Sondheim vs. Porgy & Bess - YIKES! — Page 6

Ooooh yes!! Every theater queen in New York has less of a reason to go to the new production once it opens. Rest assured, I still want to hear Audra sing the glorious arias, so I'll probably still go.

I think there's an underlying thing here that I might not have noticed if I hadn't spent the last two years in the vicinity of "visionary" "director," Diane "populist" Paulist: the woman is a huckster. I'm not kidding, she's the latest in a long line of descendents of PT Barnum. Her programming at the ART for the past two years reveals that what she's most interested in is salesmanship. I thought, because she made a big game of talking about it for the year before she got to Cambridge (which she only visits, it's not like she's here much), that she was interested in a theater that was a vital contributor to a community-wide conversation. What I have seen, what she's most interested is her husband running the liquor concession at The Donkey Show. You pays your money and you takes your chances on whatever it is Paulus is currently dumbing down to make relevant to whatever group of young people with pockets worth picking.

As I read it, THAT'S what Sondheim is calling her out on. She uses the techniques of a carny barker to get asses in the theater seats (which is an admirable goal) by any means necessary (which is not).

I have no idea what kind of horrid concoction she's creating, but not having ever seen Porgy & Bess, I am exactly her target audience (except for the youth part). If I love it, I will join the chorus of people who dismiss the stodgy old naysayers who are familiar with the show that was originally created, and become another booster of the "revolutionary" work of Diane Paulus.

To think, this is all descended from the success of Sleep No More, which I love, and which was lined up on the ART schedule by Paulus's predecessor. She really is going to dine out on its cache for the rest of her career. And her husband holds the liquor license for that show too.

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No one did. The New York Times published an article and Sondheim, like countless readers do, sent an open letter to the paper. I'm sure his letter made it to the top of the pile and warranted a blog post, though, because he's Stephen Sondheim of course.

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I'm posting a link to a Boston arts blog that I think really gives the context for how some people are perceiving Paulus. Now, I disagree with the guy's feelings about Amanda Palmer and the Dresden Dolls, but this sort of shady hucksterism is what's underlying the pushback. Porgy & Bess is going to take the heat because it's her first grand Broadway-aimed gesture since Hair. Had she gotten the awful Johnny Baseball to New York, that would have been the target.

It really is notable that Paulus and her husband turned ART's black box, Zero Arrow Theater, into Club Oberon. He gets a royalty for use of the name; a name that makes NO sense outside the context of The Donkey Show, which is now playing only two shows on Saturdays.

Her priorities are becoming more obvious and people have earned the right not to trust her.
The Hub Review

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It ain't my blog. Just a good source to show you how Diane Paulus doesn't happen to a show in a vacuum.

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It premiered in 1935. Any bets that this is a way for the estate to extend the copyright protection?

That's how Boosey and Hawkes has been able to keep control over THE QUAKER GIRL and THE ARCADIANS, both of which were written around 1900. They changed the score, and then reapplied for copyright in the 50s, and it apparently worked.

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This is all Sonny Bono's fault?

If I were Audra, (ah) I would lie low and let my work (which I believe will be sublime) speak for itself.

I didn't like Mr.Sondheim picking on Audra.

She is one of the performers, and I feel it's a bit unfair to lump her in with the director and hold her equally accountable.

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I didn't like Mr.Sondheim picking on Audra.

She is one of the performers, and I feel it's a bit unfair to lump her in with the director and hold her equally accountable.

Sondheim wasn't "picking" on Audra. He was responding to comments she made in the article, particularly that Bess is not a well-developed character and that only purists will take issue with the direction that Paulus and Parks are taking the piece. He didn't just indiscriminately single her out.

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Wow! just wow. I would think that by now the people working with the show might want tot take back the happier ending...

I wouldn't be surprised if they did change the ending back.

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AC, I know, I know...but still, I feel protective over Audra!

By the way, is this what she was "sigh sigh sigh"-ing when she tweeted last night?

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You're not alone, littlegreen.

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