VA- A Stephen Sondheim Evening

Back to Back Stephen Sondheim efforts as we conclude our first week of Donkey Show’s month long salute to Broadway.  This double album was $1.  Pretty darn cheap from this Broadway legend.

In fact, if Sondheim retired in the 1950’s with the lyrics to West Side Story and Gypsy under his belt, it would have been a pretty good career.  But no, Sondheim went on to achieve greater fame writing music and lyrics to such musicals as A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum, Company, Follies, A Little Night Music, Merrily We Roll Along, Assassins, In The Woods, and my favorite, Sweeney Todd, of which I saw a wonderful version by the HGO two years ago. In a way, he really bridged the gap between the Rogers and Hammerstein era of the 40’s and 50’s with the later theater style of the 70’s, 80’s and 90’s.

Coming from a broken home, a young Sondheim befriended one James Hammerstein son of Oscar Hammerstein II.  The elder Hammerstein became a father figure, mentor, and teacher extraordinaire to the boy.  Wikipedia relates a tale how a young  Sondheim brought an early piece of work to Hammerstein for his opinion.  Hammerstein remarked that it was terrible, but if he wanted to know why, Hammerstein would tell him.  That day, the elder gave his pupil a master class in song writing.

Hammerstein’s death in 1960 was a blow to the composer and I am sure there is something to be said about his pre-1960 work as compared to his post 1960 work in relation to this event but would take more journalistic effort on my end which I am not willing to do on a Saturday post.  The video below also sums it up better that I could (or am willing today- it is Labor Day at the time of this writing).  In short, post 60’s, Sondheim not only pushed the envelope; he broke though it.  I will also say this:  Sondheim is an Emmy short from going EGOT so start working on those TV shows.

 

Anyway, here is this.  A recording from a 1983 concert sponsored by the Whitney Museum’s Composer’ Showcase series, under the direction of Charles Schwartz.

With a six musician ensemble, Sondheim’s work from his repretoire of music and lyrics (no Gypsy or West Side Story) is performed by actors and actresses who previously performed his work on the stage.  Such personnel include Judy Kaye, Cris Groenendaal, Steven Jacob, Thomas Faye, George Hearn, Victoria Mallory, Liz Callaway, and Bob Gunton.

Normally, I like the more obscure numbers on albums for samples, but for reasons unbeknownst to me, I decided to go with one of Sondheim’s more popular numbers, from A Little Night Music, “Send In The Clowns” sung by Angela Lansbury, who was not only in the Todd clips above, but made her first musical theater debut in 1964’s production of nine shows, Anyone Can Whistle.  If you notice the laughter and applause when she mentions she brought her own accompanist, that is because she is joined by Sondheim on the piano.

Sondheim’s body of work along with his many Tony’s speak for themselves.  Satisfactory record.

 

 

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