Stephen Sondheim Collaborating With David Ives on New Musical

[Almira]

Not sure if this is old news, but...


http://playbill.com/news/article/160206-Stephen-Sondheim-Collaborating-With-David-Ives-on-New-Musical

[themysteriousgrowl]

Whoa. Wha...?

[Jordan Catalano]

I just came.

[Almira]

Guess it's not old news.

[HeyMrMusic]

Best first four messages in a thread.

[CurtainPullDowner]

Could it be GROUNDHOG'S DAY?
Ives could bring the absurdist touch to that.

[themysteriousgrowl]

^ that would literally be the only thing that could make this news better.

[Jordan Catalano]

Um, no. If it were a musical version of Troop Beverly Hills, THAT would make this news even better!

[themysteriousgrowl]

Where's After Eight? We need a definitive answer on this.

[After Eight]

Whatever such a collaboration should bring, we can rest assured now that it will be a glorious, spellbinding masterpiece.

[henrikegerman]

VENUS IN FURS... FURS! FURS!

[themysteriousgrowl]

[best12bars]

Night Waltz of the Vampires!

[EponineAmneris]

This news has made my day... No, week... last TWO weeks... No, MONTH!

[Kad]

I'm pretty sure After Eight has already bought their ticket and already hates it because the characters are unlikable, the tone is cynical, and the whole thing a chore.

[Jordan Catalano]

And of course, there's not a tune you can hum.

[themysteriousgrowl]

And some of the characters have some of the unpleasant qualities people in the real world sometimes possess.

[Jay Lerner-Z]

Exciting! All the revivals have been more than fun, but I hope another one doesn't come along just yet to distract him. Get to the piano, sir.

[HistoryBoy2]

Oh golly I hope it's a reworking of Road Show!

[humbugfoto]

After triple checking the calendar to make SURE it's not April 1st, I have to wonder if there's a possibility that Leap Day might be the British answer to our April Fools Day.

Yes, I'm that cynical.

But if it's true...

[newintown]

[JoeKv99]

Well BWW's exclusive clue says it sprang from a play by Ives so, unlike every "gold age" musical it is NOT an original piece and so, is crap.

[ljay889]

Such great news. Let's hope that it actually comes to fruition.

[bwayfan7000]

This is almost too good to be true. I thought I'd missed my chance to see the premiere of a new Sondheim musical in New York, but I'm thrilled that I might've been wrong about that!

[Mister Matt]

I'd be more excited about this news if I hadn't seen Bounce at the Goodman. But then, I don't really know how I feel about this or what words I am permitted to use until After Eight weighs in. But I have a tendency to lean towards joekv's assessment. No original book?!?! Fail. Broadway is dead. This will surely be nothing but tourist fluff and fodder. Probably a 3-D Harry Potter musical produced by Disney co-composed by Wildhorn and Lloyd-Webber using nothing but animatronics and pyrotechnics directed by Julie Taymor. At least, that is what the article insinuates.

[Almira]

"it's an idea I've had for a long time and that it springs indirectly from a moment in a play of David's."

I think the critical words in the quote are "indirectly" and "moment."

An entirely original idea can be gleaned from a single moment in a play. A perfect example is Billy Wilder developing the idea for THE APARTMENT from the last minute of a scene from BRIEF ENCOUNTER.

Edit:

Perhaps I missing some inside "jab" at AfterEight.