FLASHBACK FRIDAY: Exhibit 'A'

This week, we are continuing our month-long look at the career of Stephen Sondheim with these informative and fun clips from a British interview show and a special salute from the cast of DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES...

In this revealing look at the creation of the song "Somewhere" from WEST SIDE STORY, Sondheim describes not only the process of writing the song with the composer Leonard Bernstein, but also the demands made by Jerome Robbins on the music-makers to make the song work for the ballet sequence he intended to use it in. Sondheim relates a quip from his good friend who would later write the book for Sondheim's first Broadway musical as a composer/lyricist, A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM, Burt Shevelove, and expresses the importance of every single syllable and letter - from A to Z - in lyric-writing. The entire interview, titled "A Salon With Stephen Sondheim" is also available at this link, and is highly recommended viewing for Sondheim fans and theatre fans alike!

In honor of Sondheim's 75th birthday five years ago, creator and executive producer of ABC's DESPERATE HOUSWIVES, Marc Cherry, created a delightful homage to the Master in the form of this hilarious clip of the show's actors, among them Teri Hatcher, Eva Longoria Parker, Felicity Huffmann, Marcia Cross, stating and relating to their favorite Sondheim songs. It should also be said that every episode of the show is titled after a Sondheim song, show, or lyric, and that PUTTING IT TOGETHER star John Barrowman continues his multi-episode-arc on the show this Sunday in the episode titled "A Little Night Music". Enjoy!

That's all for this week, and remember if you would like to see a particularly fun, hilarious, bizarre or just all-around excellent performance from the past highlighted here be sure to send us a link! Until next time...