For the theater queens

[skynyc]

Hi folks...

I really enjoyed the theater thread around Lucky's visit to NY, so I thought I would post this.

I had the great good fortune of being able to attend the Stephen Sondheim Birthday Celebration at Avery Fisher Hall last night. I wrote this summary for my show people around the country, (and also for myself.) It is long and is basically one continuous spoiler, but think of me as Walter Cronkite...

 

and you were there...

 

The Sondheim Concert tonight was just awesome. Gemingnani comes out and starts the big dramatic chords of The Ballad of Sweeney Todd...sixteen bars in, we hear a shouting voice..."No, no, no" Out comes our host, David Hyde Pierce. He walks to the podium and says "This is a birthday. A celebration. Play something lighter." He walks off and the peppier overture begins. It consists of bits of "Sweeney Todd," "Comedy Tonight," "Rich and Happy," "Old Friends," "Company," "Side by Side".

 

David Hyde Pierce comes back on and talks about how we would start by looking at songs for which Sondheim just wrote the lyrics. He introduces Alexander Gemingnani who sings Something's Coming from West Side Story. This was one of two songs that was different from last night...last night the girls from the current revival started the concert with America, but WSS had a performance tonight, so tonight our show had this very nice substitute.

 

Next was married couple Marin Mazzie and Jason Danieley singing "We're Gonna Be Alright from "Do I Hear a Waltz". This was fun because it featured the original, more ribald lyrics than what is on the recording...Richard Rodgers censored the originals.

 

Next was "Don't Laugh" from "Hot Spot" sung by Victoria Clark, gorgeous in blue. I had never heard this song...apparently written for Judy Holiday when the show was doing out of town tryouts. Mary Rodgers needed help to replace the original opening number which wasn't working and called SS to do lyrics. Very cute and clever.

 

Next DHP introduced SS's orchestrator Jonathan Tunick who talked about the different sounds of Sondheim shows in the 70s. We got a sampling: "Johanna" from "Sweeney Todd" sung by huge opera star Nathan Gunn, followed by "You're Gonna Love Tomorrow" from "Follies". This was sung by young Broadway up and comers Matt Cavenaugh and Jenn Colella as Ben and Phyllis (a nice repairing of the two stars from Urban Cowboy) and Bobby Steggert and Laura Osnes as Buddy and Sally. The choreography was the best I have ever seen for this number. The seventies section ended with "Too Many Mornings" also from "Follies" sung by Nathan Gunn and Audra Mcdonald. While marvelous, this seemed like an odd choice, since we had just seen Gunn and another number from Follies. (This section lacked a song from the other seventies shows, Company, Little Night Music, Pacific Overtures. In fact, nothing was done from Pacific Overtures all evening...or Gypsy or Anyone Can Whistle or Bounce or Passion.)

 

Pierce came back out to tell us that one of the fun parts of evenings like this is that we get to hear songs sung by the folks who originated them. This next section was wondrous. First came John McMartin (original Follies Ben) who sang "The Road You Didn't Take". It was marvelous, even more so now, because the regrets of life were more obvious when sung by a man who is in his eighties...and the only surviving member of the original Ben/Phyliss/Buddy/Sally.

Then it was "It Takes Two" from "Into the Woods" with original baker and wife, Chip Zien and Joanna Gleason. The opening line of the song: "You've changed" got a big laugh.

Next was a real treat. DHP came out and said that even though Merrily We Roll Along closed in 1981, it has had various incarnations since then...sometimes with new songs. And here is Jim Walton, the original Franklin Shepherd to sing a song from the show, which wasn't in the original production. And Walton came in and sang "Growing Up" accompanying himself on the piano.

And then here's Mandy Patinkin, all in black...who rocked on Finishing the Hat from "Sunday" after which Bernadette walks on at a snail's pace in a gold shoulderless gown. And they sang "Move On."

I can go home now...I have had my money's worth.

 

And then DHP comes out and says to PG: "NOW" and we launch into "Ballad of Sweeney Todd" as Michael Cerveris enters from one side and George Hearn from the other. Patti LuPone comes up from the rear and then retreats, leaving the two Sweeney's to fight it out. Instead, they join together to sing "Pretty Women." And then Patti comes back out and the three of them sing "A Little Priest." This was fun, but I missed Angela not being here, and also, I wondered where was Len Cariou...I think he is still around.

 

 

ACT TWO

 

DHP comes out and announces that in addition to stage music, SS wrote some film music. Here is the theme from REDS: "Goodbye for Now" Two dancers from the ABT, Blaine Hoven and Maria Riccetto, did a lovely pas de deux.

 

Next from SS's first musical, which took fifty years to get to the New York Stage, we heard Laura Benanti sing "So Many People in the World" from "Saturday Night". Since this show was never fully orchestrated, she was just accompanied by piano.

 

And then the orchestra comes in again...huge and lush....(probably about 80 pieces strong...I counted about 30 bows going up and down in the 1st violin section alone) with the Follies theme from "Beautiful Girls". DHP comes on and sings, each line in a different language which was just funny. As he finishes...the six leading ladies of the evening come in...each in full length, gorgeous RED gowns: Marin, Patti, Donna Murphy, Bernadette, Audra and Elaine Stritch. (Actually Elaine was wearing a red pant suit and a kicky beret.) DHP finishes "Beautiful Girls" admirably...he's certainly not a lyric tenor; and six gold chairs are brought on for our divas.

 

The intro begins for "Ladies Who Lunch" and who stands up? LuPone...who did a GREAT job singing Stritch's song while Stritch is sitting behind her on the stage. There was a LOVELY bit at the "Does anyone still wear a hat" line when Patti looks over to see Elaine wearing her little chapeau. Big laugh. And it was almost as if ES was handing the song over to PL. Just lovely.

 

Next was Marin who sang "Losing My Mind" from Follies. She is so gorgeous...rockin' hourglass body in that red dress, with a completely open back...she practically showed plumber's butt. Owned the song.

 

Okay...here was my single greatest highlight of the evening: the film version of "The Glamorous Life" from A Little Night Music. I have heard Audra McDonald do this before and I do think that this is my single favorite Sondheim song.

 

Next was Donna Murphy singing "Could I Leave You?" reprising it from when she played Phyllis in the Encores version of Follies. She did the first verse and a half still seated in her chair, and by the end she was all over the stage...and her hair was coming down. Amazing.

 

Coming to the end here...next was "Not a Day Goes By" from Merrily from Bernadette Peters. She broke our hearts as she sang of loss, and by the end she was spent, as was the audience...but we were roused right away by Stritch doing "I'm Still Here". It wasn't perfect. But it was loud and soft and aggressive and humorous and full of bravado and pathos. It was her entire one woman show packed into a 5 minute song and she worked it. She got a spontaeneous standing ovation.

 

And finally, David Hyde Pierce came out and talked about how much actors loved to perform Sondheim. Every door around the theater opened and people streamed in. Younger and older, many were recognized from the choruses of other shows and cabaret rooms, they filled the stage, the side and center aisles of the main floor and the aisles between the boxes on every tier. And they sang "Sunday". I had goosebumps. Heck, I have goosebumps just writing about it. It grew and grew and grew and was stunning. There must have been 300 singers. And then it ends with that amazing French Horn fifth. <sigh>

 

Then Sondheim went up on stage and everyone sang Happy Birthday and that was it.

 

Dazzling.

 

Were there things I missed? Sure. I would have loved Angela Lansbury to have been there...but she wouldn't take the night off from Little Night Music. I would have loved Lonny Price (who directed the evening) and Ann Morrison join Jim Walton for the little "Merrily" moment. I would have loved for the first verse of "Your gonna Love Tomorrow" to have been sung by the original young quartet, all of whom are still living, and then have the younger quartet come out to join them a la the original premise of Follies. I would have loved for there to have been appearances by Victor Garber doing part of "Joanna", Pam Myers doing "Another Hundred People", Victoria Mallory and Patricia Elliot doing "Every Day a Little Death" I would have loved SOMETHING from Pacific Overtures.

 

But would I have changed a thing? I don't think so.

 

Both evenings were filmed for Great Performances for this fall. They will be shown with a ton of pledge breaks...and there will be a number of things cut from the broadcast, but hopefully it will all be available on the DVD. But until those come out...I hope this will suffice.

[+ Lucky]

Now there's a theater fan! My fingers would have gone numb before the second act, with all that typing to do. May I ask who are the others for whom you wrote the piece- an organized group of theater lovers or your friends and family?

[+ sf westcoaster]

Thanks for posting this detailed account of the evening! I an definitely going to watch the airing and know now that I will pledge in order to get the entire DVD show.

[adriano46]

Fantastic

 

skynyc,

 

you have a great gift - makes one yearn for past years when we had really great Broadway stage critics writing for the major papers. It sounds as if this was one of the best evenings of Broadway theatre this entire decade!!!!

 

Thanks for taking the time to share this - and I too will be awaiting the DVD. Only a few weeks ago - thanks to others here - I found the San Francisco Symphony concert version DVD of "Sweeney Todd" with Patti Lupone and George Hearn --- AMAZING!

[uwsman2]

What you left out...

 

I was there last night also. You forgot the big finale of the three ladies in red - Elaine Stritch singing "I'm Still Here." And bringing down the house bigtime.

[Guest greatness]

Awesome

 

Skync thanks for your post. I love love and love it.

[skynyc]

May I ask who are the others for whom you wrote the piece- an organized group of theater lovers or your friends and family?

 

Not organized...just friends and family...and myself. I like to keep an informal journal, which includes a lot of theater...and I send the theater stuff to friends. Then at year end I have a nice record. I even do a theatrical recap in my Christmas letter...which is laughably out of control. Last year's was 8 pages, full color, with comics, puzzles and a dozen web-links.

[+ Lucky]

Such devotion to the family! 8 pages, complete with art. I like it.

[Guest DuchessIvanaKizznhugg]

We really are fortunate.......

 

There is just SO much talent posting here.

 

Hardly a day goes by that I'm not amazed by one thing or another (and that's not including Expat's pics!).

 

Such a great group of generous people who take the time to share their talent.

 

The comment about Elaine Stritch reminded me of a disc I have: My Favorite Broadway: The Leading Ladies Live at Carnegie Hall and she sings The Ladies Who Lunch. I just put it on and already I've listened to it 3 times!

 

Thanks, skynyc.

Thanks, uwsman2.

Just what I needed to get out of my funk

 

[Guest alanm]

Why Not More Variety?

 

It sounds like a wonderful evening (for you). I believe this is but one of three Sondheim 80th birthday celebration concerts at various venues, with proceeds going to many worthy charity.

 

Essentially the same Broadway performers, nearly all closely associated with Sondheim, are appearing at all three tributes. Perhaps that was Sondheim's wish. Since tickets are sold out that must be what the public wants as well. I would have gone for more variety, say Tony Bennett, Diana Krall, Julie Andrews, Josh Groban, Bette Midler, Jonathan Graff, John Gallagher, Jr. et al. thrown into the mix on occasion. But, I am not a major Sondheim fan like the OP.