Sondheim: From Broadway To Bart
Sydney Morning Herald
Monday July 9, 2007
TO A new generation, Stephen Sondheim's eminence as a writer of musicals would rate as nothing compared with his having appeared as himself in The Simpsons.
Luckily for musical theatre, his own idea of fame when he was 15 was to have a show on Broadway. Now, at 77, a public interview with the man was enough to pack the Theatre Royal in a fund-raiser for the new Kookaburra national musical theatre outfit, which is performing Sondheim's Company. The composer and lyricist of such imaginative shows as Sweeney Todd, Into the Woods, Follies, and Sunday in the Park with George was greeted by a standing ovation, quizzed by Jonathan Biggins for 90 minutes, then given an even more enthusiastic send-off. Sondheim proved innately humble and an astute analyst of his work. He was also a willing raconteur, telling of that 15-year-old who showed his first efforts to Oscar Hammerstein - who told him it was terrible, but also noted it was not devoid of talent, setting Sondheim on the course that would make him the most important figure in musical theatre of the past 50 years. Despite having studied composition, Sondheim came to prominence as a lyricist, working with Leonard Bernstein on West Side Story. He now finds his songs self-conscious, and at the time there was a gulf between Bernstein's desires and his own. "Bernstein wanted a poetic show," he said. "But his idea of poetry was basically purple prose." Any tensions were soothed by a mutual love for crosswords and anagrams.He spoke of subsequently writing songs for specific singers, including Send in the Clowns for Glynis Johns, whose "tiny, silvery voice" he described as "very musical". "But that's why there are short phrases in Send in the Clowns," he explained, "because she couldn't sustain notes."He emphasised the importance of his creative partnership with the director Hal Prince, whose energy, he said, contrasted with his own sloth. "We represented exactly what the so-called Broadway group hated," Sondheim said, "which is that we were mavericks, but we were successful. We weren't living in fifth-floor walk-ups, but each show was an odd show, and they didn't like that. They didn't mind Rodgers and Hammerstein making lots of money, because the shows were predictable. It was OK if you wrote an odd show as long as you were starving." As for the health of musical theatre in a world of countless options, including The Simpsons, Sondheim just said: "It's still there and it's still really fun to go to." An Audience with Stephen Sondheim will screen on Foxtel on July 16.
© 2007 Sydney Morning Herald