The upcoming Sondheim/Ives musical is based on...

[chanel]

A moment in one of the short plays in Ives' All in the Timing.

Now everyone can start guessing which one.

http://blogs.villagevoice.com/dailymusto/2013/02/guess_what_sond.php

[jnb9872]

I would love, based on his experiments with form (COMPANY all technically taking place in one second, MERRILY running backwards, etc.) if it was based on at least the structure of SURE THING. Letting Sondheim have two characters get it so wrong repeatedly but in different, precise ways, over the course of a musical would be so great. Then again, just having a two-character Sondheim show would also be fascinating, but I bet the concept could be opened up pretty easily.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Did Musto call in sick and just phone this one in or something, because this is not new information.
Even BWW scooped him a year ago

[followspot]

Damn you for making me have to defend Michael Musto, Phyllis, but he clearly states that he's updating year-old news.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Mea culpa! But for some reason I thought the fact that it was All in the Timing was still old news.

[chanel]

It had previously been reported that the show will be based on a moment in an Ives play, as Musto's blog says.

It had also been previously reported that it is about a relationship and it will go backwards in time, as he says. (In fact Musto's old blog, which is linked in the new one, linked to the BWW writeup, OK?)

But the new info is about which Ives work it will be. It's something from All in the Timing, and he says that based on the info we have, it will most likely be the first playlet or the one about the universal language.

[chanel]

He even writes, "Last year I wrote about..." and that links to the old information.

Then he states what the new information is.

How much clearer can it get?

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

I dunno, but you're in quite a snit about it if you have you had to come back and make another post eight minutes later.

[theatergeek3]

I am soooo excited for this! Sondheim is my FAVORITE composer/lyricist & it's been too long since we've last seen him! :)

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

Is chanel Musto?

[mormonophobic]

Phyllis is actually correct. The fact that this is going to be based on "Sure Thing" was reported by chewy5000 in December.


Sure Thing

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Where's Chanel?

[RippedMan]

A relationship going backwards doesn't sound like anything new?

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

I wonder if Musto has just never seen or read "Sure Thing" and just assumed it goes backwards.

[ljay889]

Chanel = Musto

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Hilarious...or to use Phyllis' favorite word, amazing.

[Phyllis Rogers Stone]

I'm just glad to confirm that I wasn't having a deja vu and I didn't just dream this information.

[EricMontreal22]

Yeahhether it was just guesswork, or not, it was suggested that this was based on Sure Thing since even before Chewy's post... Anyway, I hope Sondheim's hand is all healed up and he's writing away.

[g.d.e.l.g.i.]

I'm just wondering, as I've repeatedly pointed out, where all this crap about getting Ives involved came from and why. He's had a book by Terrence McNally on ice for this project since the early Nineties. You can view it at a university library, for Christ's sake. Even if Ives inspired the piece back then, why involve him now? What changed?

(Source: Frontain, Raymond-Jean (2011). "Mutual admiration". The Sondheim Review (Sondheim Review, Inc.) XVII (3): 30–33.) <-- Only for you, Namo.

[EricMontreal22]

I was just gonna mention the bizarre McNally similarity/connection. Maybe they just didn't get along and SS wants to work with Ives now? His play came first, didn't it? *confused*

[Matt Rogers]

jnb9872, Company "takes place in one second"?

I've never heard that before. I'm not doubting you, but I would love to know details and your source (probably Sonsheim in a book I didn't read, I'm guessing).

Thanks!

[EricMontreal22]

The Company one second thing is a director concept--I believe that's how Sam Mendes saw it (I think in the BBC telecast of that production, Mendes and Sondheim even discuss that during the interval), and others, but that wasn't necessarily the original staging or writing concept--though I suppose it could still be presented that way. But Mendes made that concept clear (overt?) with it all taking place in Bobby's head in sorta an instant thought--including doing Side by Side as a coke induced hallucination (something I've seen local productions crib from.)

[Kad]

One of the original concepts of Night Music was that the evening would reset several times throughout the show- Mme. Armfeldt would reshuffle her cards, and things would change.

[EricMontreal22]

Right--and wouldn't one time it end tragically, one time comically and one time right--or something like that? I know it went through a few idea stages--originally Wheeler and Sondheim were set on doing a musical of Ring Round the Moon, the Christopher Fry adaptation of the french Jean Anouilh play L'Invitation au Ch¯teau, but Anouilh wouldn't allow them the rights, so they looked for something similar in tone.