Stephen Sondeim: Happy 87th Birthday

[+ WilliamM]

I only saw "Gypsy" with the original Broadway cast

[N13]

Actually saw all of them. I guess I'm older than I feel!

[+ WilliamM]

Actually saw all of them. I guess I'm older than I feel!

 

I saw the other seven, but not with the original cast. Trying to pick a favorite among all those revivals is difficult -- but "Sweeney Todd" would likely be my choice.

[+ honcho]

Did you know that Sondheim studied composition with Milton Babbit, who wrote some horrendous atonal and mathematically influenced stuff that passed for music back in the day?

 

Eric Ewazen also studied with Babbitt, and happily is writing tonal music also.

[body2body]

I hope Mr. Sondheim still has another Show in him.

I've had the good fortune to see Anyone Can Whistle, The Frogs, Company, Follies, Night Music, Pacific Overtures, Sweeney Todd, Sunday in the Park with George, Into the Woods, Merrily We Roll Along, Passion, and Assasins. As far as the works he wrote words and music for. Gypsy, and Do I Hear a Waltz?, where he only acted as lyricist. Some of them I have seen in several productions. They have held up quite well as body work. I am thankful that I have been able to attend the Theatre in an era when we were gifted with such a genius.

[N13]

I saw the other seven, but not with the original cast. Trying to pick a favorite among all those revivals is difficult -- but "Sweeney Todd" would likely be my choice.

I agree with "Sweeny Todd" with "A Little Night Music" (The original NOT Burnadette Peters!) and then "Pacific Overtures." Merman made "Gypsy" for me and "Follies" was flawed but sublime!

[+ WilliamM]

Gypsy, and Do I Hear a Waltz?, where he only acted as lyricist.

 

Sondheim only wrote the lyrics for West Side Story also.

 

Ethel Merman was not comfortable with Stephen writing the music for Gypsy, She had work previously with Jule Styne.

[+ BenjaminNicholas]

I agree with "Sweeny Todd" with "A Little Night Music" (The original NOT Burnadette Peters!) and then "Pacific Overtures." Merman made "Gypsy" for me and "Follies" was flawed but sublime!

 

Quibble: The revival of ALNM was originally with Catherine Zeta-Jones who was actually not terrible in the role. Oddly, what she did on the TONY broadcast was nothing like what she was doing at the Walter Kerr. Peters took the role over later. She was okay. It was, thankfully, a better performance than what she gave in Gypsy.

 

Gypsy with LuPone/Benanti and Sweeney with LuPone/Cerveris were two of my very favorite revivals. Sondheim is a damned genius.

[Larstrup]

Thank God they're still performing without having to alter their vocal register.

[N13]

Quibble: The revival of ALNM was originally with Catherine Zeta-Jones who was actually not terrible in the role. Oddly, what she did on the TONY broadcast was nothing like what she was doing at the Walter Kerr. Peters took the role over later. She was okay. It was, thankfully, a better performance than what she gave in Gypsy.

 

Gypsy with LuPone/Benanti and Sweeney with LuPone/Cerveris were two of my very favorite revivals. Sondheim is a damned genius.

 

Agree without reservation that Sondheim is a genius. As for Zeta-Jones, I opted not to see her. Big mistake, however, to have gone to see Peters. I have liked her only two times....First in "Dames at Sea" and surprisingly in a show I really detested, "Sunday in the Park......."! Otherwise I find her one of the most mannered and bad actor/singers who has had success on Broadway. She should have been tarred and feathered for what she did to both "ALNM" and "Follies"!

[body2body]

Quibble: The revival of ALNM was originally with Catherine Zeta-Jones who was actually not terrible in the role. Oddly, what she did on the TONY broadcast was nothing like what she was doing at the Walter Kerr. Peters took the role over later. She was okay. It was, thankfully, a better performance than what she gave in Gypsy.

 

Gypsy with LuPone/Benanti and Sweeney with LuPone/Cerveris were two of my very favorite revivals. Sondheim is a damned genius.

The Production with Zeta-Jones originated at the Menier Chocolate Factory in London. When it opened in New York they had Zeta-Jones as Desirée, and Lansbury as Mme. Armfeldt. I expected to hate Zeta-Jones, but was surprised. I think when Peters took over as Desirée, Elaine Stritch replaced Lansbury. The first time I saw Night Music it was a sit down at the Shubert Theater in Los Angeles and had Jean Simmons as Desirée and Margaret Hamilton as Mme Armfeldt!

[body2body]

Agree without reservation that Sondheim is a genius. As for Zeta-Jones, I opted not to see her. Big mistake, however, to have gone to see Peters. I have liked her only two times....First in "Dames at Sea" and surprisingly in a show I really detested, "Sunday in the Park......."! Otherwise I find her one of the most mannered and bad actor/singers who has had success on Broadway. She should have been tarred and feathered for what she did to both "ALNM" and "Follies"!

I agree that Peters should never have been allowed to play Mama Rose in Gypsy, but she was quite good as the Witch in Into the Woods. She was also terrific in Mack and Mabel opposite Robert Preston.

[+ BenjaminNicholas]

She should have been tarred and feathered for what she did to both "ALNM" and "Follies"!

 

Agreed. She inserts cooing and the kewpie doll-esque mannerisms in many characters she shouldn't. She's well past the correct age for that (no matter how amazing she looks for 69).

 

As for Follies, a concurrent production ran at the Chicago Shakespeare at that time and it was far superior. Beautiful production, smaller with an absolutely stellar cast. Anytime I get to see Caroline O'Connor perform, it's a good day

 

https://www.chicagoshakes.com/plays_and_events/follies

[+ WilliamM]

The Production with Zeta-Jones originated at the Menier Chocolate Factory in London. When it opened in New York they had Zeta-Jones as Desirée, and Lansbury as Mme. Armfeldt. I expected to hate Zeta-Jones, but was surprised. I think when Peters took over as Desirée, Elaine Stritch replaced Lansbury.

 

I saw Zeta-Jones and Peters mostly because I missed most of Lansbury's musicals, except the Anyone Can Whistle benefit concert. I did see Stritch in a concert version of Sail Away.

[bostonman]

Gypsy, and Do I Hear a Waltz?, where he only acted as lyricist.

 

Sondheim only wrote the lyrics for West Side Story also.

 

And, technically, The Mad Show, for which he only wrote one song, the hilarious "The Boy From...". The Latin pastiche music was written by Mary Rodgers, and the lyrics were written by Sondheim under the pseudonym Esteban Rio Nido, which is a translation of Stephen Sondheim in Spanish.

[foxy]

I'm fortunate that I've seen most of Sondheim's shows and a few revivals with different casts over the years.

 

However the performances that stand out starred Angela Lansbury in Gypsy in 1974 and Sweeney Todd in 1979.

I've actually had a few encounters with Ms Lansbury and all rather funny. When I saw Gypsy I found myself in the first row center of the Orchestra right behind the conductor. I was with a friend who was visiting from out of town. Ms Lansbury actually stopped the show with Together, Wherever You Go. The audience wouldn't stop applauding and screaming. It was kind of crazy. The performers just stood there and started laughing. Finally the clapping stopped and Lansbury and the cast did the whole number over again. More screaming and applause. I think the show must have run over 30 minutes.

 

After the show my friend suggested we stand by the stage door and watch the performers come out. It was a freezing cold night. One by one everyone came out and the actress who played Gypsy, Zan Charisse (niece of Cyd Charisse) came up to us saying "I saw you two sitting in the first row". She was very sweet.

 

Finally after the longest time a big black car pulled up. Angela Lansbury swept out brushing past everyone. A young shivering boy held up his Playbill and a pen hoping for an autograph. Practically knocking him down she said "I don't give autographs" and climbed into the car. And off she went.

 

After seeing Sweeney Tood, I read that Ms Lansbury and the cast would be autographing albums in a department store. I decided to go and a few friends asked me to pick up albums for them. The huge line snaked around displays of ladies lingerie and finally to a raised platform. I had 6 albums to be autographed. Ms Lansbury looked a little pissed off since I knew "she didn't give autographs". I handed over the 6 albums and as she was scribbling her name I said I had seen her a few nights ago and said I thought her performance was brilliant. She never looked up and just grunted "yes" agreeing with me. I suppressed a laugh and moved on to Len Cariou who seemed in a better mood.

 

If you've never seen it I would recommend a very funny movie called Something For Everyone (1970) starring Angela Lansbury as the Countess von Ornstein and Michael York who was pretty hot as a bisexual murderer. Lansbury has some priceless lines in the movie.

The full movie is available on YouTube.

The movie trailer.

 

 

In 2014 I had a third encounter with Ms Lansbury. She was appearing in a production of Blithe Spirit playing the crackpot medium and clairvoyant Madame Arcanti. Ms Lansbury seemed to be forgetting many of her lines. I think she was 88 at the time so you had to admire that she was still working and flubbung the lines suited her character.

A few weeks later I was in the theater district waiting to meet a friend. I was standing outside an office building. A big car pulled up. The driver jumped out and opened the door. Out climbed Ms Lansbury. I rushed to open the office building door. She swept past me without a glance. I didn't ask for an autograph. But I couldn't help wondering if she remembered me? ha ha.

[+ WilliamM]

 

 

Merman: Closing night of "Gypsy" on Broadway "Everything's Coming Up Roses" recorded live

[+ WilliamM]

After seeing Sweeney Tood, I read that Ms Lansbury and the cast would be autographing albums in a department store. I decided to go and a few friends asked me to pick up albums for them. The huge line snaked around displays of ladies lingerie and finally to a raised platform. I had 6 albums to be autographed. Ms Lansbury looked a little pissed off since I knew "she didn't give autographs". I handed over the 6 albums and as she was scribbling her name I said I had seen her a few nights ago and said I thought her performance was brilliant. She never looked up and just grunted "yes" agreeing with me. I suppressed a laugh and moved on to Len Cariou who seemed in a better mood.

 

Thanks for that @foxy. Very, very funny

[body2body]

I saw Lansbury in Gypsy three times when she toured with the show. Her performance was spectacular, especially "Rose's Turn". One of the local Public Radio stations in LA had a Sunday show where they played recordings of Broadway Shows and interviewed performers, composers, and lyricists. One Sunday they played Gypsy with Lansbury. They interviewed Jule Styne, who said that until Lansbury did the role, no one had ever done "Rose's Turn" the way he had always imagined it.

[edjames]

There hasn't been a Sondheim musical I haven't seen in one form or another.

One of the most cherished memories of my life was one night at Playwrights Horizon. As I exited the theater, on the upper floor, I opted to take the elevator to the lobby and avoid the stairs. The door opened and there to my surprise stood the master himself! Alone on an elevator with Steve. He was gracious and kind.

 

AND YES, he has been working on a new musical, an adaptation of the Surrealist Spanish filmmaker Luis Buñuel’s 1962 dark comedy “The Exterminating Angel,”

Mr. Sondheim has been working for several years with the playwright David Ives (“Venus in Fur”) on a musical based on two Buñuel films, “The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie” and “The Exterminating Angel.” Steve s hoping to have the musical proceed this year and presented at The Public Theater here in NYC.

 

ED

[+ WilliamM]

There hasn't been a Sondheim musical I haven't seen in one form or another.

One of the most cherished memories of my life was one night at Playwrights Horizon. As I exited the theater, on the upper floor, I opted to take the elevator to the lobby and avoid the stairs. The door opened and there to my surprise stood the master himself! Alone on an elevator with Steve. He was gracious and kind.

 

I am 73-years old. My hero is Oscar Hammerstein II. I did meet his widow Dorothy in the mid-1980s. One of my closest young friends lives close to the Hammerstein home in Doylestown, Bucks County, Pennsylvania. There has been a controversy about plans to turning the house into a museum.

 

Most people know that Oscar Hammerstein and a young Stephen Sondheim knew each other well from living in Bucks County.

[bostonman]

AND YES, he has been working on a new musical, an adaptation of the Surrealist Spanish filmmaker Luis Buñuel’s 1962 dark comedy “The Exterminating Angel,”

Mr. Sondheim has been working for several years with the playwright David Ives (“Venus in Fur”) on a musical based on two Buñuel films, “The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie” and “The Exterminating Angel.” Steve s hoping to have the musical proceed this year and presented at The Public Theater here in NYC.

 

I'm hoping this will be a much easier birth than it was for his last project, which went through a number of major reconceptions and titles before being first presented as Bounce, then reworked as Road Show.

 

It's also interesting that the Met Opera will also be producing the American premiere of Thomas Ades' operatic adaptation of The Exterminating Angel this coming season. It would be very cool to see both treatments of the property in NYC this coming year.