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

FAREWELL: Arthur Laurents

Genius.  Son of a Bitch.  Brilliant.  Cruel.  Honest.  Brutal.  Funny.  Always right.

I think I've read close to 50 tributes and remembrances of Arthur Laurents, who passed away Thursday at the age of 93.  And just about every one of them used at least two of the words above to describe the man who left behind a legacy of truly historic proportions.  Some of the greatest people in modern American musical theatre, themselves worthy of reverence, speak of this man with a humble gratitude unlike anything I've heard before.  All of them talk about the man's love for theatre and his desire only to improve the art form.  And all of them talk of a man whose honesty was brutal, uncompromising, and down right cruel.  But underneath it all, the respect comes shining through for a man who was generous with his gifts, and simply expected everyone around him to come up to his level.  Nearly everyone talks of being terrified by him, then basking in the glow of his love for all things theatrical.  They speak of the tyrant, the teacher unable to be pleased and task master.  And then they speak of giving some of the best performances of their careers because of him.  One can only dream of being spoken of like this at his own passing.

The entire creative team of West Side Story

(Arthur Laurents is second from left)

The Great White Way is littered with the egos thrashed down by his pointed criticism and blatant disregard for anyone he felt didn't give the work the attention it deserved.  Just ask the original cast of the most recent revival of West Side Story.  Very public print and Internet interviews had him naming names and feeling cheated that all of his work on that production was not being upheld by a cast full of lazy, cynical and talentless hacks.  Apparently, the leads and subsequent replacements met with his approval.  But in the balance, we were rewarded with a gutsy, raw, tense piece of theatre, not a dusty throwback of a revival; West Side Story in 2009 was not resting on its historic laurels, it was alive in ways that the original couldn't approach.

(Top) Laurents, center, at the opening

night of West Side Story

(Bottom) Laurents, center, with his 3 Tony-winning stars

at the opening night of Gypsy

Then there was his declaration that Patti LuPone was the ultimate Rose in Gypsy.  Sure, theatre fans may agree or disagree - Tyne, Angela and Ethel all have their fans (he apparently wouldn't even discuss the Bernadette revival) - but considering that the man wrote the book and directed several productions, he of all people should know who came closest to what the author intended.  His final revival of that gem earned each of its three leads hard earned and well-deserved Tony Awards.

But just look at these last two paragraphs.  Imagine having a career that includes two of the most important musicals ever written.  One addressing issues and asking difficult questions in an era when musicals where loud, colorful laugh fests, the other widely considered by all in the field to have the perfect book of a musical, fat free and brilliantly laid out.  Can you imagine having just West Side Story or just Gypsy to your credit?  How truly blessed we as theatre-goers have been to have witnessed these two classics re-conceived and given their final stamp of approval by their own author all with in the space of 3 years or less.

Of course, he is best known for those landmark shows, but he also directed arguably the most critically popular musical of the late 20th century, and the only one to have won the Tony for Best Musical or Revival three times.  I am speaking, of course, of La Cage aux Folles, a show that was revolutionary in the early 80's, just as AIDS was getting started and gay rights were just a long off dream.  The revivals of his show he had little kind to say about, but it is safe to say that neither revival could have happened without his original, indelible contribution.

Even his stage flops are notorious: Anyone Can Whistle, for which he wrote the book, lasted a mere 9 performances, and remains beloved by musical theatre aficionados the world over; the show that won the Tony for Best Musical, but was already long closed after a very short run, Hallelujah, Baby! was his work, and until recently, his directorial flop Nick and Nora was the longest previewed musical of all time.  It's cast recording only hints at that show's potential brilliance, and even in its "floppiest" moments, his signature wit and intelligence comes through in the individual performances of such stars as Joanna Gleason, Faith Prince, Christine Baranski, and Barry Bostwick, to name just a few.

1956: Arthur Laurents and his partner, Tom Hatcher

Then there was his film career, including such classics as Rope and The Way They Were among several others.  He also wrote an autobiography that detailed his love for theatre, his hatred for many a theatre person, and his personal life.  Even in that regard, the man was so far ahead of his time.  As a gay man living as openly as one could during some of this country's most dangerous times, Arthur Laurents was a role model of discretion and living they way he wanted to despite public opinion and cruelty against homosexuals everywhere. 

The lights of Broadway were dimmed in his honor on Friday evening, a time honored tradition out of respect for theatre legends.  I wonder if he'd be embarrassed or proud of the honor.  I'm guessing probably a little of both.  He knew he had a gift, and he shared it with generations past and his legacy will live on in the future.  He was proud of his work, even when he could be his own harshest critic.    After all, he only gave 100% one hundred percent of the time, and expected just as much in return.  But I think he might blush a little at the fuss, and then smile.  Even the greatest among us enjoy credit where credit is due.

Thank you, Mr. Laurents, for everything.


Jeff
2.250

Best of the Decade: The Best Musical Revivals, Part II

To read about my Best Musical Revivals, numbers 10 - 6, click here!

The past decade has certainly brought a pretty wide spectrum of revivals (even if most of them were be Stephen Sondheim), both in content and quality.  Among the shows that might have been better served by NOT being revived: Grease!, Bells Are Ringing, Finian's Rainbow, Into the Woods, Oklahoma!, La Cage aux Folles (2004), Guys and Dolls.  More interestingly, these shows were decent to great, but just didn't make my top 10.  Honorable mention goes to: The Rocky Horror Show, Little Shop of Horrors, 42nd Street, NINE, La Cage aux Folles (2010), and Sweet Charity (for sheer tenacity and good will).

Here are my Top Five picks for Best Musical Revival of the First Decade of the 21st Century:

5.  West Side Story (580 performances as of August 8, 2010; nominated for Best Revival of a Musical 2009.  Still running at the Palace Theatre.  Directed by Arthur Laurents, choreography by Jerome Robbins re-created by Joey McKneely, and starring Josefina Scaglione, Matt Cavenaugh, Karen Olivo, Cody Green.)

With a score you can't beat, dancing that remains a benchmark on Broadway history and today is still the best, and a classic story, this West Side Story thrilled me from start to finish, and still does.  Staged just as it was when Broadway didn't know what to do with it, the show is still as resonant and timely as it is timeless.  I especially loved Miss Scaglione in her Broadway debut as Maria - a heady mix of innocence, optimism and heartbreak.  And the unsung heroes of the ensemble?  The Jet Girls who really made "Cool" cool.  Some took issue with the addition of whole scenes in Spanish.  Yes, it was uncomfortable, but that was the point, wasn't it?  Think how the Sharks must have felt in an all-English world.  For us it was a few moments of discomfort, for them, the language barrier meant life or death.

The Shark Girls and The Jets

4.  Gypsy (2008) (332 performances at the St. James Theatre; nominated for Best Revival of a Musical 2008.  Starring Patti LuPone, Laura Benanti and Boyd Gaines, directed by Arthur Laurents.)

There is no arguing that Gypsy is a classic.  Did it need to be revived twice in one decade?  No.  But I'm sure glad they did it the second time.  Directed by its original director and book writer, Arthur Laurents, Broadway finally got to see the Gypsy he always envisioned.  True he directed three Roses to Tonys, and no offense to Tyne or Angela, but Patti LuPone IS Rose.  The quintessential Rose, and in a performance that will be talked about as a landmark performance for years to come, and LuPone stopped the show twice - her "Everything's Coming Up Roses" was an absolute thrill ride, and her "Rose's Turn" deserved every mid-show standing ovation it got and more.  And if you were lucky, you got to see her notorious rampage that literally stopped the show.  But what really made this and extra extra special treat of a revival were her two co-stars also delivering definitive performances - Laura Benanti as Louise and Boyd Gaines as Herbie.

Gaines, Benanti and LuPone:

a Gypsy for the ages

3.  South Pacific (997 performances when it closes on August 22, 2010 at the Vivian Beaumont Theatre at Lincoln Center; winner Best Musical Revival 2008.  Directed by Bartlett Sher, and starring Paolo Szot, Kelli O'Hara, Matthew Morrison, Danny Burstein and Loretta Ables Sayre.)

Lincoln Center, when it does it right, REALLY does it right.  And boy did it do well with the first-ever revival of South Pacific.  It was epic on all fronts: a giant cast, a giant staging (a full sized truck, palm trees and a fighter plane? YES! Chandelier?  YAWN), and a stunning, full-sized orchestra that got its due every night as it played, revealed to the audience, one of the most gorgeous overtures written for a Broadway musical.  But if the size and scale of the production not only underscored the enormity of the situation and setting, under the sure and superb direction of Bartlett Sher, the human scale of it was never ever lost, so sharp was the staging, the focus and the detail of every single performance.  Truly, one of the rare times I would have paid more for my ticket.  Even at full price it was a bargain.  Some enchanted evening to be sure, the show has set a very high standard for subsequent revivals.

"I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Outta My Hair!"

2.  Company (246 performances at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre; winner Best Revival of a Musical 2007.  Directed by John Doyle starring Raul Esparza, Barbara Walsh, Elizabeth Stanley, Keith Butterbaugh and Heather Laws.)

With the superb orchestrations of Mary Mitchell Campbell, this minimalist version of the 1970 Sondheim classic worked in a way that other productions have not.  Stripping the show of almost any scenery and most props, and instead letting the musical instruments and the actors playing them tell the story, we got a clarity and a unity that made the plight of one Bobby and his nut job assortment of friends and lovers easy to understand and maybe even relate to.  Raul Esparza gave the performance of his career, making "Being Alive" and absolute anthem to solitude and neediness, and I think he was robbed of a Best Actor Tony.  Similarly, Barbara Walsh's "Ladies Who Lunch" was a definitive version, applauded by no less than its creator, Elaine Stritch.  Doyle's staging was creative and added much meaning to what amounts to a series of disjointed sit-com scenes that also happen to have one of the best theatre scores attached to them.  He made them work as one unit, and really made the full cast numbers like "Side by Side by Side" and "Company" really work.

"You Could Drive a Person Crazy!"

1.  Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (349 performances at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre; nominated for Best Revival of a Musical 2006.  Directed and designed by John Doyle, and starring Patti LuPone, Michael Cerveris, Manoel Felciano, Alexander Gemignani, Mark Jacoby, Donna Lynne Champlin, Lauren Molina, Benjamin Magnusson, John Arbo and Diana DiMarzio.)

A cast of ten, each playing instruments with no music in front of them, one set, very plain and strewn with a odd set of objects, and no one leaving the stage for the entire performance was the direct antithesis of the original, sweeping epic scale original production of Sweeney Todd.  Arguably the best musical ever written (and certainly the pinnacle of Stephen Sondheim's career), this Sweeney was a revelation on all fronts.  The lack of anything visual, framed by the setting - an insane asylum - and a story retold by the patients, from the mind of young Toby who lived through it, added several layers of urgency to the entire affair.  And while there were plenty of laughs to offset the gruesome tale unfolding, the underlying and sometimes in your face violence gave the whole thing an edge.  And the new focus on the words, the deeds and the characters no longer swallowed by a gigantic orchestration or a mammoth set, gave this Sweeney something even the original production lacked: genuine thriller-level chills and thrills.  And its leads, in sharp departure from their predecessors (Patti LuPone as Mrs. Lovett for Angela Lansbury, and Michael Cerveris as Sweeney Todd for Len Cariou), added a youthful, more grounded and utterly terrifying level of intensity.  Ms. LuPone's nonchalant pouring of buckets of blood as the body count rises is scary in so many ways and gave me actual nightmares.  The show also boasted the single Johanna I have ever loved and felt for in the dozens of performances I've seen of the show, Lauren Molina. 

The Sweeney Todd 2006 Company

Although I would hate to see many more shows whittled down to this scale, both this show and Company really brought a new artistry to two musical classics.  And that's why they are numbers 1 and 2.


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Jeff

Best of the Decade: Male Theatre Artist of the 21st Century (So Far)

Looking over the past decade, there really is only one choice for Male Theatre Artist of the 21st Century (so far).  This man, has, like the Female Theatre Artist, Angela Lansbury, influenced and entertained Broadway audiences for decades.  That the man is a musical theatre legend and genius is indisputable, whether you like his works or not.  Stephen Sondheim has influenced every major theatre composer since his own debut.

But what makes Mr. Sondheim the indisputable artist of the decade is his mere record in this past 10 years alone:

The DVD art for Putting It Together

• 1999-2000: Putting It Together - A musical revue that fashioned desprate songs into a quasi-story.  Starring Carol Burnett, George Hearn (Tony nominee), Ruthie Henshall, John Barrowman and Bronson Pinchot.  102 performances at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre.

Blythe Danner

• 2001 - Follies - A revival by the Roundabout Theatre Company.  Starring Blythe Danner (Tony Nominee), Polly Bergen (Tony nominee), Gregory Harrison, Treat Williams, Marge Champion.  5 Tony nominations, including Best Revival of a Musical.  117 performances at the Belasco Theatre.

Vanessa Williams

• 2002 - Into the Woods - A revival of the 1987 classic.  Starring Vanessa Williams (Tony nominee), John McMartin (Tony nominee), Laura Benanti (Tony nominee), Christopher Sieber, Gregg Edelman (Tony nominee), Stephen DeRosa, Chad Kimball and Kerry O'Malley.  10 Tony nominations, 2 wins, including Best Revival of a Musical.  279 performances at the Broadhurst Theatre.

Bernadette Peters in Gypsy

• 2003 - Gypsy (Bernadette Peters) - The first of two revivals this decade of this classic musical, directed by Sam Mendes.  Starring Bernadette Peters (Tony nominee), John Dossett (Tony nominee), Tammy Blanchard (Tony nominee) and Kate Reinders.  4 Tony nominations, including Best Revival of a Musical.  451 performances at the Shubert Theatre.

The Assassins Company

• 2004 - Assassins - The first Broadway incarnation, a revival by the Roundabout Theatre Company.  Starring James Barbour, Neil Patrick Harris, Michael Cerveris (Tony winner), Marc Kudisch, and Denis O'Hare (Tony nominee).  7 Tony Award nominations, 5 wins, including Best Revival of a Musical.  101 performances at Studio 54.

Nathan Lane (center) faces The Frogs

• 2004 - The Frogs - A revisal of the musical, re-written by Nathan Lane, presented by Lincoln Center Theatre.  Starring Nathan Lane, John Byner, Daniel Davis, Burke Moses and Roger Bart.  92 performances at the Vivian Beaumont Theatre.

The Pacific Overtures Company

• 2004 - Pacific Overtures - A revival at the Roundabout Theatre Company.  Starring B.D. Wong and Sab Shimono.  5 Tony nominations, including Best Revival of a Musical.  69 performances at Studio 54.

Sweeney Todd: (clockwise from top) Patti LuPone,

Donna Lynn Champlain, Manoel Felciano and Michael Cerveris

• 2005 - Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street - A revival directed by John Doyle (Tony winner).  Starring Patti LuPone (Tony nominee), Michael Cerveris (Tony nominee), Donna Lynn Champlain, Manoel Felciano, Mark Jacoby and Alexander Gemignani.  5 Tony nominations, including Best Revival of a Musical, 2 wins.  349 performances at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre.

The Company Company

• 2006 - Company - A revival directed by John Doyle (Tony nominee).  Starring Raul Esparza (Tony nominee) and Barbara Walsh.  3 Tony noninations, winner Best Revival of a Musical.  246 performances at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre.

Patti LuPone in Gypsy

• 2008 - Gypsy (Patti LuPone) - A revival of the classic musical directed by Arthur Laurents (Tony nominee).  Starring Patti LuPone (Tony winner), Laura Benanti (Tony winner), and Boyd Gaines (Tony winner).  7 Tony nominations, including Best Revival of a Musical, 3 wins.  332 performances at the St. James Theatre.

The Jets from West Side Story

• 2009 - West Side Story - A revival of the classic musical, directed by Arthur Laurents.  Starring Josefina Scaglione (Tony nominee), Matt Cavenaugh, Karen Olivo (Tony winner), Cody Green and George Akram.  3 Tony nominations, including Best Revival of a Musical, 1 win.  548 performances (as of July 11, 2010) at the Palace Theatre.

Alexander Hanson, Catherins Zeta-Jones and Aaron Lazar

in A Little Night Music

• 2010 - A Little Night Music - A revival presented by London's Menier Chocolate Factory, directed by Trevor Nunn.  Starring Catherine Zeta-Jones (Tony winner), Angela Lansbury (Tony nominee) and Alexander Hanson.  4 Tony nominations, including Best Revival of a Musical, 1 win.  217 performances to date at the Walter Kerr Theatre.

Erin Mackey, Vanessa Williams, Leslie Kritzer and

Barbara Cook in Sondheim on Sondheim

• 2010 - Sondheim on Sondheim - A musical revue, devised and directed by James Lapine, presented by the Roundabout Theatre Company.  Starring Vanessa Williams, Barbara Cook (Tony nominee), and Tom Wopat.  2 Tony nominations.  76 performances at Studio 54.

This list does not include his contributions to solo shows by Elaine Stritch and Barbara Cook, or the musical Chita Rivera: The Dancer's Life.  Nor does it include the off-Broadway presentations of  Saturday Night, Road Show and the Encores presentation of Anyone Can Whistle.   Note:  The presentations of musicals at Studio 54 and the Vivian Beaumonth Theatre by the Roundabout Theatre Company and Lincoln Center Theatre, respectively, are limited engagements.

Not a bad list for someone who turned 80 just this year.

The Stephen Sondheim Theatre

Add to this the Stephen Sondheim Award created by the Tony-winning Signature Theatre Company in Virginia, and perhaps the highest accolade given on Broadway: the re-naming of the Henry Miller Theatre to the Stephen Sondheim Theatre, in his honor.

Clearly, the most influential American Theatre composer has not lost his influence.  I, for one, am looking forward to what he still has coming.