Musical Words of Wisdom: The Sondheim Musicals

Just over a month ago, I posted a blog of words of wisdom and witty, creatively stated ideas from the musicals of Andrew Lloyd Webber.  Today, here are just some of the many you have sent in (along with a few of my favorites) from the musicals of Stephen Sondheim.

There were so many, it really was hard to choose, so below are the ones I think are the most clever, most meaningful; but most of all, these are the ones that most of you repeated.  Clearly, some of these quotes mean a lot to many of us.

Here is a quote, sometimes two, from each of his Broadway shows. Some are my contributions, others are singular submissions from one person, and others are quotes sent in from several of you. In the interest of fairness, I will attribute the quotes to no one, except the lyricists themselves. I think they are all kind of catchy and all of them at least clever and thought-provoking.

I have included more than a couple from the most quoted of his shows, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street and Into the Woods.  Not surprising, really.  What does surprise me is how many I got from Merrily We Roll Along!

And I am still collecting your quotes from the musicals of Kander and Ebb!

Anyone Can Whistle

• "Crazy business, this, this life we live in - Can't complain about the time we're given - With so little to be sure of in this world." 

Assassins

• "Everybody's got the right to their dreams."

Company

• "Everybody rise!  Rise!  Rise!  Rise!  Rise! Rise!  Rise!"


• "But alone is alone, not alive."



• "And that's what it's all about isn't it? Company!  Lots of company!  Life is company!  Love is company!  Company!"

Follies

• "The things that I want, I don't seem to get, The things that I get...well, you know what I mean?"


• "Sometimes when all the wrappings fall there's nothing underneath at all."

Gypsy

• "Some people sit on their butts. Got the dream, yeah, but not the guts!”

Into the Woods

• "Opportunity is not a lengthy visitor."


• "I was taught to be charming not sincere."


• "We disappoint. We Disappear. We die, but we don't."


• "Isn't it nice to know a lot? And a little bit not."


• "Someone is on your side, Someone else is not. While we're seeing our side maybe we forgot: they are not alone. No one is alone."


• "Careful the tale you tell. That is the spell. Children will listen."

A Little Night Music

• "I frequently laugh myself to sleep contemplating my own future."


• "Isn't it rich? Are we a pair?"

Merrily We Roll Along

• "Dreams don't die so keep an eye on your dreams."


• "And a friendship's like a garden: you have to water it, and tend it, and care for it. And I want it back."


• "Okay, so now you know, life is crummy."


• "Some rides are rough and leave you jumpy, why make it tough by getting grumpy?"


• "Success is like failure - It's how you perceive it, It's what you do with it, Not how you achieve it"


• "You need a tune you can hum."

Passion

• "Why is love so easy to give, and so hard to receive?"


• "They hear drums. We hear music. Be my friend..."


• "Just another love story, that's what they would claim. Another simple love story. Aren't all of them the same?"

Sunday in the Park with George

• "The choice may have been mistaken, the choosing was not. You have to move on."



• "We do not belong together, and we should have belonged together. What made it so right together is what made it all wrong."



• "There are only two worthwhile things to leave behind when we depart this world of ours: children and art."

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

• "Don't you know, silly man, half the fun is to plan the plan?  All good things come to those who can...wait."


• "We'll not discriminate great from small.  No, we'll serve anyone - meaning anyone - and to anyone at all!"


• "Eat them slow, 'cos that's the lot and now we've sold it!  Come again tomorrow!  Hold it! ("More hot pies!") Bless my eyes! ("Right this way, Sir!") Fresh supplies!"


• "Being close and being clever ain't like being true."


• "No one can help, nothing can hide you -- isn't that Sweeney there beside you?"

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Jeff

3.025

At This Performance the President Will Be Played By...

NOTE: Thanks to my good blog-buddy, Steve, I have made a correction to this entry! (I have highlighted the corrected sentences in RED.)

Cherry Jones once played the role on TV, and now Benjamin Walker is doing the same 8 times a week on Broadway.  Yes, both critically-acclaimed actors have played the President of the United States.  Of course, neither was the first, and I am sure neither will be the last on TV or Broadway.

As Mr. Walker continues to be all sexypants in Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson I got to thinking about other shows devoted to the man in the oval office.  What I found was pretty interesting, actually.  Seems that nearly all of our 44 presidents have appeared as characters in Broadway plays and musicals.

It might be easier to tell you which men have NOT been portrayed in a Broadway show - there are only 7 - and even two of them have potential special circumstances.  The 8 are: Benjamin Harrison, Warren G. Harding, Calvin Coolidge, Herbert Hoover, Jimmy Carter, George Bush, and Bill Clinton.  Hoover doesn't appear, but his "handiwork" does in Annie, where they sing, "We'd Like to Thank You, Herbert Hoover."  Of course, F.D.R. makes an appearance in that show.  The other exception might be that while Benjamin Harrison himself is not a character, his wife was, and she was played by none other than The First Lady of the American Theatre, Helen Hayes.

Which brings me to one of the most interesting Broadway-related presidential facts.  Ms. Hayes appeared in a play called The White House, a 23 performance play about the inhabitants of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.  Among the cast (all of whom played 5 or more characters was: James Daly, Helen Hayes, Fritz Weaver, and Gene Wilder.  The Henry Miller's Theatre has never been so powerful!  23 performances, featuring 23 presidents!

The most recent president to receive Broadway treatment was George W. Bush, played by Will Ferrell in You're Welcome, America.  A Final Night with George W. Bush, which played a brief run in 2009.

Another play, Wilson in the Promise Land, played the ANTA Theatre for 7 performances, and featured 6 of our leaders.

In all, there are 14 plays or musicals that feature the White House as a setting listed in the Internet Broadway Data Base, including 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, Mr. President, Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson and Teddy and Alice.  While it is too early to tell about BBAJ, the others I listed, along with the few above were fast flops.  But there have been successes, too.  Frost/Nixon and Sunrise at Campobello did well enough.

Two of the more famous shows to deal with the Leader of the Free World are: 1776 and Assassins.  In the latter, only two presidents actually appear (live, not in photos): James Garfield and Gerald Ford.

Ronald Reagan, an actual actor, never appeared on Broadway, though his son was a photographer for a production in the 80's.  Mr. Reagan's likeness appeared in The Wedding Singer and a musical that never actually opened, Senator Joe.  But his voice was used in the musical Doonesbury.  Speaking of Senator Joe, Richard Nixon also appeared in that show, as well as Frost/Nixon, An Evening with Richard Nixon and..., and Jackie, which also featured JFK's only appearance on Broadway.

By far, the most "regular" Broadway President of the United States is Theodore Roosevelt (not including the character who thinks he is Teddy in Arsenic and Old Lace).  He has been a character in 6 different shows, including two specifically about him: Bully! and Teddy and Alice.

And while Andrew Jackson appears in Bloody Bloody, it isn't his debut.  He also appeared in The White House, Wilson in the Promise Land, and his actual debut came in a play called The Awful Mrs. Eaton.  Benjamin Walker is the fifth actor to portray the populist president (not including his two understudies or the understudies of the four others.

OK, I bet you are wondering how our newest president, Barack Obama, made it into a Broadway show already.  Well, technically, he hasn't, yet.  But there is serious talk of the Kenyan (as in African nation) production of Obama: The Musical making the big leap across the ocean in the coming years.  I guess we'll have to see!


Comments?  Leave one here, email me at jkstheatrescene@yahoo.com or Tweet me!
Jeff
2.58

Best of the Decade: The Best Revivals of Musicals, Part I

Before I get to my top two new musicals, both of which, I think, point toward an exciting future for Broadway, I thought I'd start my final list in this summer long look back at the first ten years of this new century.  And what better way to end things than with a look back at the shows that we looked even further back with - musical revivals.

I have chosen 10 revivals for my "best of" list.  Each in retrospect represents their time in history and many of them, having been re-worked, point out that a classic can be looked at in an entirely new way.  Others represent their time by being recreated with the sensibility that informed them in the first place.  I think it speaks volumes for those revivals of that type that, while being re-created, still have the fresh, urgent feel of a newer work.  And these ten really show the span of the decades from the 40's through the 90's and pretty much anytime in between.  And let me predict now, that ten years from now, there will be many revivals to look back upon that cover the one decade not in my top 10 - the 1980's.

10.  Assassins (101 performances at Studio 54, winner Best Revival of a Musical 2004)  Directed by Joe Mantello, and starring Michael Cerveris, Denis O'Hare, James Barbour, Neil Patrick Harris, Mario Cantone and Alexander Gemignani.

The newest of the revivals isn't really a revival in the strictest sense, as this limited run production was the first time the show played a Broadway house.  But a revival is what they called and so here it is.  Featuring one of Stephen Sondheim's greatest scores, and even with a problematic (themes and pastiches start and stop or go nowhere) book by John Weidman, this show is provocative, challenging and perversely entertaining.  Leave it to Sondheim to make us like a bunch of killers.  Considering our rough and tumble history, I doubt there will ever be a time when Assassins won't feel a little wrong for the time it is being produced.  But it was, and we are all a little better for the effort.

"Everybody's Got the Right"

"Go ahead, Lee.  You'll make history."

9.  Hair (519 performances at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre, winner Best Revival of a Musical 2009)  Directed by Diane Paulus, and starring Gavin Creel, Will Swenson, Bryce Ryness, Sasha Allen, Caissie Levy, Megan Lawrence and Theo Stockman.

I left this show feeling higher than a kite, and no, it wasn't the influence of drugs.  It was the exhilaration of watching a young cast completely in solidarity with the material, the message and with each other.  I'll never forget Will Swenson, the song "Hair" or the beyond moving finale.  Yes, when I left the show I was floating and ready to change the world.  But like a good buzz, I came down eventually, and came to appreciate the effort, but didn't feel the staying power or the freshness the critics raved about.  In its way Hair will always be timeless as every generation seeks to find itself and leave its mark.  But what made the show so relevant in the Park lost some of its steam by the time the show got to Broadway.  We weren't rallying against an unpopular president or having the courage to bring an African-American into the White House.  We weren't fresh off a round of ugly in not one but two wars anymore.  As fast as the sound bites change in CNN, this Hair's much heralded relevance was yesterday's news, as we came quickly to realize that even with sweeping change, things still haven't changed much and just might have gotten worse.  Down goes the economy, record numbers of troops are dying each month, and our new President isn't quite the fast savior he promised to be.  And neither is Hair.  Still, a great production of a decent musical and better than a lot of the stuff that has made it and continues to run.

"Give me a head with hair..."

"This is the dawning..."

8.  A Little Night Music  (241 performances as of August 1.  Still running at the Walter Kerr Theatre, Tony nominee for Best Revival of a Musical 2010)  Directed by Trevor Nunn, and starring Catherine Zeta-Jones, Angela Lansbury, Alexander Hanson, Aaron Lazar, Erin Davie, Leigh Ann Larkin, Hunter Ryan Herdlika and Ramona Mallory.

Realizing fully that I am in the minority, I found this revival to be one of the best of the season.  I loved the spare, Chekovian staging, costumes and set pieces.  It really clarified the piece for me (even if it did expose that the act one book is heavy on plot, less on action), and I loved most of the characterizations.  Also realizing that it has become fashionable to take swipes at Ms. Zeta-Jones after her odd Tony performance, but on stage and in the context of the show, I loved her Desiree.  And with Mr. Hanson, the entire "Send in the Clowns" sequence was revelatory.  A huge Sondheim fan, I've seen this show many times and never felt as satisfied after the show as I did at this revival.  The show that beat it for the Tony is one of my all-time, sentimental favorites, and I enjoyed a lot about it, but as far as artistic achievement goes, this production has it all over the others.

Desiree and her lovers

The Armfeldt Ladies

7.  Promises, Promises  (113 performances as of August 1.  Still running at the Broadway Theatre)  Directed by Rob Ashford, and starring Kristin Chenoweth, Sean Hayes, Tony Goldwyn, Dick Latessa and Katie Finneran.

This 2010 revival wasn't even nominated for a best Revival Tony, but of the revivals this past season, I found it the most funny, touching and just plain entertaining of them all.  You simply cannot beat the Bacharach-David score, and while some may disagree, adding "A House is Not a Home" and "I Say a Little Prayer" not only gave Ms. Chenoweth more to sing, but it also added some depth to her already challenging character.  Like Ms. Zeta-Jones, it seems fashionable to slam this Broadway favorite.  I for one continue to applaud her bravery to bring audiences another aspect of her talents.  Sure she is cute and perky, but she is a damn fine actress that brings pathos, sadness and heartbreak to life each night.  And you can't beat the charm and wit of a Neil Simon book, especially when the material is delivered by such accomplished comedians as Hayes, Latessa and Finneran.  A slick reminder of a New York that no longer exists, these executives and secretaries danced with abandon, harassed with finesse, and out styled everyone on Broadway in 2009-2010.

"You should be happy!"

"Happy!"

"A Fact Can Be a Beautiful Thing"

6.  A Chorus Line  (759 performances at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre, Tony nominee for Best Revival of a Musical 2007)  Michael Bennett's direction and choreography recreated by Baayork Lee and Bob Avian.  Starring Charlotte d'Amboise, Michael Berresse, Diedre Goodwin, Natalie Cortez, Jessica Goldyn, Jason Tam, Jeffrey Schecter and Tony Yazbeck.

One of those revivals that were 99.9% faithful recreation, the creatives behind this revival were smart.  You don't toy with a classic like this one, where every move, every light, every costume and every lack of scenery is as calculated a part of the show as the script and the intricate dance numbers.  Easily my favorite show of all time, I was transported back to my first time seeing the original.  It was a show that changed my life forever, and the revival solidified both my memories and my opinion of the show.  Quite simply, it is one of the greatest musicals ever written.  Its songs continue to thrill and sound both of then and now.  "At the Ballet" is a triumph of spare, deliberate wording, and equally spare yet evocative staging.  And the finale "One" is still the very best musical finale of all time.  I am reduced to tears throughout and the opening notes still make me catch my breath in anticipation.  So why is it only number 6?  I did not love the entire cast, and some of the offstage drama and re-casting hurt a perfect thing.

The Line

One Singular Sensation

Comments?  You know where to leave 'em:  here, my Yahoo account, on Twitter or on Formspring.  Please feel free to send me questions or comments on any of those forums.  I can take it!  :-)
Jeff

POLL RESULTS: All-American!

The American Flag in lights:

the US Army Recruiting Station in Times Square

In celebration of our nation's birth, both of July's polls dealt with Broadway and its depiction of all things "American."

POLL #1:  Which show best captures the "American Spirit"?

3.  0% - The Civil War
For one of the first times since I started posting polls, one choice went completely unchosen.  Normally, I wouldn't even mention it.  But I got a few emails questioning why I would include the show as one that captures the "American Spirit."  After all, a few of you wrote, doesn't The Civil War represent ideals and situations that today we recognize as truly un-American?  One of you went so far as to suggest a "subversive racism" on my part.  Perhaps an explanation as to why I chose it for the poll will clear it up.

First, and this might have been the best reason to NOT put it on the list, not a whole lot of people even saw the show. Maybe those of you who wrote in saw it and found it somehow offensive.  I guess I'll never know.  And so maybe, simply based on the topic, one might conclude that the show depicts the ugly side of America (it did) and really can't be an example of the "American Spirit" (I disagree).

But, having seen the show, and having listened to its concept recording many times, I can tell you that just because it addresses slavery, racism and grisly war violence, that is not at all what the show was about.  It was about the struggle for beliefs and the right to express them; it was about the struggle of the oppressed triumphing over the oppressors;  it was about freedom at any cost, even if that cost meant fighting, literally, your own brothers/cousins/uncles/fathers.  Freedom of expression, triumph over oppression, and the ability to live a free life are the very cornerstones of what defines this country.  And so I included it.

2.  28% (a tie) Ragtime and Shenandoah 

Interestingly, both of these shows confront the very same themes as The Civil War, Shenandoah perhaps the most, as it, too is a musical that depicts that North/South conflict.  In its time, the show also offered a bit of controversy, given that we were still coming out of the Vietnam conflict, and the father character was a pacifist.  Still, it was ultimately a feel-good musical that song and danced its way around some of the tougher issues.  Just listen to the song "Freedom" and think about who sings it.

Given the equal treatment all three groups represented are given in Ragtime, it, too, addresses many of this country's ills - commercialism, politicalism, industrial growth, worker's rights, equal rights for people of all genders, races and ethnicites.  And because all three groups have their heroes and the "bad guys" are crystal clear, it is easy to see why this was a popular choice for a musical that shows the true "American Spirit."  That, and it represents some of the very best attributes of that singularly American art form, the Broadway musical.

1.  42% - 1776

As one of you wrote, this was really a "no-brainer" choice.  It is, after all, about the very forming of our country, warts, arguments, pomposity, arrogance, passion, idealism, and all.  It does not depict a completely rosy picture of our awkward birth, either.  And, like Shenandoah, this musical is informed by the time in which it was written - the beginning of the Vietnam conflict.  And there is really nothing more American than a group of disparate individuals trying to create something new and the struggle to create it.

POLL #2: Which is the best show that depicts real Americans?

I got a few emails on this one, too, mostly asking why didn't I include more titles like The Unsinkable Molly Brown or Billy Elliot.  OK, maybe Molly would have been a good choice to include, but Billy is British and fictional.

4.  4% - George M!

Considering that this is a Broadway site, and that a statue to this man is smack dab in the middle of Broadway, and that he is one of the founding fathers of the genre, I thought he'd get more votes.  But the show, not the man, is what you were voting for, and I guess compared to the others, it is hopelessly old-fashioned, even if it did start Wicked's original Wizard, Joel Grey and a young Bernadette Peters before she became the legend she is.

3.  9% - The Will Rogers Follies

One of my personal favorites, and the one I would have voted for, is this gem, a triumph of style and staging, Broadway razzle dazzle, combining an old school sensibility with a modern, in-your-face style.  Lavish and sexy, tuneful and funny, and still the best opening number of the last 25 years, this show had it all, and still managed to depict our hero as a great, but not perfect, guy.  Keith Carradine (and later Mac Davis and Larry Gatlin) donned the cowboy hat, grabbed the lasso and worked his way into our hearts, making one last stop on Broadway before departing for the Great Beyond (via a spectacular laser beam/smoke effect).

2.  19% - Grey Gardens

This is the one I thought would lose.  But it is a great musical.  Hard to sit still at without having definite opinions, true, but it does depict two of this country's most eccentric, both the good and the bad.  And isn't there something inherently American about liking to watch the mighty fall, then taking a step back, and feeling both pity and "they got what the deserved" at the exact same time?  And I have yet to eat the all-American ear of corn with out thinking of Big Edie and Matt Cavanaugh, um, Jerry.

1.  66% - Assassins

Talk about celebrating the uglier side of Americans!  But again, I realize the question was which was the best SHOW, not which had the best Americans in them.  The show, the songs, the storytelling are all brilliant.  And the controversy that surrounds the show, and the fact that a lot of people stay away from it based purely on topic rather than quality really speaks to what makes the average American tick.

Thank goodness we aren't your average Americans, huh?

BE AMERICAN!  VOTE!  (This month's first of two polls is just to your right and up a little!)


Comments? Leave one here or email me at jkstheatrescene@yahoo.com. Or send me a question at http://www.formspring.me/ and look me up as "jkstheatrescene" or "Jeff Kyler." Go ahead! Follow me!
Jeff