would use to describe her work.

[Charley Kringas Inc]

Posted: 3/15/15 at 1:07am

I don't know if I'd call it a travesty, though I guess that depends on what you'd qualify as a travesty, but it wasn't particularly great to listen to. R&H's music and lyrics are already like molasses, the last thing it needs is to get the corn-syrup treatment, that totally detached "look at my voice" voice. It made the songs feel like museum pieces.

[actor24601]

Posted: 3/15/15 at 1:07am

That's great!

[promisespromises2]

Posted: 3/15/15 at 8:14am

"It was a very bizarre performance, as if she had never been in touch with a human emotion before."

EXACTLY what I said!

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 3/15/15 at 8:40am

Sondheim mentions how he watches the NBC tv musicals to laugh and make fun of them, so I'm surprised he couldn't do the same thing with Gaga's performance at the Oscars and recognize (and adore it) for what it actually was: glorious, glorious camp. If she was auditioning for a guest spot on the Lola Falana Show, she got the job!

It was like an unintended homage to Eydie Gormé on an episode of Hollywood Palace. In fact, it proved Gaga would be amazingly suited for a revival/encores presentation of Golden Rainbow! Can you imagine her "He Needs Me Now" and "How Could I Be So Wrong?"

[PalJoey]

Posted: 3/15/15 at 9:34am

I love Eydie singing "How Could I Be So Wrong" on the Hollywood Palace!



Eydie singing "How Could I Be So Wrong" on the Hollywood Palace!

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 3/15/15 at 9:55am

Good God! If that doesn't do it for you, you better check your pulse to make sure you're still alive.

There was a Hollywood Palace where Steve and Eydie pulled two "tourists" out of the audience, also played by Steve and Eydie, and whacky split screen hijinks ensued.

Gaga would have been a natural on shows like this.

[Comden Green]

Posted: 3/15/15 at 9:56pm

and suddenly the thread morphs into an Eydie love fest:

"What did I have?"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bv4-6uJ3vUw

musical perfection