Thanks to my good pal TIVO, I have watched the Stephen Sondheim 80th Birthday celebration a whole buncha times. It was a wonderful evening to say the least with a star studded array of performers, Hosted ,quite winningly, by David Hyde Pierce.
the performances were all delightful and at times breathtakingly beautiful.
some random thoughts:
I love the quartet from Follies , You're Gonna Love Tomorrow/Love Will See Us Through- I found myself singing it for days after. It stands on it's own as a number and in the musical it perfectly sets the youthful optimism of the characters. And one of the singers, Jenn Collela, stole my heart- what a presence on stage, what an expressive face, what a low cut blue gown! The star tattoo on her right arm is a bit silly (sez me, but what do I know?) The Girl is a star.
Chip Zien and Joanna Gleason sang , It Takes Two, from Into The Woods. The affection the Broadway Crowd has for her is lovely - the crowd roars when she first appears, and any time her name comes up among Broadway types ,they sing her praises. Nice.
John McMartin, from the original cast, of Follies sang The Road You Didn't Take and I felt it was stunning, I had tears in my lil' eyes. As he walked off I felt the reaction of the audience was a bit subdued- not everything has to be huge and big and passionate, folks. Sondheim often says
that McMartin's performance in the original Follies was one of the best he ever saw.
Mandy Patinkin brought huge and big and passionate to the stage with two numbers from Sunday In The Park...) Finishing The Hat, and with Bernadette Peters , Move On. Brings the house down, He's a very intense guy that Mandy.
David Hyde Pierce sings, Beautiful Girls and introduces (all dressed in red!) The Ladies- Bernadette Peters, Audra McDonald, Patti Lupone, Marin Mazzie, Donna Murphy, and Elaine Stritch- oh yeah, we ain't kiddin' around now. The crowd roars, and as they do chairs are brought out and the ladies sit. They are going to get up , one by one, and give a master class in what it means to be a Broadway Star, While the others are sitting and watching!!! In full view of the audience!!!!! When I first saw it, I found it ....odd. I've watched it about a dozen times and I still find it odd. It works and I guess it's very nice, but it's odd. As I watch I always think, did any one have to be convinced that this would work. Now, I know what you're saying, "sexist pig! All women are divas, right? They can't share a stage?" Not at all , all women, all men, a mix, to me....still odd.
In that setting, Patti Lupone became my hero. She goes first, "I'd like to propose a toast." The audience roars it's approval, a shot of Sondheim in his seat as he bursts into laughter. Now she sings, The Ladies Who Lunch, with Elaine Stritch sitting six feet away. The woman who introduced the song, hell it was written for her (not just her character , but her) If anybody "owns" a song Stritch owns this one. Patti Lupone takes this song and brings it to a whole 'nother world, she crafts each and every word , every syllable ( listen to her sing the words "..The Best", extraordinary, an acting lesson in two words. find it and listen) I like Lupone, I'm not a huge fan, but after that I'll become recording secretary of The Patti Lupone Appreciation Society, (I'm too busy or else I would be president)
At the end they bring out, basically everybody who was appearing on Broadway when they filmed the concert and sing a hushed ,reverent , magical, version of "Sunday" From .......With George. Goosebumps. a shot of Sondheim , who begins to cry. still more goosebumps.
a great night
I had another great Night with "Steve "at Lincoln Center a few years back when I attended one of the conversations he does periodically with Frank Rich. Sondheim is the perfect interview subject, you ask a question or make a comment and he's off - with anecdotes and comparisons and opinions and bits of backstage gossip, a born storyteller. Two favorite memories of that night: He doesn't care for South Pacific, he likes the love story, but doesn't believe the sailors for a minute. Also he saw , The Wiz, about seven times on Broadway, he loved it. He'll be the first to tell you that it has some problems, but he was entertained everytime.
He spoke to Terry Gross on NPR a few weeks back about his new book, Finishing The Hat, a collection of lyrics and observations from the first half of his career, soon to be followed by a book that brings us up to the present. Again, great interview, I went out the next day to get it (had to special order it!!!!) This book is essential reading for any one interested at all in Broadway, or composing, or song writing or just creativity in general. For years to come this book will be indispensable- it is a treasure.
A must have, That said, I will also say it is one of the ugliest books I have seen in years. I couldn't believe it, this thing should have a design that is equal to the content, but it is horrible. It looks like a cheesy textbook from the 70's. The cover has promise, but it's all downhill from there. The text nearly fades into the page, it's like grey on grey. And the photos! they look like they were copied at Kinkos (with apologies to the good people at Kinkos).
Just terrible. I also recently got the book about the National Lampoon, Drunk, Stoned, Brilliant, Dead. Now granted, this is a book that features a lot of full color art work and bold use of typeface, but to me, this is what a tribute book should be- a celebration.
here's hoping that Volume Two is a bit more....celebratory.
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