SOUND OFF: Sondheim Palooza Part 1

Settle For The Dream

Today we continue our critical appraisal of the entire English-language recorded canon of Stephen Sondheim - at the very least, all the major productions which were recorded - beginning where we have left off with the round-ups of GYPSY and WEST SIDE STORY, as well as the 2009 Revival Recording of A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC, from the last few weeks. The last show for which Sondheim wrote lyrics-only, before he was quite able to get his own musical scores produced, was his collaboration with Richard Rodgers, DO I HEAR A WALTZ? Next, we continue with the first show for which he wrote music and lyrics, SATURDAY NIGHT, as well as the first show he wrote music and lyrics for that actually made it to Broadway, A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM.

Example ABC

The first musical for which Sondheim wrote music and lyrics was SATURDAY NIGHT in 1954, before work in earnest had begun on either GYPSY or WEST SIDE STORY. The show was based on a play by the Epstein brothers titled FRONT PORCH IN FLATBUSH, a romantic comedy that is set in 1929 though there is a certain fifties sensibility and style to a lot of it. Additionally, the performers sometimes make the material even more contemporary than it supposed to be in both of these cases, which is actually a good thing in the case of this small, somewhat innocuous show. Back to ‘54: Due to the producer's untimely death, the show did not proceed as scheduled and fell into developmental hell, not being produced until nearly fifty years later at which time there were two notable productions of the quaint, domestic dramedy: one in London, and following a tryout in Chicago, one off-Broadway directed by Kathleen Marshall. The two most famous songs from the show, "So Many People" and "What More Do I Need?" had been recorded countless times in the intervening years between the abandoned original production and the London re-discovery of the show and they are some of Sondheim's sweetest and most lilting material. "Exhibit A" is an early pre-cursor to the seriously sharp and magnificently complex material of Sondheim's work to come in ANYONE CAN WHISTLE, COMPANY, FOLLIES and A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC.

SATURDAY NIGHT - 1998 Original London Cast
SCORE: 5/10

The 1998 Bridewell Theatre production of Sondheim's until- then unproduced 1954 musical is notable if only because it was the first relatively complete recording of the score. Gavin Lee, who would go on to bigger and brighter and better productions, is an attractive performer but lacks the gravitas necessary for the character he plays here who should be more engaging and charming. Anna Francolini leaves little impression, though she seems slightly flat or sharp on some of her material here, and this recording certainly no great shakes. The rest of the cast is spirited and energetic, but all-in-all, the whole affair comes off as a bit insincere, fake and overall very amateurish. The highlight of the album is Lee's "Class" which is appropriately biting, animated and precise. This recording is important because it was the first to preserve the score, but it was soon improved upon by leaps and bounds with the next recording.

SATURDAY NIGHT - 2000 Off-Broadway Production

SCORE: 8/10

The first American production of SATURDAY NIGHT took place at the Second Stage Theatre off-Broadway in early 2000 and that is where this recording finds its roots. Although many will be purchasing these albums digitally, I must make note of the striking and beautiful album artwork - which is the case, more often than not, with all Nonesuch recordings - it is also instantly provocative and intriguing. The generous booklet included with the CD contains all the lyrics as well as thoughtful liner notes. The performances on this recording are much more polished and professional than the energetic and endearing but technically very flawed OLC cast album. This cast contains a number of performers who would go on to achieve much success on Broadway and beyond in the decade following their appearances here, among them Lauren Ward, Natascia Diaz, Andrea Burns, David Campbell and Christopher Fitzgerald. Campbell, in particular is absolutely enchantingly charming in the lead role and shows no signs of his Australian upbringing, though his accent is far from pure Brooklynese or Flatbush. Ward is surprisingly and inventively contemporary in much of her take on the character of Helen and the results are quite unexpectedly marvelous. Needless to say, Ward shows the exquisite instrument should would also bring to the character of Violet in Jeanine Tesori's VIOLET. Natascia Diaz, in particular, creates a very memorable performance with not a lot of material with which to do it (she plays two characters), particularly on "Love's A Bond (Blues)". This recording is definitely the better of the two discussed here, and this one is much more complete containing four more songs and quite a bit more dialogue than the other album which is an asset in itself if you consider the book writer for this show, Julius Epstein, also wrote CASABLANCA. The production values are all top-notch on this album, as is the notable, note-perfect and note-worthy cast. A delight!

Thank You, Not So Much

Collaborating with the musical half of possibly the greatest composer/lyricist team in Broadway history, and Sondheim's own mentor being Hammerstein himself, the 1965 Sondheim/Richard Rodgers's DO I HEAR A WALTZ? Is not quite all it could have been, but as an intimate reconsideration of the material proves, there is more to enjoy here than may first meet the ear, if certainly never the brain.

DO I HEAR A WALTZ? - Original Broadway Cast Recording

SCORE: 5/10

Elizabeth Allen and Sergio Franchi give technically well-sung performances, but the album is a bit empty sounding and the songs a bit underwhelming making the whole enterprise a bit of a non-entity, an also-ran. Truly, this is not Rodger's finest hour, although I cannot help but love a few of the melodies like "Stay" and "Thank You So Much" which are truly gorgeous and on the level of the best of his estimable resume. Indeed, Sondheim is the only lyricist on the level of Hammerstein Rodgers ever worked with though he was rumored to have been largely unappreciated by Rodgers, another example his irritable behavior behind-the-scenes during the show's troubled try-out and his seeming inability to come up with material stronger than this. Moderately good, but nothing that great or anywhere near all it could have been and this recording exacerbates a lot of the problems with the material, pumping it up and overplaying a lot of the material to the detriment of the performers and the score as a whole.

DO I HEAR A WALTZ? - 2001 Pasadena Playhouse Cast

SCORE: 7.5/10

Much more breezy and airy than the paradoxically stifling hot air and overblown accoutrement of the Original Broadway cast recording, this version of the score represents the chamber version of the show bringing it closer to Laurents's original play on which it is based, THE TIME OF THE CUCKOO, than to the more expansive and scenery-heavy original production which worked against the material. Allyson Reed and Anthony Crivello are very good here, if not vocalists able to achieve quite the dulcet tones of Franchi or the effortlessly powerful belt of Elizabeth Allen. This lovingly produced cast album, with a wonderfully warm and sunny sound thanks to the impressive technical work by Bruce Kimmel, is the best representation of the show on disc. Also, it is necessary to note that the song-stack has been improved (including the restoration of the famous and fantastic original lyrics for "We're Gonna Be Alright" as well as a previously unused song, the lovely "Everybody Loves Leona") and some songs have been mercifully cut or re-arranged, all for the better. Everything about this recording works wonderfully well and may very well be the best way for newcomers to the Sondheim oeuvre to discover the charms to be found here in Sondheim's last musical as a lyricist alone.

Comedy Is In The Air

Perhaps the strongest book of any musical comedy, Burt Shevelove and Larry Gelbart's Tony-winning book (with acknowledgments to Plautus) on this Best Musical is easy to heap hyperbolic praise upon, and deservedly so - A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM is among the very best musical comedies, but it is a case of becoming something much more in performance than a cast recording or script may imply. It is ribald, hilarious, perfectly-constructed and in this show more than possibly any other the comedy is the star. While Sondheim's score is always engaging and appropriate, he knew even then that musical theatre is more about collaboration than anything else, so his score exists largely as the respite from the raucous and raunchy book scenes, with the exception of the exceptional opening number "Comedy Tonight" and the endlessly infectious "Everybody Ought To Have A Maid". "Free" was an early indication of the composer coming into his own, as is the equally excellent "Echo Song". It is a functional and fun score, but as we will soon see with ANYONE CAN WHISTLE, which came a few short years later, Sondheim was capable of far more than what this score's jaunty bawdiness may imply. The score fits the show perfectly, but, in both cases, these cast recordings fail to capture the joy and fun of the show onstage.

A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM - Original Broadway Cast Recording

SCORE: 7/10

The 1962 production of this show is legendary if only for the lead performance by Zero Mostel, but it also marked the Broadway debut of the composer half of composer/lyricist Stephen Sondheim so this cast recording is an essential entry in every cast album collector‘s library for that reason alone. Period. That being said, I wish the recording quality on the supposed remaster was better, but it is a disappointment. While the score lacked any lofty ambitions, it surely must have sounded better in the theatre than it does here. At least the cast is strong, with Jack Gilford going pound-for-pound with Mostel which is a Herculean task if there ever were any. The score is better preserved on the revival recording, but this cast album is a must for Mostel.

A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM - 1996 Broadway Revival Cast Recording

SCORE: 6/10

The 1996 Broadway revival of A FUNNY THING... Starring Nathan Lane is a bit anemic and certainly fails to capture the fun of the zesty and fast-paced nature of the highly-praised Jerry Zaks production. Mary Testa shines in an early role during the House of Marcus Lycus sequence, but this recording isn't really up to the standard of the original, its technical deficiencies notwithstanding. The score is better represented here, with the "Echo Song" and other material added from the 1972 revival starring Phil Silvers (which, inexplicably, was never recorded). I suppose this recording is recommended for its completeness, as it does include material that was not even in the revival itself in performance, but it surely could have been much more lively and well, "lovely", than this.

Near Impossible

Looking at these shows collectively, it is clear to see that Sondheim was coming into his own as a composer with a distinctly wry and intellectual style all his own. While DO I HEAR A WALTZ? Was not the hit it should have been given the pedigree of Rodgers, Laurents and company, if not the young Sondheim himself, it is quite illuminative to consider his largely subdued (considering his considerably capabilities) and intermittently and intentionally inconsequential score for A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM, which stands as a fine attribute to his generosity in collaboration: knowing what is always best for a show and willing to make any sacrifice to that end. In the case of A FUNNY THING, the book as well as the antics of Zero Mostel were the star. Rodgers was the compelling figure who was falling apart at the seams behind the scenes during DO I HEAR WALTZ? and Sondheim still contributed a sophisticated and fine set of lyrics that sound sharp and smart and contemporary even today, nearly fifty years later. SATURDAY NIGHT was surely set to be Sondheim's show to shine as a composer/lyricist and it is easily the strongest score of these three, yet luck was not in the cards it seems.

The game-changer, the show to change the course of musical theatre - ANYONE CAN WHISTLE - and, at that, in only nine performances on Broadway, was being written at the same time as the shows discussed here, but certainly deserves a section all its own. As do an entire decade of unparalleled masterpieces: COMPANY, FOLLIES, A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC, PACIFIC OVERTURES, SWEENEY TODD as well as the masterpieces following MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG: SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE, INTO THE WOODS and ASSASSINS, with, of course, PASSION, THE FROGS and ROAD SHOW bringing us to the twenty-first century. All of this, and much, much more, is on the way in the coming days!

Stay tuned tomorrow for ANYONE CAN WHISTLE and COMPANY!