Yes, it's extremely dark; yes, the score is harsh and visceral; yes, it says some very sad things about human nature... but for goodness sake, it's an artistic statement! And a brilliant one at that, which viscerally connects you with the humanity of the characters!
Also, it's not like it's Sarah Kane! No one's getting their eyeballs sucked out in ADDING MACHINE! These folks seem to be afraid of something that really grabs you by the throat, and they&
A question: I've been going through the lyric for "Love's a Bond," from Sondheim's 1954 musical SATURDAY NIGHT, and I can't quite make out a line in the last section.
"And darling, have you heard A rise in stocks has just occurred! If CANNOT TELL dark, it Will soon flood the market..."
I'm asking if someone knows here because, bizarrely, the section is not printed in Sondheim's Finishing the Hat, and is not included as an Oversig
A priceless bit from Adam Feldman: "Ricky, by the way, reveals himself to be Jewish when the gang is booked at an orthodox Jewish wedding (“I’s chosen, yo&rdquo, leading to the musical’s nadir: a mortifying Jewish-themed rap that turns into a call-and-response session with the audience. “When I say matzo, you say balls!” he yells into the crowd. &ldqu
ASPECTS OF LOVE was freaking terrible, but Colson was much more charming and skillful than the role deserved. He did the part well enough, in fact, that I immediately felt sad when I heard the news.
"EXCLUSIVE: The rumors are true. Charles Isherwood, the influential theater critic who’s been at the New York Times since 2004, has left the paper, a person familiar with the situation said."
Honestly, I've always thought "Rose's Turn," and GYPSY, were overrated: we all know about "stage mothers" and what they're like at this point, so GYPSY, to me, is just two-and-a-half hours of a now-tired idea.
And "Satisfied" at #7? (pause) REALLY? Forget that it's just not a very well-constructed song (it builds to a climax so thunderingly obvious, you keep waiting for something more): NUMBER SEVEN?
To those naming ASPECTS OF LOVE as a favorite: please explain, I'd genuinely like to know why. Because I don't understand how *anyone* could say that: yes, the score is lovely, but the story is completely ridiculous (everyone jumps into bed with everyone on a dime!) and pretty much all the characters are horrible human beings. It's a show that's hilariously awful - but awful it is.
Ah, okay, here it is: Edward Albee mentioned it during his Academy of Achievement interview:
"Do you know that wonderful story about Bernard Shaw? That when he got into his 90s -- I hope it's true -- he was reading one of his earlier plays one day, and he was having trouble understanding it. So, he rewrote it and simplified it so he could understand it. They had to take his work away from him because he was doing that. [Laughter] It might have helped some of them."
I wanted to do a fact-check here, to see if I'm right:
As I remember it, when George Bernard Shaw got into his 90's, he lost the ability to understand the finer points of his plays - and he then decided, Well, that's how it must be for everyone! So he went back to "simplify" his plays, but his friends stopped him.
Is this right? And if it is, can someone give a source for that?
Fun fact: Before Albee's big break in Germany with THE ZOO STORY, he dated a musician named Bill Flanagan - who was friends with Charles Strouse. The three would hang out and drink together, and Albee showed Strouse THE ZOO STORY, when it was still handwritten.
Strouse: "...years later, when I first saw WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF? I couldn't help but notice that the dialogue sounded very much like the way all of us had talked back in the days when we all h
, leading to the musical’s nadir: a mortifying Jewish-themed rap that turns into a call-and-response session with the audience. “When I say matzo, you say balls!” he yells into the crowd. &ldqu
