Sondheim's Favorite Musical (thats not his own)

[Pianolin717]

Posted: 2/2/09 at 10:07pm

So, I found this very interesting... I went to his interview/forum tonight in Richmond and the moderator asked what his favorite musical that wasn't one he worked on was.
He responded with "The Wiz" and said he saw it 6 times on Broadway and would see it anytime he could! I don't know.. it was surprising to me

[matty159]

Posted: 2/2/09 at 10:44pm

And I was shocked to hear his "desert island" score of his own is Forum.

Am still reeling from his Stritch quote..."Give me a bottle of vodka and the floor plan." (or something to that effect)

A very nice evening...with a very sparse crowd (but that is Richmond, VA for ya). 90 minutes simply wasn't enough.

[TheatreFreak05]

Posted: 2/3/09 at 12:14am

Sounds like a fascinating night! I'm jealous

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 2/3/09 at 1:45am

Me too!

Posted: 2/3/09 at 6:18am

He said the same in his recent talk in NEw York but it sounded more vague--more like not a big answer but instead he said "One show that I did love myself at and it might surprise peopel was The Wiz--everything just worked so well even if it's not my kind of music" (I am SO paraphrasing and that could be completely wrong so...) I admit the awful, ugly movie of the Wiz put me off it so much as a kid that I've never had a desire to investigate the stage version though I know it was meant to be much smaller and charming.

So I don't think (unless he changed his answer to a definite) it means it's his all time fave show, but a show he loved more like it. At various times he's also mentioned how much he liked Taboo (yes the Broadway version) again pointing out it's not his kind of music but he got so into it. Some years back I picked up the cast album of Tesori's first major New York score, the Off-Broadway Violet, based on his recommendation in an interview for how much he loved it.

As for favorite show music, he has repeatedly said he thinsk the score for Porgy and Bess is as close to perfection as one can get--particularly the songs DuBose Heyward did lyrics for (he doesn't seem to be a huge Ira Gershwin supporter...)

[Gypsy9]

Posted: 2/3/09 at 6:23am

In an interview with former NY Times theatre critic Frank Rich several years ago, Stephen Sondheim cited Gershwins' PORGY AND BESS and Jerome Kern's SHOWBOAT as two of three favorite musicals(I can't remember the third).

[nmartin]

Posted: 2/3/09 at 6:26am

Years ago there was an article in the New York Times magazine where Sondheim picked out songs he wished he had written. For the life of me the only one I can remember is Home from 70, Girls, 70.

[husk_charmer]

Posted: 2/3/09 at 10:07am

All I will say is, to those who think the Wiz needs to be updated, if the original is good enough for Sondhiem, then it's good enough for the rest of us.

[Mister Matt]

Posted: 2/3/09 at 11:43am

I would love to see a good production of The Wiz. I saw an attempt to recreate the original staging once. It was an embarrassing mess.

[SporkGoddess]

Posted: 2/3/09 at 12:00pm

nmartin: One of them was "The Riddle Song" from Floyd Collins.

[Enjolras77]

Posted: 2/3/09 at 1:03pm

Here is a link to an article that contains a (partial) list of the songs Sondheim wishes he had written.
Conversations with Sondheim

[StickToPriest]

Posted: 2/3/09 at 1:19pm

The full list in in the book Sondheim on Music: Minor Details and Major Decisions, which I highly recommend.

[jv92]

Posted: 2/3/09 at 2:29pm

He's said that he likes Carousel, Porgy and Bess, Show Boat, Allegro, The Wiz, She Loves Me, Floyd Collins, Chicago and Cabaret.

[ljay889]

Posted: 2/3/09 at 2:30pm

I thought he said he liked the score of CHICAGO better than the overall show? Or did I make that uP?

[jv92]

Posted: 2/3/09 at 7:31pm

No, you may be right. It's mentioned in How Sondheim Found His Sound. I'll have to look it up.

[SahDu]

Posted: 2/3/09 at 9:07pm

The list of "Songs I Wish I Had Written (At Least in Part)" can be found below.



Songs I Wish I Had Written Updated On: 2/15/14 at 09:07 PM

[Pianolin717]

Posted: 2/3/09 at 9:10pm

I'm intrigued that he chose "Glitter and Be Gay" instead of "Make Our Garden Grow"

[matty159]

Posted: 2/3/09 at 9:20pm

Thank you everyone for your posts today in response to the OP. I felt the evening went by at a lightening pace last night, and I definitely wanted to look into a lot of what he said further. Obviously, there was no way to cover a life in full in 90-minutes...and it seemed as if he and Rich are trying to be a little bit different in the Q&A with each sit-down.

And I especially interested in hearing the new recording of Allegro as he spent a great amount of time talking about it.

He also mentioned a film called Hangover Square that he said had a major impact on him as a writer and in the writing of Sweeney. Has anybody here seen it and have any thoughts on it?

Posted: 2/3/09 at 9:20pm

Really? I think Make Our Garden Grow is the kinda song that Sondheim felt Hammerstein coulda written because he really felt lyrics like that--they came from an honest place, but didn't so much for Candide (it's a glorious song but I might agree with that--it feels a bit arbitrary even when I saw the best Candide production--RNT's).


All I've heard him say about Chicago is that he didn't think the movie was a great movie musical adaptation but it was "entertaining". And I've never heard what he thought abotu Cabaret--I always assumed he was mixed on the 60s Prince original but maybe I made that up. He was (is?) good friends with John Kander back then (Kander also doing the dance music for Gypsy of course).

As for Allgero, he has a lot of affection becuase of his experiences working the show but I believe he's always called it flawed.

[gvendo2005]

Posted: 2/3/09 at 9:41pm

I'd love to hear his reaction to most of theater. I mean, Jon Larson was practically a protege, so I'd love to hear what Stephen had to say about Rent. For that matter, I'd love to hear what Stephen has to say about the glut of rock musicals that were starting to take over Broadway at the time of Company and Follies, such as Hair and JCS, and how that affected what he was trying to do with these shows.

[jv92]

Posted: 2/3/09 at 10:04pm

"All I've heard him say about Chicago is that he didn't think the movie was a great movie musical adaptation but it was "entertaining". And I've never heard what he thought abotu Cabaret--I always assumed he was mixed on the 60s Prince original but maybe I made that up. He was (is?) good friends with John Kander back then (Kander also doing the dance music for Gypsy of course)."

He said in the Steve Swayne book that he loved both the scores of Cabaret and Chicago, but not so much the shows.
And he still is good friends with "Johnny Kander", as he so affectionately called him at the New York evening, lavishing praise on both Kander and Fred Ebb.

[matty159]

Posted: 2/3/09 at 10:05pm

He spoke briefly about the rock musical and its impact...and basically to not being fond of it. Those wasn't his exact description, but it was a topic he skirted.

[jv92]

Posted: 2/3/09 at 10:11pm

"And I was shocked to hear his "desert island" score of his own is Forum."

No way! I thought it'd be Sunday in the Park or Assassins.

[Pianolin717]

Posted: 2/3/09 at 10:12pm

^^
It's True! I was shocked too.. but then it made sense. If he were on a deserted island, he would probably be bored and want to have fun/be entertained (paraphrase of what he said) So that is why he chose Forum

[matty159]

Posted: 2/3/09 at 10:19pm

Yeah, that truly floored me. Not what I was expecting to hear AT ALL!

If I had to be stuck with only one Sondheim score on my deserted island it would either be A Little Night Music or Sunday. Forum wouldn't probably even come to mind.