Posted on 11/26/2021 2:44:13 PM PST by lowbridge
Stephen Sondheim, the dominant voice in American musical theater in the second half of the 20th century and the composer with the most Tony Awards, has died. He was 91.
His shows, from the comedic “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum” to the ground-breaking “Company” to the operatic “Sweeney Todd” to the experimental “Pacific Overtures,” transformed the Broadway musical stage, influencing and advancing the medium. Sondheim, a protege of Oscar Hammerstein II, slowly moved away from that melodic tradition to incorporate complex and dissonant themes and structures of 20th century classical music into his works.
(Excerpt) Read more at variety.com ...
“Send in the Clowns.
There have to be Clowns
Well,
Maybe next year.”
“Send in the Clowns.
There have to be Clowns
Well,
Maybe next year.”
*****
Don’t bother
THEY’RE HERE!
- You know who I feel has revolutionized the American musical theater? That’s Stephen Sondheim.
- Yeah?
- Who’s that?
- Stephen Sondheim?
- Does he do a lot of musicals and stuff?
- Yeah.
- He ever do anything with Brenda Lee?
- Does she dance?
- She spins. She’s a little spinner.
- Oh, they were a good group.
- The Spinners were good. Yeah.
I love his musicals. His melodies and lyrics were superb. Sunday in the Park With George was one of my favorites. Very sad news indeed.
“Send in the Clowns” - one of the GREATEST PERFECT songs ever written - music and lyrics.
Babs Streisand’s version with the additional lyrics is breathtaking.
Indeed they are.
We have a life sized Marionette in the White House.
He is made of petrified wood and operated by barely visible strings held tightly by unseen Puppetmasters.
His Assiistant? It is rumored that she is highly trained
Sword Swallower, one who enjoys a good belly laugh, even when she is the only one who seems to get the ‘joke’.
I guess it’s sad.
But, frankly the “2nd half of the century” is basically the descent into the Dark Ages.
Before 1965 when the movie codes were abolished, things changed greatly. Not really interested in any “musicals” since. Too much ugliness. Including the music.
Something I’ve noticed about music conductors and composers is they tend to live very long lives.
FYI: He was fully vaccinated as of March 9, 2021.’
https://www.theatermania.com/new-york-city-theater/news/stephen-sondheim-reveals-hes-fully-vaccinated-agai_92000.html
Pretty is what changes,
What the mind arranges
is what is beautiful.
RIP.
So sublime. I loved his lyrics. In Into the Woods, there was this line about Milky White the cow... “While her withers wither with her.” His lyrics were filled with these types of word plays.
And the richness of his melodies. Unmatched!
Exceptional composer
Ping
I thought of that scene every time I would drive past Lithonia, Georgia and se the sign “Home of Brenda Lee.”
I despise Barbara Streisand’s politics, but I won’t ever hesitate to praise her singing voice.
Same thing goes for Joan Baez. I’ve learned to separate one feature from the other.
It is what it is.
Yep.
BS is a bloody elite socialist...at best.
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