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| Thinking of our beloved (so very much so) Stephen Sondheim this day... | |
| Posted by: stryker94109 04:12 pm EST 11/26/22 | |
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| on this, the one-year anniversary of his sudden death. My first show was his "Company", at San Francisco's Curran Theatre, in September, 1971, with George Chakiris and Elaine Stritch, at age 16. And yes, I was CHANGED FOR LIFE!!!!!!!! How about YOUR first Sondheim show?? |
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| I was a late arrival | |
| Posted by: Ann 11:02 am EST 11/27/22 | |
| In reply to: Thinking of our beloved (so very much so) Stephen Sondheim this day... - stryker94109 04:12 pm EST 11/26/22 | |
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| "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum" - my first live Sondheim show, first Broadway show, on my first visit to New York City, at age 42, in 1996. I was emerging from a theatre void period in my life, awakened by the theatre people I met on the Tonys forum (soon to be continued here the following year). My life certainly was changed, and this led to 50 or so trips since. I still have not seen any version of Saturday Night or Road Show. |
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| re: Thinking of our beloved (so very much so) Stephen Sondheim this day... | |
| Posted by: portenopete 08:34 am EST 11/27/22 | |
| In reply to: Thinking of our beloved (so very much so) Stephen Sondheim this day... - stryker94109 04:12 pm EST 11/26/22 | |
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| My first was the (second?) national tour of Sweeney Todd at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa with June Havoc and Ross Petty in March 1982. My most cherished was the Donmar Warehouse Company in December 1995 sitting in the front row about five feet from Adrian Lester delivering the most gut-busting performance and being sexy as hell. Close runners-up include the Donmar Merrily and the Menier Merrily and Assassins. Oh, and my first Gypsy: the Laurents 1989 revival at the St. James with Linda Lavin. (The Chichester Sweeney with Staunton and Ball was pretty dope, too.) I'll stop now :). Thank you, Stephen. |
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| re: Thinking of our beloved (so very much so) Stephen Sondheim this day... | |
| Posted by: WaymanWong 09:01 pm EST 11/26/22 | |
| In reply to: Thinking of our beloved (so very much so) Stephen Sondheim this day... - stryker94109 04:12 pm EST 11/26/22 | |
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| The first professional musical I ever saw was ''Pacific Overtures,'' which played the Curran in San Francisco, with the 1976 Broadway cast! The first show I ever saw on Broadway was ''Sweeney Todd,'' starring the legendary Angela Lansbury and Len Cariou, at the Uris Theatre. And thus began my lifelong love affair with Sondheim's shows ... and even a lifetime correspondence with this genius and gentleman. |
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| Link | Talkin' Broadway: Side by Side With Sondheim - My Favorite Stories About Steve |
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| re: "How about YOUR first Sondheim show??" | |
| Posted by: Dale 08:35 pm EST 11/26/22 | |
| In reply to: Thinking of our beloved (so very much so) Stephen Sondheim this day... - stryker94109 04:12 pm EST 11/26/22 | |
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| Not really a "Sondheim show" since someone else writes the book but my first experience was "Gypsy" with Angela Lansbury at St Louis' Muny Opera in 1974. Bonnie Langford was Baby June and when I met her a few years ago she was still in touch with Ms Lansbury. Oddly enough the next theater event for me in St Louis was "Follies" in 2016 with a fine cast ( Bradley Dean, Emily Skinner, etc ). My other half worked for Steve ( plus Hal, Ruth & Flossie ) so had the chance to meet him at parties and wedding receptions but what would I have said? |
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| re: Thinking of our beloved (so very much so) Stephen Sondheim this day... | |
| Posted by: EvFoDr 08:04 pm EST 11/26/22 | |
| In reply to: Thinking of our beloved (so very much so) Stephen Sondheim this day... - stryker94109 04:12 pm EST 11/26/22 | |
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| My grandma was an actress and I remember going to pick her up from rehearsals from a community production of Follies. I was very young, no idea about Sondheim, but I remember these bleacher like things on stage representing the type of staircase you see in a follies show. And the word "loveland" stuck with me. My grandparents took me to many local shows, including Gypsy and West Side Story. But my first professional Sondheim was the original tour of Into the Woods. I was around 14 and it was the perfect way for me to be introduced as a young person. First Broadway was the original cast of Passion...honestly the first one I was old enough to get to New York to see. I was a broke college student and charged the trip on my credit card. Soooo glad I did since it ended up being his last new Broadway musical! |
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| re: Thinking of our beloved (so very much so) Stephen Sondheim this day... | |
| Posted by: AlanScott 05:45 pm EST 11/26/22 | |
| In reply to: Thinking of our beloved (so very much so) Stephen Sondheim this day... - stryker94109 04:12 pm EST 11/26/22 | |
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| My first was Company at the theatre then still known as the Alvin, Wednesday matinee in July 1970. Original cast except for Kert having replaced Jones. My favorite three experiences: Follies at the Winter Garden. Sweeney Todd with Cariou and Lansbury, most of all at the amazing, shattering last performance with the two of them, when Cariou completely broke down during the final "Barber and His Wife." Sunday in the Park With George the one time I saw it with my favorite George-Dot/Marie pair: Harry Groener and Maryann Plunkett. Very honorable mention: Merrily We Roll Along the two-and-a-half times I saw it closing week (after having seen it four-and-a-half times earlier in the run). So many other great experiences. |
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| re: Thinking of our beloved (so very much so) Stephen Sondheim this day... | |
| Posted by: TheOtherOne 07:47 am EST 11/27/22 | |
| In reply to: re: Thinking of our beloved (so very much so) Stephen Sondheim this day... - AlanScott 05:45 pm EST 11/26/22 | |
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| The first show of his I saw was also “Company” at the Alvin, though on a Saturday matinee with John Cunningham going on for Larry Kert as Bobby. I was already familiar with him due to the cast recordings and/or soundtracks of “West Side Story,” “Gypsy” and “Do I Hear A Waltz?” Now that I think of it, I saw WSS at the NY State Theater some time before seeing “Company,” but of course he did not compose that. |
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| re: Thinking of our beloved (so very much so) Stephen Sondheim this day... | |
| Posted by: Charlie_Baker 04:27 pm EST 11/26/22 | |
| In reply to: Thinking of our beloved (so very much so) Stephen Sondheim this day... - stryker94109 04:12 pm EST 11/26/22 | |
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| Of course I knew the name from the movies of Gypsy and West Side Story--I was a credit reader, even as a kid. I saw the cast of Side by Side on a TV talk show (Mike Douglas?) and couldn't get enough of the cast album thereafter. Then it was a regional production of A Little Night Music. First Broadway exposure, the original production of Sweeney Todd with Mr. Cariou and our beloved Ms. Lansbury. | |
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| re: Thinking of our beloved (so very much so) Stephen Sondheim this day... | |
| Posted by: scoot1er 04:26 pm EST 11/26/22 | |
| In reply to: Thinking of our beloved (so very much so) Stephen Sondheim this day... - stryker94109 04:12 pm EST 11/26/22 | |
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| Mine were the original productions of West Side Story then Gypsy. They absolutely knocked me out. The first all-Sondheim was the original production of Forum. I laughed until my face hurt. And I was hooked. |
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| re: Thinking of our beloved (so very much so) Stephen Sondheim this day... | |
| Posted by: standingO 05:12 pm EST 11/26/22 | |
| In reply to: re: Thinking of our beloved (so very much so) Stephen Sondheim this day... - scoot1er 04:26 pm EST 11/26/22 | |
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| Mine was the mixed bag known as Putting It Together with Carol Burnett. I loved seeing her but overall a pretty meh event. I had loved his music from Dick Tracy. And many years later, the John Doyle’s Company started my reintroduction to Sondheim. (The 2000s Broadway productions of Assassins and Sweeney Todd may have technically come first but Company opened the door). |
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| re: Thinking of our beloved (so very much so) Stephen Sondheim this day... | |
| Posted by: Snowgrace 01:08 pm EST 11/27/22 | |
| In reply to: re: Thinking of our beloved (so very much so) Stephen Sondheim this day... - standingO 05:12 pm EST 11/26/22 | |
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| The first I ever saw & heard was the original cast of A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC (!!!!!!!)...then was lucky to see the original cast of SWEENEY TODD...but first fell 2000 leagues deeply in love with this genius a few years later when my high school music teacher played Sarah in a faculty production of COMPANY & I played the OBC album over & over & over again...& the touchstone/most eloquent soundtrack to my life was laid in place forever. | |
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| re: Thinking of our beloved (so very much so) Stephen Sondheim this day... | |
| Last Edit: lordofspeech 05:24 pm EST 11/27/22 | |
| Posted by: lordofspeech 05:22 pm EST 11/27/22 | |
| In reply to: re: Thinking of our beloved (so very much so) Stephen Sondheim this day... - Snowgrace 01:08 pm EST 11/27/22 | |
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| I saw the original COMPANY. IT WAS JUST SO BOLD, so brassy, and Robert’s aloneness was so touching. Of course La Stritch’s scene near the end and the deeply vulnerable Susan Browning were superb. And the songs were electrifying. And the orchestrations…the piano-bar-accordion-modern world of the piece was different from any musical I’d ever heard. And then there was A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC, which was a little too sophisticated for me (I just didn’t know enough about wives withholding sex from husbands to understand the central storyline/triangle). But Patricia Elliot’s work was quintessential Sondheim, combining tragedy with poised archness. Heartbreaking. She was a lesson in acting. And, of course, A Weekend in the Country did everything. And then FOLLIES, which shocked the heck out of me; the mixed notices had not prepared me for the genius of the Loveland sequence and of the two remarkable leading ladies. Loved it. |
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