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| Revisiting Sondheim 80th Birthday Celebration- The Greatest Evening Ever? Very Long | |
| Posted by: ianx73 10:18 am EDT 10/29/17 | |
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| I hadn’t watched the Sondheim Birthday Celebration since it first aired in 2010- 7 years ago!! Witnessing other great evenings like A Chorus Line’s record breaking performance, Donna Murphy’s rendition of I Happen to Like New York at Encores, two months after 9/11, opening night of the revival of Chicago at Encores, I wondered if this was not the greatest evening of them all.. I was totally blown away by every performance from the young kids (including Jen Colella whom I did not recognize) singing You’re Going to Love Tomorrow, Victoria Clark singing an unknown (to me) song from Hot Spot that Sondheim doctored to the heavy hitters Stritch, Peters, MacDonald, LuPone et al. singing the masterpieces Some new impressions: John McMartin singing his signature song The Road You Didn't Take took on Lear like gravitas in his deep reading of the song. Truly goose bump inducing Joanna Gleason and Chip Zien doing It Takes Two. Their joy at working together again was palpable and how they played off each other was so charming and very very moving Mandy Patinkin doing Finishing the Hat- Mandy is not a favorite of mine as his mannerisms and vocal flourishes have always struck be as narcissitic and unnecessay (he has a very beautiful voice without the tricks). However Finishing the Hat is in the top 10 of Sondheim songs and damn it it’s Mandy’s song and on his own terms he was wonderful doing it. But then when Bernadette Peters came out to sing Move On with him seemingly grounding him as he was playing off every moment she gave him. This segment soared into the stratosphere. The immense feeling and intensity that they brought to George and Dot as well as the connection with Bernadette and Mandy was staggeringly emotional. There was one point where I didn’t know if could take it anymore as it was so gut wrenching. Audra MacDonald and Nathan Gunn singing Too Many Mornings was so beautiful it hurt. Two Sweeney’s Michael Ceveris and George Hearn (as Judge Turpin), tearing into Pretty Women and joined by Patti for a show stopping A Little Priest But then of course came the piece de resistance. The 6 reigning divas of the time came to blow everyone’s minds. Dressed in red outfits designed by Diane Von Furstenberg, out came Patti Lupone, Bernadette Peters, Donna Murphy, Marin Mazzie, Audra MacDonald and Elaine Stritch to the accomaniemt of Beautiful Girls To call this segment spectacular does not do it justice. These ladies knew that they had to score an Olympian 10 and each did in her own inimitable way. Just when you thought Lupone couldn’t be topped or how do you follow Audra, the next woman would come out and take over the reins in soul stirring fashion. Patti began with Ladies Who Lunch in a full out balls to the wall rendition that brought the house down (she also paid delightful homage to Stritch who inches away was still wearing a hat). Then Marin Mazzie had the unenviable task of following her with perhaps Sondheim’s greatest song for a woman, Losing My Mind. Talk about high stakes performing. The intensity that Marin brought to it was revelatory. You really sensed the rage behind Sally’s breakdown. Then Audra started to sing the alt version of The Glamorous Life. I thought to myself Audra drew the short straw and got stuck with this inconsequential bauble after Marin’s ovation. Well never underestimate that girl. Singing from a child’s eye view of her mother, the actress, Audra brought such breathtaking vulnerability, childlike wonderment and longing that it just blew me away as well as the audience. Ok so now was Murphy’s moment. Could I Leave You couldn’t be in the same league as the other women’s songs, could it? But lo and behold, she did the most riveting interpretation of that song I’ve ever heard, Bitchy, sardonic, furious and ultimately heart breaking. Ok now time for Bernadette. As much as I like her, I’ve never loved Peters. Vocally I didn’t think she had the chops to compete with the other 4 Bernadette had recently lost her husband in a terrible accident a few years before . And of all songs to sing she sings Not a Day Goes by. What??!! To call her performance shattering would be an understatement. The courage, skill and vocal artistry to bring that song across while she was obviously in a state of grief was certainly something I had never seen before. I did worry that she would collapse but my concern was unnecessary of course, this was Bernadette Peters !!. As she finished the song awash in tears, the triumph of the evening was hers. Oh wait there was still Stritch. At 85 and obviously frail, she came out to do I’m Still Here Probably knowing that this would be her last blast, she tore into the song with such an intensity and mastery that the song took on a new life. I did worry a bit whether or not she would be able to remember all the lines and maintain the intensity but who was I kidding, she was only the greatest show stopper in the business). She grabbed the mantle from the other ladies and made the evening hers, at least for the moment. A great gift to a then living legend. The audience was besides themselves Then if that were not enough cast members from all the shows on Broadway filled every part of Avery Fisher Hall to the rafters and did a stunning version of Sunday that left Sondheim gasping for composure. I think the new appreciation for this night may have been informed by all that's come since making it so Sondheimianly (??!!) bitter sweet. Stritch’s death, Mazzie's illness, everyone’s aging and even today’s politcal climate (2010 Obama was in his first term) lent unbearable poignancy to the already emotionally overwhelming evening As Stephen Holden said at the time in his review “The collective gratitude in the house was accompanied by a silent pray to the powers on high: please may it never end. Amen |
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| re: Revisiting Sondheim 80th Birthday Celebration- The Greatest Evening Ever? Very Long | |
| Last Edit: IvyLeagueDropout 11:00 pm EDT 10/29/17 | |
| Posted by: IvyLeagueDropout 10:59 pm EDT 10/29/17 | |
| In reply to: Revisiting Sondheim 80th Birthday Celebration- The Greatest Evening Ever? Very Long - ianx73 10:18 am EDT 10/29/17 | |
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| I adore the whole thing, too. It was just wonderful. And as great as every performance is, it never seemed to be about the performers. It was about Sondheim, and the whole show seemed to reflect that. Think of those 6 red-dressed ladies. Imagine their careers without Sondheim? Certainly very different all. Favorite little moments: Bernadette and Patti holding hands coming out at the end. Sondheim's emotions making him actually stagger around. Donna affectionately leading Stritch off the stage. Oh, and I love how during the "red dress" montage all 6 ladies get to put a unique spin on the songs. They weren't just terrific, they were singular. |
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| re: Revisiting Sondheim 80th Birthday Celebration- The Greatest Evening Ever? Very Long | |
| Last Edit: MarkBearSF 10:14 pm EDT 10/29/17 | |
| Posted by: MarkBearSF 10:13 pm EDT 10/29/17 | |
| In reply to: Revisiting Sondheim 80th Birthday Celebration- The Greatest Evening Ever? Very Long - ianx73 10:18 am EDT 10/29/17 | |
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| Last weekend I rewatched the show myself and was struck by the exact same thing. I don't know if anyone has been better, and some of the renditions are my favorite of all. Also notable, Alexander Gemignani singing "Something's Coming" to his father's beaming direction and the Sweeney segment with Cerveris and Hearn singing "Pretty Women." And the red dress segment. WOW. A true pleasure all the way through. |
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| re: Revisiting Sondheim 80th Birthday Celebration- The Greatest Evening Ever? Very Long | |
| Posted by: gcarl44 06:33 pm EDT 10/29/17 | |
| In reply to: Revisiting Sondheim 80th Birthday Celebration- The Greatest Evening Ever? Very Long - ianx73 10:18 am EDT 10/29/17 | |
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| Chills, chills and more chills and tears! I just re-watched the segment with the six red-gowned ladies, each one a gem with its own brilliance. Never to be surpassed. I was thinking about musical theater earlier and why 60 or 70 year old musical legends like South Pacific, The King and I, Carousel, My Fair Lady and composers like Berlin, Rogers and Hammerstein, Rogers & Hart, Gershwin, Porter still get revived today. What of this era will get revived 60 or 70 years from now? Only Sondheim, I think. What passes for musical theater today cannot hold a candle to these greats. And who will be the next group of ladies in red 20 or 30 years from now? I cannot think of any younger performers on today’s stages. We have been so lucky to have lived during this period in theatrical history. | |
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| re: Revisiting Sondheim 80th Birthday Celebration- The Greatest Evening Ever? Very Long | |
| Posted by: Nydiva 12:14 pm EDT 10/29/17 | |
| In reply to: Revisiting Sondheim 80th Birthday Celebration- The Greatest Evening Ever? Very Long - ianx73 10:18 am EDT 10/29/17 | |
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| I had the privilege of being in the audience on one of the nights. Just breathing the same air as Mr Sondheim was an out-of-the-body experience. Yes I am a worshiper! Now I want to pull out my DVD as well. Especially since near the end there is a second's quick glimpse of me wildly applauding. I was in august company indeed and cherished every second of it. |
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| re: Revisiting Sondheim 80th Birthday Celebration- The Greatest Evening Ever? Very Long | |
| Posted by: showtunetrivia 10:38 am EDT 10/29/17 | |
| In reply to: Revisiting Sondheim 80th Birthday Celebration- The Greatest Evening Ever? Very Long - ianx73 10:18 am EDT 10/29/17 | |
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| Delightful recap! Makes me want to dig out my DVD....after the Astros polish off the Dodgers. Laura |
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| re: Revisiting Sondheim 80th Birthday Celebration- The Greatest Evening Ever? Very Long | |
| Posted by: MarjorieMae 01:02 pm EDT 10/29/17 | |
| In reply to: re: Revisiting Sondheim 80th Birthday Celebration- The Greatest Evening Ever? Very Long - showtunetrivia 10:38 am EDT 10/29/17 | |
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| "after the Astros polish off the Dodgers." Not tonight, Josephine! |
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| re: Revisiting Sondheim 80th Birthday Celebration- The Greatest Evening Ever? Very Long | |
| Posted by: showtunetrivia 02:03 am EDT 10/30/17 | |
| In reply to: re: Revisiting Sondheim 80th Birthday Celebration- The Greatest Evening Ever? Very Long - MarjorieMae 01:02 pm EDT 10/29/17 | |
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| If I remember, the concert didn't include "The Last Midnight," but maybe that should be the theme for the game that just ended after five-plus hours! Oh, yes, tonight, Josephine! :) Laura |
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