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?"

Rate this blog below, and leave your comments here, by email at jkstheatrescene@yahoo.com or Tweet me!

Jeff

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Fantasy Musical: Book, Music and Lyrics By???

Over the past year, two books have made the rounds in my office: The Help and No Rest for the Dead.  I'm sure you've probably heard of the former, it being a made into a hit film and all.  The latter is novel written by twenty-six (you read that right) different writers.  It is a suspense/mystery novel written by the most popular writers of that genre.  With the help of one editor, each chapter is woven together into one coherent story, but each chapter bears the unmistakable style of each author.

Well, you know me.  I'm always thinking "theater, theater, theatre."  And I got to wondering: Could Broadway's greatest composers, lyricists and book writers come together and create one scene each and make a coherent, interesting musical?

Well, of course, Broadway is full of writing teams like Rodgers and Hammerstein and Kander and Ebb, and "soloists" like Sondheim and Herman, who many times go it alone.  So that wouldn't be any fun to think about, right?  So the only "rule" of this fantasy musical is that no existing teams or soloists can go it alone.

Today, I briefly posed this question on Twitter: "If you could pair any Broadway composer with any Broadway lyricist, living or dead, to write a song, who would you pick?  Who would write the scene?"

I got some interesting responses right away, plus I added my own:

• kdogg: "Stephen Sondehim - lyrics; Andrew Lloyd Webber - music.  It would be through-composed!"
• mrtylermartins had two: "Stephen Sondheim - music; Sheldon Harnick - lyrics; James Goldman - book"; "Burton Lane - music; Stephen Sondheim - lyrics"
• itsdlevy: "Jule Styne - music; Dorothy Fields - lyrics; Wendy Wasserstein - book"
• Elder_Greene: "George Gershwin - music; Alan Jay Lerner - lyricist; J.M. Barrie - book"
• And I was thinking: "Michael John LaChuisa - music; Jerry Herman - lyrics; Douglas Carter Beane - book"

(And I am pretty sure I'd like the Gershwins and Leonard Bernstein to do the overture, with Arthur Laurents as director - if anyone could pull a hodgepodge together it would be him!)

And so, I leave it to you!  Write in with your ideas - 1 composer, 1 lyricist, 1 book writer! 

I'll post them all in a new blog in a week or so!


Leave your suggestions her, email them to jkstheatrescene@yahoo.com, or Tweet me!
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Jeff

LOGOS: Follies (2011 Revival)

The Follies logo in practice

Perhaps the wisest thing the producers/company of this 2011 revival of Follies did was NOT repeat - or even really attempt - any more than a suggestion of the iconic logo from the original 1972 production.  That version, cracked statue and dynamic lettering in primarily bright orange is widely regarded as one of the greatest Broadway art logos ever created.  The current revival resembles it only in composition: the largest single figure is the face of a woman, crowned bu the word "Follies" in dynamic lettering.

The Title Lettering

And what about that lettering?  It speaks volumes about the show's story, themes and setting.  First, each letter is rimmed in gold, certainly a not to the rich, sumptuousness of follies shows in general, and the elegance of a by gone era in this history of theatre.  Notice, too that each letter is filled with an almost sparkly blend of a soft blue, rising to an elegant pink.  The combination itself is both strong and softly feminine, like a showgirl, and colored in that fabulous blend of two colors and sparkling like so many follies-styled gowns might have been at the hey-day of that style of theatre.  Yes, the logo's lettering does suggest a bygone elegance that is certainly featured in its still talented, but fading fast company of players who have returned to celebrate their past only to find the decay of the present taking over the theater they are in and the lives they are leading.

The collage of images below the title, as well as the way in which the credits are arranged on the larger poster version definitely suggest a passage of time, as one might have seen on the paper posters that used to adorn Shubert Alley.  Today, large plastic and vinyl painted posters hawk the latest Broadway hits.  Back in the day, those same images were conveyed on glued sheets of colorful paper, that were literally torn down (and apart) in order for a new poster to take its place.  The glue was such that it was nearly impossible to cleanly remove one poster before gluing up another.  Over the years, layers of these things would build up, and eventually, bits and pieces of logos and photos from shows past would peek out from under the more modern posters glued over top.  And sometimes, a lighter image, once glued, would become almost translucent such that that image would be superimposed over hints of what came before.

The Artwork for Follies by FRAVER

All of this happens in the colorful, thought-provoking imagery of the Follies logo presented here.

Notice that each "layer" is "torn" to expose parts of what came before it:  smiles on youthful faces, both male and female, headless chorines in colorful costumes.  There is one eye, staring out at us in the upper right corner.  Are these tears, stains or phantoms of dancers in the bottom corners?  And surrounding the face of the said, plaintive main image are young, supple lips and wisps of feathers.  She is not smiling, her heavily made up eyes looking up and off in the distance as the memories of what was swirl around her.  Snatches of memories, torn from a full life, some focused on some youthful details, others colorful, if incomplete memories.

The Complete Logo and Credits
on the Follies Windowcard

And the poster's most vibrant, present colors, are reserved for the most current "tears" of a poster, the cast members, authorship credits and critical quote.  Their presentation is both very now and very then.

Eye-catching, hinting at past beauty, and haunting.  That is the world of Follies in a feathered, bugle-beaded nutshell. 

Grade: A



Rate this blog below and leave your comments here, or by email at jkstheatrescene@yahoo.com or Tweet me.
Jeff
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Favorite Flops: GRIND (1985), Part I (Who, What and When)

* - This is the first in a series of blog series that will focus on various Broadway flops that, despite its flop status, I thoroughly enjoyed and/or have come to appreciate.

Grind a musical

The Team:

• Book: Fay Kanin
• Music: Larry Grossman
• Lyrics: Ellen Fitzhugh
• Set Design: Clarke Dunham
• Light Design: Ken Billington
• Costume Design: Florence Klotz
• Hair and Make Up Design: Richard Allen
• Sound Design: Otts Munderloh
• Orchestrations: Bill Byers
• Additional Orchestrations: Jim Tyler and Harold Wheeler
• Dance Music Arrangements: Tom Fay ("New Man" by Gordon Harrell)
• Musical Direction: Paul Gemignani
• Assistant Choreography: Larry Vickers
• Choreography: Lester Wilson
• Direction: Harold Prince

The Opening Night Company:

Ben Vereen

Leilani Jones (left), Timothy Nolen

Stubby Kaye

• Leroy: Ben Vereen
• Gus: Stubby Kaye
• Satin: Leilani Jones
• Doyle: Timothy Nolen
• Romaine: Sharon Murray
• Solly: Joey Faye
• Maybelle: Carol Woods
• Grover: Donald Acree
• Mrs. Faye: Ruth Brisbane
• Harry: Lee Wallace
• The Mechanical Man: Jackie Jay Patterson
• Earle's Pearls: Candy, Brown, Hope Clarke, Valarie Pettiford, Marion Ramsey, Wynonna Smith
• Earle's Staff: Brian McKay, Oscar Stokes
• Earle's Stooges, Knockabouts and Toughs: Leonard John Crofoot, Steve Owsley, Malcolm Perry, Ray Roderick, Kelly Walters

Ben Vereen and his wife and children

on Opening Night, April 16, 1985

The Statistics:

• Theatre: Mark Hellinger Theatre
• First Preview: March 25, 1985
• Total Previews: 25
• Opening Night: April 16, 1985
• Closing Night: June 22, 1985
• Total Performances: 71
• Capitalization: $4.75M
• Out of Town Tryout: Winter 1985, The Lyric Opera House, Baltimore, MD (32 performances)

The Story:

It is 1933 in Depression-era Chicago.  Burlesque is about the only relief the patrons of Earle's get from their every day lives.  As was the norm, the theatre was segregated, with blacks and whites forbidden to share the stage.  Backstage, the lines were still drawn, but as a close-knit group of performers, one paycheck away from poverty, they were a family.  The song-and-dance man, Leroy has his eye on one of Earle's Pearls, Satin, a stripper.  The white performers include the sobrette, Romaine, her straight man, Solly, and comic headliner, Gus.  Gus harbors a secret, as does his new partner, Doyle, a talented, but alcoholic man.  Despite the crudity and sexuality of their daily work, the theatre environment has provided a sort of cocoon for these people.  The outside world makes its presence known with a beating death, and several threats to the other performers.  Tensions come to an explosive head when it becomes apparent that Doyle and Satin have feelings for each other and are caught in a compromising position.  But, in the end, necessity wins out over tragedy as the performers of Earle's Burlesque pick up the pieces, and continue their literal and figurative daily grind.

Coming Soon: A review of the Original Broadway Cast Recording of Grind.

Rate this blog below, and leave your comments here, by email at jkstheatrescene@yahoo.com, or Tweet me!
Jeff
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Musical Words of Wisdom: The Andrew Lloyd Webber Musicals

A few weeks ago, I had a blog of Broadway musical lyrics that I (and you) found to be particularly clever, catchy or meaningful - sometimes all three.  Several of you have since been so kind as to send in lists of your favorites.

I am still collecting them, looking particularly for "words of wisdom" from Stephen Sondheim and Kander and Ebb.  So, please send them in!

Today, though, I thought I'd focus on quotes from the musicals of Andrew Lloyd Webber.  Before I share my favorites and yours, though, I thought I'd share some insight you've shared and some that I've gotten by looking at what you sent me.  And I'm sure they aren't too Earth-shattering for real Webber-philes, but interesting nonetheless.

First, it is of interest that he and his collaborators focus on the fantastic, larger than life characters - real (Jesus, Eva Peron), fictional (Norma Desmond, Jeeves), non-human (cats, trains) - to shed light on the more mundane of human feelings and relationships.  Second, love and death, common themes in all art forms seem to work best hand-in-hand in his shows (Cats, Sunset Boulevard, Aspects of Love).  And third, whimsy and quirkiness are a common tone in his shows.

Jules from Paramus, NJ wrote, "As grand as Lloyd Webber's tunes are, his lyricists always manage to find a balance between the profundity of Sondheim and the Everyman quality of most other Broadway composers.  Being the masters of neither, just very good at both, is probably why his shows are so popular and critically reviled at the same time."  What do you think about that?

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.

Aspects of Love - Don Black and Charles Hart

"There is more to love, so much more than simply making love -- that's easy."  from “There is More to Love"

"If death were given a voice, that voice would scream through the sky: 'Live while you may for I am coming...'" from "Hand Me the Wine and the Dice"

By Jeeves - Alan Aykbourn

"Time, they say, is relative.  Infinite as space, this must be eternity.  Neither time nor place..." from "Half a Moment"

Cats - T.S. Eliot

"Are you cock of the walk when you're walking alone?" from "Jellicle Songs for Jellicle Cats"

Evita - Tim Rice

"I came from the people, they need to adore me, so Christian Dior me from my head to my toes!  I need to be dazzling; I want to be Rainbow High!   They must have excitement, and so must I!" from "Rainbow High"

Jesus Christ Superstar - Tim Rice

"You're far too keen and where and how, but not so hot on why." from “Gethsemane”

"Sleep and I shall soothe you, calm you and anoint you.  Myrrh for your hot forehead - oh!  Then you'll feel everything's alright, yes, everything's fine.  And it's cool and the ointment's sweet, for the fire in your head and feet.  Close your eyes, close your eyes, and relax, think of nothing tonight." from "Everything's Alright"

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat - Tim Rice

"If you ever find yourself near Ramases, get down on your knees!" from "A Pharaoh's Story"

"We have never liked him all that much before. And now this coat has got our goat.  We feel life is unfair!" from "Joseph's Coat"

The Phantom of the Opera - Charles Hart

"In all your fantasies, you always knew that man and mystery ... were both in you ..." from "The Phantom of the Opera"

"Half your cast disappears, but the crowd still cheers!  Opera!  To hell with Gluck and Handel - It's a scandal that'll pack 'em in the aisles!"  from "Notes/Prima Donna"
(All three of you who sent this quote in added a few thoughts about Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark)

Song and Dance - Don Black and Richard Maltby, Jr.

"Don't want to fight day and night, bad enough you're going.  Don't leave in silence with no word at all, don't get drunk and slam the door.  That's no way to end this.  I know how I want you to say goodbye..." from "Tell Me on a Sunday"

Starlight Express - Richard Stilgoe

"Don't try to show you can go faster than me.  This is my back view and it's all you'll see.  Don't stop now - we gotta keep it going all night!" from "Rolling Stock"

"Couldn't stand gravel and sand, being ignored, no-one aboard, nobody complaining we were late again.  I should hate carrying freight, nobody living in me.  Got to be a living, breathing passenger train." from "Freight"

Sunset Boulevard - Don Black and Christopher Hampton

"Of course, there's bound to be a little suffering. Eternal youth is worth a little suffering!" from "Eternal Youth is Worth a Little Suffering"

"Don't forget me when you're casting !" from "Let's Have Lunch"

The Woman in White - David Zippel

“I never walk when I can dance.” from “A Gift for Living Well”


From Jesus to a Jellicle Cat, these bon mots and clever turns of phrase really cover the gamut, don't they?

I am looking forward to hearing more quotes from you!


Rate this blog below, leaving your comments here, by email at jkstheatrescene@yahoo.com, or Tweet me!
Jeff
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1951: 60 Years Ago on Broadway

Recently, a good friend of mine celebrated her 60th birthday.  Together, we have seen a number of Broadway shows, and we frequently chat about shows that were all the rage in the 15 year gap between our births.  (I know...we are weird that way...)  Anyway, I got to thinking about her milestone birthday and her love of Broadway.

Here is a sample of the shows that were playing on the Great White Way 60 years ago this week!

• The great Ethel Merman was at the Imperial Theatre in Irving Berlin's Call Me Madam.  A satire about a woman ambassador to a small fictional country and America's constant pumping of millions of dollars to every needy country but never spending it at home.  How timely, even today.


• It was the last weeks of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes at the Ziegfeld Theatre.  The show made a star out of Carol Channing and the Jule Styne score featured the famous "Diamonds Are A Girl's Best Friend."


• Robert Alda and Vivian Blaine were starring in the original production of Guys and Dolls at the 46th Street Theatre.  Today, it is a classic, but back then people were just getting to know the Frank Loesser score that includes such standards as "Luck Be a Lady," "If I Were a Bell, " "Adelaide's Lament," and "Sit Down, You're Rocking the Boat."

• Audiences were delighting to the exotic world of Siam and the intoxicating romance between The King and I at the St. James Theatre, and starring Gertrude Lawrence and Yul Brenner.  "Shall We Dance?" was a hit, and Jerome Robbins' dazzling staging of "Small House of Uncle Thomas" was the talk of Broadway.


• The title says it all: Judy Garland at the Palace: "Two A-Day".

• The Wizard of Oz fans could also take in Bert Lahr (and Delores Gray) in Two on the Aisle the Mark Hellinger Theatre.  Talk about a creative team: Abe Burrows directed, Betty Comden and Adolph Green wrote the book and lyrics for Jule Styne's score.


• Theatre legend Shirley Booth was playing the Alvin Theatre in the musical version of A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, with a book and direction by George Abbott.

• Playgoers had many dramas and comedies to choose from, too, including the Tony Award-winning Best Play of 1951, Tennessee Williams' The Rose Tattoo.  Stars Eli Wallach and Maureen Stapleton both won Tonys for their work as well.


• Jose Ferrer directed the war drama Stalag 17, written by Donald Bevan and Edmund Trzcinsky, both prisoners of the actual prison camp in Austria.  The show ran an impressive 427 performances at the 48th Street Theatre.

60 years from now, I wonder what shows people will write about.  Probably The Phantom of the Opera, and maybe about stars like Bernadette Peters.  And probably the record setting budget of Spider-Man:Turn Off the Dark.  Oh, who knows?  Only time will tell.

 

 

Rate this blog below, and leave your comments here, email them to jkstheatrescene@yahoo.com, or Tweet me!
Jeff
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Ask Jeff: A Really Good Question

Hi, everyone!  I got a really good question from a reader yesterday, which I am going to answer, but I'd also like to hear from you on this question.

Jeff,

You've mentioned several times in your blog that you are seeing Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark again, and also have talked about seeing next to normal several times.  Besides it costing a lot of money, why do you like seeing shows more than once, and sometimes much more than twice?

Curious and envious,
Teri C.
Columbus, OH

Well, Teri C. that is an interesting question.  One that I have given some thought to lately, in particular with regards to Spider-Man and Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, and the recently closed next to normal.  I think my multiple trips to shows can be categorized into three groups:

Hairspray: A personal favorite and a great "first show"

A. Taking friends and theatre newbies: This used to happen much more than it does now, but many times, I'll go to a show a second (or third or more) time because a friend will have an extra ticket to a show he/she knows I like.  Sometimes, I'm the "Bobby-baby-Bobby" who takes the wife of a friend to the show because the husband isn't interested.  (I'm gay and they realize I am no threat, plus they are relieved to not have to go!)  And many times, I'll go a specific show that I know would be a great starting point for friends who are just getting their feet wet with going to plays and musicals.  My sister and I, for example, saw both The Full Monty and Hairspray together because I felt pretty safe that she'd get the humor and sweetness of both, and you really can't beat male strippers and moms in drag!  It is funny that while she doesn't go with me often - we don't live close together and she has two small children - we have still managed to see 5 different productions of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat!  (It is her absolute favorite.)

Passion: From Snooze to Thrilling

B.  Some shows are complicated and really need to be seen more than once to really absorb them:  I find all of Sondheim's musicals to be in this category - even shows I've seen before, because each director has a new take on it.  Passion is a show that DEFINITELY fits this category.  I saw a late preview of it.  I HATED IT.  I mean HATED it.  BUT I knew that it was a Sondheim show and that you can't even scratch the surface of understanding, let alone deeper meaning on one viewing.  So I dutifully purchased a second ticket and saw it right after it opened.  A world of difference!  I didn't love it, but I didn't hate it.  I knew what I was in for, and what to look for and what I could pay less attention to and more attention to, etc.  I ended up seeing Passion 7 or 8 times.  I often joke that I kept the show running a week longer.  (There are only two other composers that I, without even thinking about it, will give a second chance viewing to no matter what: Michael John Lachuisa and Adam Guettel.)  Both Spider-Man and Women on the Verge fall into this category.  The former because I have to see what they fixed, and I have a feeling there is much more to it, just that the special effects overwhelm the content; the latter because I wanted to see the end result, and because I think they were so close to something awesome.

John Doyle's direction of this Company

really needed more than one viewing to

take in the sheer brilliance of the concept.

Women on the Verge: Were they on the verge of making

it all make more sense?  More funny?  More meaningful?

C.  They strike a chord in me and I love them so much I have to see them again and again:  Now mind you, I will never be one of those fans that sees every single performance of a show, or one of those obsessed ones that honestly believes that the cast will miss them if they aren't in Row A, Seat 1 at every Saturday matinee.  I have been the kind of fan of a show that I go back to see replacements or specific understudies (both A Little Night Music and next to normal fit in this category).  Over the years I have had several of those: The Mystery of Edwin Drood, A Chorus Line, Sweeney Todd, West Side Story to name a few. 

A Chorus Line, Drood, West Side Story:

I just can't get enough!

It is this last category that even some of my friends think is odd.  But I always say, "Don't you have favorite movies that you watch over and over?"  "Yes," they always say and launch into a list.  Well a show is the same thing for me.  The difference is that most shows aren't on DVD so I can't just buy it and watch it over and over that way.  And don't get me started on movie versions of musicals.

An embarrassing sub-category - I won't publicly disclose how many times I've seen Cats and Les Miserables.  Both shows I'm not even sure I can say I like anymore...

J. Robert, Alice, Jason and Marin all brought so much to next to normal,

I wouldn't have missed any of them for the world

The most recent show that I have seen 5 or more times is next to normal.  That show fits all 3 categories.  And there are several shows I regret not getting to more than once: The Scottsboro Boys being the most recent. I will likely get to see many productions of both in the years to come.  In the mean time, I have the cast recordings to take me away and to ponder.

Thanks for writing, Teri, and for letting me share with everyone!

Now it is your turn!  What shows have you seen many times?  Why?  What shows to you wish you had seen more than once?  Write in and tell me.  (If you don't want your response blogged, tell me that, too and I won't share.)  Am I the only odd ball out there who sees shows over and over, and every different production I can get to?



Answer here, email me at jkstheatrescene@yahoo.com, or Tweet me!
Jeff
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