Sondheim is Rude??

A friend of a friend was working on a Stephen Sondheim show on Broadway. It was VERY early in the process and he was not familiar with Sondheim's work. I know that sounds rediculous, but go with it. Anyway he was not an actor, but a stagehand. He heard about how big Sondheim was and went to speek to him after a rehearsal. He misporonounced his name when addresing Mr. Sondheim. Called him SondhIEm. (Sond-heem) Stephen just responded with "It's Sondheim, you can pick up your check!"

He was fired! I realize he actually doesn't have the authority to actually fire a stagehand, but nobody was going to argue with him.

I was just a little surprised when I heard about that. Any thoughts?....

---

Does the show matter?

wow. i would really like some more details on this if you have anything else to say... somehow this doesnt shock me much though

Because of the Dramatist's Guild Contract, he actually does have the right to fire anyone he wants (including actors and orchestra personnel). The Guild contract prevents anyone tampering with so much as a word of the script without his approval, as well as the right of approval over the director and all personnel -- he has final word on all casting and other hires and he has the right to withdraw his score at no penalty if he doesn't get his way (this covers playwrights, composers and lyricists).

Still, a pretty sh*tty thing to do considering the circumstances. He's generally rather easy to deal with (though, he can be a little prickly, so it probably wasn't a good idea to approach him if you didn't even know how to say his name properly).

---

As I've always understood it, the general concensus is that Mr. Sondheim believes his own press releases. And if you think he's demanding in a theatre, we won't even discuss how he is in the specialized basement of his townhouse.

MusicMan - Why bother with frying pans at all, unless branding is to be involved. Better to leap right into the coals and let the flames lick at your loins - but of course, only if that's what the master . . . I mean maestro . . . desires.

Katherine always destested all that screaming.

But Margo, if we oppose them, our ends may be met with more severity than we can imagine.

Shira - my mother's name is Chere' - and she goes through the same thing.

"And if you think he's demanding in a theatre, we won't even discuss how he is in the specialized basement of his townhouse."

DGrant, I'm surprised at you!

DGrant,

Chere (I can't do accents) is a beautiful name.

I remember at a Los Angeles high school graduation, so many graduates were foreign, no one could get them right. Poor deans, they kept trying...

---

That's right! Don't you live around here? LA and NY should really learn to pronounce names from all cultures and countries. I can't say I know how, but it would be useful.

---

It's always nice to know that there is actually ONE other person in the Southern California area who likes theater...

---

I recently discovered the OCPAC and SCR. I'm trying to find a time to see Brooklyn Boy at SCR. I believe the first show at the Kirk Douglas is "Apollo", which I'll be seeing for sure.

---