Sondheim at 90: NYT
Sondheim at 90: NYT
AlanB3
Stand-by Joined: 2/26/20
#1Sondheim at 90: NYT
Posted: 3/12/20 at 1:18pm
Two excellent articles.
Jesse Green: It's Not the Music. it's Not the Lyrics. It's the Drama.
Ben Brantley: Stephen Sondheim, The Man Who Felt Too Much
Also, a variety of artists share their favorite Sondheim song.
#2Sondheim at 90: NYT
Posted: 3/12/20 at 1:26pm
Two wonderful pieces.
I’m surprised we aren’t getting major 90th celebrations, but that’s probably a good thing with the Coronavirus. And maybe the lovely 80th birthday celebrations were enough for him.
#3Sondheim at 90: NYT
Posted: 3/14/20 at 2:20am
I wish people would stop carping about the books to Sondheim's shows. It isn't a compliment to him to do so. As it happens, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Company, Follies, A Little Night Music, Sweeney Todd and Sunday in the Park with George have superb books. Pacific Overtures has a pretty good book and so does Into the Woods. Merrily We Roll Along is the only clunker among the major shows. (I don't know that most of us can judge Anyone Can Whistle--for one thing, I'm not sure the published script is exactly what played on Broadway, for another, the way a script reads and the way a script plays can be two completely different things: I like the way it reads; it may indeed not work in performance.)
#4Sondheim at 90: NYT
Posted: 3/14/20 at 4:51am^ Company's overall structure is really "superb". That's techincally part of the book, but I think it's safe to say that structure of any musical is a collaborative effort from the first director, composer, lyricist, and not just the playwright. The spoken dialogue in Company is really terrible. I one for can't wait for the next song to start. Unlike, say, Into The Woods - which actually has hilarious dialogue (score for which is still stronger than the book, IMO).
Caption: Every so often there was a rare moment of perfect balance when I soared above him.
#5Sondheim at 90: NYT
Posted: 3/14/20 at 9:01am
I think the book to Company is superb. Anyone Can Whistle is definitely the most flawed. Other than Whistle, I think all of the books are superb. Merrily is flawed but still enjoyable.
I love the Company/Follies/Night Music/Pacific Overtures/Sweeney wave, but I LOVE the Sunday/Into the Woods/Passion/Assassins wave. I think Sunday might have the best book to one of his shows and quite possibly my favorite book of all time.
Anyways, he's the greatest musical theater writer of all time. His work is absolutely timeless. Sondheim's birthday is always treated like a holiday in my musical theater obsessed household. We'll be binging the filmed versions of his shows and drinking. The goal is to be under the table by the time we get to Passion.
AlanB3
Stand-by Joined: 2/26/20
#7Sondheim at 90: NYT
Posted: 3/15/20 at 11:28am
For those who are interested, 8 pages celebrating Sondheim are in this Sunday’s NY Times Arts and Leisure. It looks great.
Updated On: 3/15/20 at 11:28 AM
#8Sondheim at 90: NYT
Posted: 3/15/20 at 3:04pm
ljay889 said: "For those who are interested, 8 pages celebrating Sondheim are in this Sunday’s NY Times Arts and Leisure. It looks great."
"Anything you do, let it it come from you--then it will be new."
Sunday in the Park with George
#9Sondheim at 90: NYT
Posted: 3/15/20 at 3:09pm
HAPPY 90
"Anything you do, let it it come from you--then it will be new."
Sunday in the Park with George
sittingovation
Swing Joined: 6/12/16
#11Sondheim at 90: NYT
Posted: 3/15/20 at 4:06pm
sittingovation said: "Is that a wedding ring?"
I noticed that also when I saw this pic the other day.
Just give the world Love.
Globefan
Broadway Star Joined: 10/31/12
#12Sondheim at 90: NYT
Posted: 3/15/20 at 4:45pm
I wonder if they'll make a Sondheim biopic at some point.
#13Sondheim at 90: NYT
Posted: 3/15/20 at 4:54pm
Globefan said: "I wonder if they'll make a Sondheim biopic at some point."
I think they will, or at least an HBO or Netflix series. His upbringing is VERY interesting, and would play very well dramatically.
#14Sondheim at 90: NYT
Posted: 3/15/20 at 8:30pm
ljay889 said: "Globefan said: "I wonder if they'll make a Sondheim biopic at some point."
I think they will, or at least an HBO or Netflix series. His upbringing is VERY interesting, and would play very well dramatically."
Ryan Murphy are you reading this???
"Anything you do, let it it come from you--then it will be new."
Sunday in the Park with George
#15Sondheim at 90: NYT
Posted: 3/29/20 at 3:08pm
Sondheim passionately responds to Ben Brantley and Jesse Green's criticisms of George Furth's work in Company. Sondheim is famous for always honoring the work of all of his book writers.
https://twitter.com/HESherman/status/1243956895171465217?s=20
#16Sondheim at 90: NYT
Posted: 3/29/20 at 3:34pm
Love it.
"You can't overrate Bernadette Peters. She is such a genius. There's a moment in "Too Many Mornings" and Bernadette doing 'I wore green the last time' - It's a voice that is just already given up - it is so sorrowful. Tragic. You can see from that moment the show is going to be headed into such dark territory and it hinges on this tiny throwaway moment of the voice." - Ben Brantley (2022)
"Bernadette's whole, stunning performance [as Rose in Gypsy] galvanized the actors capable of letting loose with her. Bernadette's Rose did take its rightful place, but too late, and unseen by too many who should have seen it" Arthur Laurents (2009)
"Sondheim's own favorite star performances? [Bernadette] Peters in ''Sunday in the Park,'' Lansbury in ''Sweeney Todd'' and ''obviously, Ethel was thrilling in 'Gypsy.'' Nytimes, 2000
#17Sondheim at 90: NYT
Posted: 3/29/20 at 3:41pm
Elliot's production is probably the first time I've been impressed by Furth's book. She expertly stages the vignettes/book scenes as if they were mini straight plays/individual comedies. She was certainly determined to highlight the strengths of Furth's book.
Updated On: 3/29/20 at 03:41 PMVideos