Threaded Order Chronological Order
| Jason Robert Brown / Sondheim Concert | |
| Last Edit: Leon_W 11:14 pm EDT 06/24/19 | |
| Posted by: Leon_W 11:03 pm EDT 06/24/19 | |
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| The show started at 8.15 with some speeches about the concert series and the charity then the music was the next two hours till 10.30pm. The highlight for me was Sondheim singing and playing “Good Thing Going”, it had never occurred to me that he would perform apart from playing piano. I found it genuinely a beautiful moving few minutes. Jason Robert Brown comes across like a lovely man and interesting to listen to being so passionate about his art. They had a large orchestra and two pianos that JRB and Sondheim shared for their section together. The next highlight was Lyn Manuel Miranda and JRB singing Franklin Shepherd, Inc at the beginning of the show. I loved hearing a song from JRB’s abandoned King Kong score, it was a great fun song that would have been sung by the broadway producer selling tickets to Kong. If I could have changed one thing I would have liked more Shoshana Bean and a little less of Katrina Lenk, whilst Lenk is a fantastic performer I don’t think her voice particularly suited Last Midnight or Not While I’m Around for example. Sondheim was in a happy fun mood and stayed on stage 30 minutes to play songs and chat to JRB, they are obviously great friends and that showed in the atmosphere between them. Overall an unforgettable fantastic concert with a great selection of Sondheim and JRB songs. |
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| and I gather that no one asked Sondheim, on or off stage, about the Buñuel show? nm | |
| Posted by: ryhog 08:47 pm EDT 06/25/19 | |
| In reply to: Jason Robert Brown / Sondheim Concert - Leon_W 11:03 pm EDT 06/24/19 | |
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| re: definitely not on stage (nmi) | |
| Posted by: ilw 09:24 pm EDT 06/25/19 | |
| In reply to: and I gather that no one asked Sondheim, on or off stage, about the Buñuel show? nm - ryhog 08:47 pm EDT 06/25/19 | |
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| nm | |
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| Wasn't there, very regrettably, but I can add ... | |
| Last Edit: Ann 08:19 am EDT 06/25/19 | |
| Posted by: Ann 08:19 am EDT 06/25/19 | |
| In reply to: Jason Robert Brown / Sondheim Concert - Leon_W 11:03 pm EDT 06/24/19 | |
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| Two albums I really enjoy (I like hearing writers' demos anyway) are Sondheim Sings Vol. 1 and Sondheim Sings Vol. 2 which PS Classics released in 2005. Some of the material is very early and, while he's everything in the world but maybe not a top-class singer, hearing his interpretations gives a lot of insight. I just came across them again recently (de-CDing my life) and was glad to revisit. |
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| re: Wasn't there, very regrettably, but I can add ... | |
| Posted by: Leon_W 08:38 am EDT 06/25/19 | |
| In reply to: Wasn't there, very regrettably, but I can add ... - Ann 08:19 am EDT 06/25/19 | |
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| They talked about whether Sondheim was tempted to publicly perform his own pieces concert style in the past and he made the point that he didn’t enjoy performing but was “always note perfect in my living room”. JRB talked about loving the opportunity to be in the spotlight performing once a month and then walk away without having to do 8 performances a week which is why he is no longer an actor. Kicking myself for misspelling Lin-Manuel’s name in my comments. By the way if like me you like to look at setlistfm.com I will say the list of songs that has been posted right now is partial, hope someone fills in all the gaps. The piece of music of JRB’s that Sondheim reworked was from Parade apparently. |
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| re: Jason Robert Brown / Sondheim Concert | |
| Posted by: lowwriter 11:48 pm EDT 06/24/19 | |
| In reply to: Jason Robert Brown / Sondheim Concert - Leon_W 11:03 pm EDT 06/24/19 | |
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| I don’t agree with your assessment of Katrina Lenk. I loved her singing of Not While I’m Around, Move On with Joshua Henry and Another Life from Bridges. I also thought Lin-Manuel Miranda singing Franklin Shepard Inc with Jason Robin Brown was a great way to start the show. Rob McClure singing I Love Betsy was another high point. They should have kept Jason’s King Kong song for the Broadway show. And yes, hearing Sondheim sing and play Good Thing Going was great. |
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| re: Jason Robert Brown / Sondheim Concert | |
| Posted by: Showtunegal 11:53 am EDT 06/25/19 | |
| In reply to: re: Jason Robert Brown / Sondheim Concert - lowwriter 11:48 pm EDT 06/24/19 | |
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| I have never liked the song The Last Midnight--it always feels stuck in to give the star a big second act song--but I found myself enjoying it last night, for the first time. I agree that Rob McClure's I Love Betsy was another highpoint. And that King Kong number--wow! SO much better than any number in the show currently. I turned to people I had been talking with before the show and we were all like "Whyyyyyy couldn't at least this number have been in?" I wish his was the score to the whole show, in fact. Re Lin-Manuel Miranda, I loved that they gave him the line, usually spoken by the interviewer in the number, "Sounds like you think making money is a bad thing for an artist." !! |
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| re: Jason Robert Brown / Sondheim Concert | |
| Posted by: LynnB 06:19 pm EDT 06/25/19 | |
| In reply to: re: Jason Robert Brown / Sondheim Concert - Showtunegal 11:53 am EDT 06/25/19 | |
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| Yes, it was very smart to give that line to Lin-Manuel Miranda -- and he delivered it perfectly. It got a HUGE laugh. | |
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| re: Jason Robert Brown / Sondheim Concert | |
| Posted by: PaulGrin 12:08 am EDT 06/25/19 | |
| In reply to: re: Jason Robert Brown / Sondheim Concert - lowwriter 11:48 pm EDT 06/24/19 | |
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| I was there tonight as well and agree with you. I was entranced by Katrina Lenk. Her version of Last Midnight was thrilling. It was Jason's idea that she sing that song and I can now imagine she would be a fantastic Witch. | |
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| re: Jason Robert Brown / Sondheim Concert | |
| Posted by: mcurt9 12:32 am EDT 06/25/19 | |
| In reply to: re: Jason Robert Brown / Sondheim Concert - PaulGrin 12:08 am EDT 06/25/19 | |
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| I was there too...i wish betsy wolfe was there singing from L5Y , Katrina was incredible! it was a night ill never forget!!!!! | |
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| re: Jason Robert Brown / Sondheim Concert | |
| Posted by: ItalGuy 04:53 pm EDT 06/25/19 | |
| In reply to: re: Jason Robert Brown / Sondheim Concert - mcurt9 12:32 am EDT 06/25/19 | |
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| Betsy Wolfe was busy belting her face off at the Arts for Autism benefit concert where she sang Meadowlark and was a-ma-zing. | |
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| re: Jason Robert Brown / Sondheim Concert | |
| Posted by: lowwriter 12:17 am EDT 06/25/19 | |
| In reply to: re: Jason Robert Brown / Sondheim Concert - PaulGrin 12:08 am EDT 06/25/19 | |
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| Does anyone know the name of the Brown song that Sondheim wrote harmony for? The one they played together on the piano? I think Lenk might be a good Baker’s Wife. And possibly Dot. |
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| re: "It's Hard to Speak My Heart" from Parade (nmi) | |
| Posted by: ilw 09:08 am EDT 06/25/19 | |
| In reply to: re: Jason Robert Brown / Sondheim Concert - lowwriter 12:17 am EDT 06/25/19 | |
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| nm | |
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| re: Jason Robert Brown / Sondheim Concert | |
| Last Edit: cjmclaughlin10 11:30 pm EDT 06/24/19 | |
| Posted by: cjmclaughlin10 11:26 pm EDT 06/24/19 | |
| In reply to: Jason Robert Brown / Sondheim Concert - Leon_W 11:03 pm EDT 06/24/19 | |
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| I agree that tonight was allot of fun and JRB is a great host. “Good Thing Going” is one of my all time favorite Sondheim songs, so I was thrilled to hear it sung by the master himself. The game JRB and SS played together was kind of fun (JRB gave SS a melody and he had to create a harmony.... I’m not a musician, so someone correct me if I explained the exercise poorly) The other major highlight was Katrina Lenk singing Last Midnight and Nothing’s Going to Harm You Was also fun to see Rob McClure sing “I Love Betsy” Sondheim’s favorite tune from Honeymoon in Vegas. I SOOO wanted Shoshana Bean to sing I’m Not Afraid ( I didn’t notice anything from Songs For a New World) All in all, it was a fun night, but didn’t quite make the magic that the last JRB event at Town Hall did (The Last Five Years) |
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| What Else did Sondheim Play/Sing Besides Good Thing Going? | |
| Posted by: D2025 02:57 am EDT 06/25/19 | |
| In reply to: re: Jason Robert Brown / Sondheim Concert - cjmclaughlin10 11:26 pm EDT 06/24/19 | |
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| Fill us in! | |
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| re: What Else did Sondheim Play/Sing Besides Good Thing Going? | |
| Posted by: ilw 09:17 am EDT 06/25/19 | |
| In reply to: What Else did Sondheim Play/Sing Besides Good Thing Going? - D2025 02:57 am EDT 06/25/19 | |
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| He and JRB played a two-piano accompaniment for Katrina Lenk's singing of "Not While I'm Around." As discussed elsewhere, Sondheim was given a melody in advance of the concert by JRB, for which Sondheim wrote harmonies. During the concert, JRB played his version ("It's Hard to Speak My Heart" from Parade, and then Sondheim played his, which was very different. After hearing JRB's version, Sondheim said something like: "If I knew that was what it sounded like, I wouldn't have written mine." They both talked about how, of the three components of music - melody, harmony, and rhythm - it's the harmony that often distinguishes one composer from another. |
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| re: What Else did Sondheim Play/Sing Besides Good Thing Going? | |
| Posted by: EvFoDr 12:34 pm EDT 06/25/19 | |
| In reply to: re: What Else did Sondheim Play/Sing Besides Good Thing Going? - ilw 09:17 am EDT 06/25/19 | |
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| Does it seem surprising to anyone else that Sondheim had never heard It's Hard To Speak My Heart from Parade in its original form prior to participating in this exercise? I would assume given the pedigree of those involved with Parade (including Hal Prince, Lincoln Center, and the first broadway show an emerging new composer) that Sondheim would have seen the show or listened to the score. Wasn't he a Tony voter then? Regardless, sounds like a fun exercise (I'm an amateur musician and love that sort of thing). I remember in high school stumbling across some Sondheim songs in a big fake book. It was one of my first glimpses into how the melody took on an entirely different life once harmonized. |
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| re: What Else did Sondheim Play/Sing Besides Good Thing Going? | |
| Posted by: dlevy 02:01 pm EDT 06/25/19 | |
| In reply to: re: What Else did Sondheim Play/Sing Besides Good Thing Going? - EvFoDr 12:34 pm EDT 06/25/19 | |
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| I'm sure he heard the song, once, in 1998. Maybe a handful of times since then. I've read (I think in Mark Horowitz's book of interviews with Sondheim) that Steve doesn't generally listen to Broadway music at home and rarely listens to albums more than once, when he first gets them. So I think it's totally reasonable that he didn't remember the song. Hell, I've listened to Parade dozens of times (and seen the show more recently than 1998) and the name doesn't ring a bell with me. |
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| re: What Else did Sondheim Play/Sing Besides Good Thing Going? | |
| Posted by: Seth Christenfeld (tabula-rasa@verizon.net) 02:13 pm EDT 06/25/19 | |
| In reply to: re: What Else did Sondheim Play/Sing Besides Good Thing Going? - dlevy 02:01 pm EDT 06/25/19 | |
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| Hell, I've listened to Parade dozens of times (and seen the show more recently than 1998) and the name doesn't ring a bell with me. It's Leo's statement at the trial, right before the end of Act I. Seth, who pretty much knows that album by heart |
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| re: What Else did Sondheim Play/Sing Besides Good Thing Going? | |
| Posted by: EvFoDr 04:43 pm EDT 06/25/19 | |
| In reply to: re: What Else did Sondheim Play/Sing Besides Good Thing Going? - Seth Christenfeld 02:13 pm EDT 06/25/19 | |
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| I saw the original in 1999, have listened to the album a bunch, and have the sheet music :-) | |
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| Full Set List | |
| Posted by: cjmclaughlin10 10:58 am EDT 06/25/19 | |
| In reply to: re: What Else did Sondheim Play/Sing Besides Good Thing Going? - ilw 09:17 am EDT 06/25/19 | |
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| And highlights, courtesy of Playbill | |
| Link | Playbill Review |
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| re: and the encore was "All Things in Time" (JRB accompanied only by his piano playing) (nmi) | |
| Posted by: ilw 11:30 am EDT 06/25/19 | |
| In reply to: Full Set List - cjmclaughlin10 10:58 am EDT 06/25/19 | |
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| nm | |
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| re: some corrections | |
| Posted by: ilw 11:21 am EDT 06/25/19 | |
| In reply to: Full Set List - cjmclaughlin10 10:58 am EDT 06/25/19 | |
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| "I Love Betsy" sung by Rob McClure should have been listed on the set list. The song from King Kong is called "Nothing's Bigger Than Kong," not "Inconceivable." And it was never used in a production. The "exercise in melody and harmony" was for the song "It's Hard to Speak My Heart" from Parade. The last song was "Wait 'Til You See What's Next," not "What's Next." |
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| Also | |
| Posted by: cjmclaughlin10 11:24 am EDT 06/25/19 | |
| In reply to: re: some corrections - ilw 11:21 am EDT 06/25/19 | |
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| I saw what looked to be professional recording going on in the Balcony. Not sure what purpose it will serve or if it will be released publicly, but I was relieved to see it | |
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| re: Also | |
| Posted by: ilw 11:34 am EDT 06/25/19 | |
| In reply to: Also - cjmclaughlin10 11:24 am EDT 06/25/19 | |
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| All of JRB's SubCulture concerts are recorded, but the only releases so far have been videos of individual songs. | |
| Link | Bonnie Milligan sings |
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| re: Also | |
| Posted by: cjmclaughlin10 11:52 am EDT 06/25/19 | |
| In reply to: re: Also - ilw 11:34 am EDT 06/25/19 | |
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| Good thing Going is the only one I feel like NEEDS to be released Last Midnight, Nothings Gonna Harm You and the updated Parade piece would be nice to have as well |
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| Just read there were rush seats for this event | |
| Posted by: lowwriter 01:36 pm EDT 06/25/19 | |
| In reply to: re: Also - cjmclaughlin10 11:52 am EDT 06/25/19 | |
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| Though I was happy to give to a good cause I saw on Twitter after the fact that rush tickets were available at Town Hall at 5 pm yesterday. | |
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