July 18: Sondheim's Putting It Together

I'm not going to lie, I love Stephen Sondheim's songs. He is a master in the art of wordplay and unusual melodies. Unfortunately, the general public doesn't seem to share this opinion. For some reason several of his shows have flopped at the box office even though critics can rave and rave about them. The general guess is that these songs make you THINK. You have to pay attention, and as Forbidden Broadway put it, go "Into the Words." He doesn't repeat his lyrics usually, and if he does it's to make some kind of point. (It's very difficult to remember the next verse sometimes if he's started it with the same words then veers off down a new path. And all the more satisfactory when the song goes right!)

In any case, Coeur d'Alene Summer Theatre opted to do the "review" (not "revue") of Sondheim's work called "Putting It Together." The lovely and talented Julia McKenzie (who starred as the witch in the London Into the Woods) put this collection of songs together as an update to Side By Side By Sondheim (which also starred Julia McKenzie). In 1992 Cameron Macintosh produced it in Oxford, England, then moved it to New York the following year with Julie Andrews. Five years later Carol Burnett and Bronson Pinchot ("the artist formerly known as Balke") starred in a Los Angeles production, and a year later took it to Broadway.

Unlike most Sondheim shows, there is no real 'story.' There is a situation - a cocktail party with an older married couple and a younger, well, very hot couple, and another male guest/narrator of sorts. It's an excuse to hear Stephen Sondheim songs slightly out of context, sometimes in new context. For example, "Everybody Oughta Have a Maid" is now sung by an older woman referring to, well, a house boy. It's a nice little switch.

Basically, this week's show explores the songs in Putting It Together, many times from the show's cast recording.

Invocation and Instructions to the Audience - Nathan Lane, Bryn Dowling The Frogs [Original Broadway Cast] P.S. Classics The Invocation isn't performed in the show, but it's fun anyway
Putting It Together - Company Putting It Together Image Entertainment A revised version written specifically for the show. The original song (from Sunday in the Park with George) is about the difficulties of the art world. Barbra Streisand sang another revised version about the recording industry. This version is about stage work and thus is my favorite.
Rich and Happy - Company Putting It Together Image Entertainment From Merrily We Roll Along, sets up the concept of the cocktail party.
Pretty Women - Michael Cerveris, Mark Jacoby Sweeney Todd [2005 Broadway Revival Cast] Disc 2 Nonesuch
Sooner or Later - Karen Ziémba Sondheim: A Celebration at Carnegie Hall Disc 2 Varese Sarabande From Sondheim's score to the Dick Tracy film
Country House - Diana Rigg, Daniel Massey Follies [Original London Cast] First Night On stage for the "review," makes a lovely counterpoint to the passionate young couple who has supposedly found an empty room upstairs.
Could I Leave You? [Follies] - Alexis Smith Sondheim: A Musical Tribute Disc 2 RCA Victor Again, the older couple in a study in contrasts with the young couple.
There's Always a Women [From Anyone Can Whistle] - Kaye Ballard/Sally Mayes Unsung Sondheim Fynsworth Alley This song is a little out of place, I have to say, but it's nice to hear it. It was cut from Anyone Can Whistle, where the corrupt mayor (Angela Lansbury) and an upstanding citizen (Lee Remick) are acting polite towards each other but thinking the worst things about each other...
Marry Me a Little - Liz Callaway On and off Broadway: The Story Goes On Varese Originally meant for Company, but too worldly for Bobby. So many lovely versions of this song, which became the title tune for another Sondheim trunk show; Liz Callaway's is my favorite.
Getting Married Today - Heather Laws Company (Revival) Nonesuch "The wife remembers her wedding day" "FIRST wedding day..."
Like It Was - Dawn Upshaw I Wish It So Elektra/Asylum From Merrily We Roll Along, this is touchingly sung by the wife to the husband here, then blended into Old Friends.
Old Friends - Stephen Sondheim, Angela Lansbury, Company A Stephen Sondheim Evening RCA

Musical Variety

I've been participating in an online bulletin board for people interested in the Public Radio Talent Contest (more on that soon). I posed the question, what musicals do the other participants like? It's not my usual theatrical audience, so I was curious what others producing radio like.

I've gotten three answers: Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Les Miserables, and Disney Musicals (particularly Aladdin).

Now this is diversity. The squeaky-clean Disney universe, the most-loved long-running musical, and a fascinating rock show about a punk singer with a botched sex-change operation.

Hedwig: Rocky Horror move over. Hedwig is another obscure off-Broadway rock musical show turned into a movie (with a cult following), but what music! I'm not a "punk" or hard-rock kind of person because I don't like overamped distortion and I want to know what the lyrics are. Hedwig gives me a melody I can hang on to, a surfboard on the ocean of pounding instruments. It's a wild ride I love. I really like Wig In a Box, it's the same concept as 'A Little More Mascara' from "La Cage" with great music. (Ever heard songs from the stage show Secret Garden? Sweet nature-boy Dickon is the same man behind Hedwig, John Cameron Mitchell. That blows my mind.)

Les Miserables: "Do you hear the people sing, singing the hit shows from Les Mis? Even the great Andrew Lloyd Webber wished the songs were really his" (parody from Forbidden Broadway) Even after 22 years of saturating the world with its pathos and passion, still one of the best-loved shows, for good reason. High drama, noble characters despite their social status (except the comic relief of the Thernardiers). I like the latter recordings, particularly the 10th Anniversary concert, because of the full orchestration. The original synthesizers in 1985 are too tinny for my liking.
Truly it's the most religious musical: heartfelt prayers to God, actions done in religious fervor, and philosophy ("to love another person is to see the face of God"). God is practically a character. Superstar and Godspell are about Jesus, but one is about the man, the other about his teachings, not nearly to the level Les Mis gets at.

Disney Musicals: I love Disney musicals too. I like feeling like a kid, but some of the songs have such sophistication I don't feel guilty.
The Sherman Brothers should be household names. So many of the classic Disney songs were written by Robert and Richard, their songs certainly contributed to the Golden Age of Disney (Mary Poppins, Winnie the Pooh to name a couple). I'll do a show on the Sherman Brothers before long, with stuff that will really surprise you.
When Little Mermaid came around, Disney was smart enough to look at Broadway for musical inspiration. Two guys with a funny take on the old B-movie "Little Shop of Horrors" were hired to give the Mermaid voice. Alan Menken and Howard Ashman went on to the outstanding Beauty and the Beast, and began work on Aladdin. When lyricist Ashman died, they brought in Tim Rice, lyricist for Jesus Christ Superstar, Evita, Joseph ... Dreamcoat, and Chess. He and Elton John also went on to do The Lion King and the Disney-produced stage show Aida.
The prominent Disney songwriting team these days is Alan Menken and lyricist/composer Stephen Schwartz (Godspell, Pippin, Wicked). The two started with Pocahontas, then Hunchback, and Enchanted (due this summer). He also wrote "Geppetto," a 2000 Disney Channel movie on Pinocchio. That's now a stage show called "Geppetto and Son," incorporating the classic songs from Pinocchio. Can't wait to take my kid to that one!

This is an example of three different genres in the musical theater catalog. New romantic favorites, classic family fare, and the rock musical. None are played on commercial radio. That kind of a mix wouldn't even be on satellite radio or the internet 'stations' that are in danger of being priced out of existence. But you CAN hear it with public radio. Thanks for listening and supporting our endeavors.