Anyone catch Six by Sondheim on HBO?- Page 3

[CarlosAlberto]

Posted: 12/11/13 at 1:48pm

DAME it is airing on HBO at 6:30 pm ET, HBO2 at 8:00 pm ET and again this Sunday at 11:45 am. It is also on HBO Go as well.

I haven't been able to see it because of my hectic schedule...I'm going to have to take some time to squeeze in a viewing. It sounds wonderful.

[DAME]

Posted: 12/11/13 at 1:50pm

EXCELLENT. Thank you for the info. This weekend I will be watching this and my Mary Poppins Blu Ray.

[CarlosAlberto]

Posted: 12/11/13 at 1:52pm

You are MOST welcome! That sounds like happy viewing to me. You are going to L-O-V-E the Poppins blu-ray. It is practically perfect in every way!

[HorseTears]

Posted: 12/11/13 at 11:15pm

Caught up on this lovely documentary today. I thought it was lovingly and tastefully created and assembled. I have to agree that I didn't really gain new insight into the artist or his process, but I think you'd need a multi-part series to truly do that. It was good to be reminded that though he is now almost universally regarded as the greatest living theatre composer, during the 70 and early 80s when he was composing the bulk of his work, he often faced indifference and even hostility from both audiences and critics. I'd be very curious to know what those who are not familiar with his work thought of the film.

As for the performances, as lovely as Audra McDonald is, must she be in every damn Broadway-themed television production? Enough already. On top of that, we have to hear yet another over-sung rendition of this tender song?

Opening Doors - Not the biggest Merrily fan and was puzzled by this choice when details of the doc started emerging. However, seeing it in context of the documentary, it was clearly a great choice. LOVED getting to see Sondheim in this number -- though I really think they could have spared 30 minutes more to find a shirt that fit him or is the seinfeld "puffy Pirate shirt" look back in? I loved the trio. Sure, Darren Criss wasn't quite as strong as America and Jeremy, but I still found them charming and they didnt't -- bless them -- oversell it.

I'm Still Here - this was just genius. If you're going to deconstruct a song, do it all out, not like that tepid Audra/Will Swenson performance (which was filmed at Lamps Plus?). I'd forgotten Jarvis Cocker was involved. I'm a big Pulp fan -- my favorite Britpop band after Bluhhhh -- but when Jarvis started in with his usual impish, rubber-band-man stage persona I got worried. But, the jazzy arrangement was really interesting and the introduction of the women was a total stunner. What marvelous actresses each of them was. So emotive and yet so subtle without saying a word. This made me want to see a full film of deconstructed Sondheim songs. Well, only if a director as talented as Todd Haynes is involved.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 12/11/13 at 11:36pm

"As for the performances, as lovely as Audra McDonald is, must she be in every damn Broadway-themed television production?"

Yes, she must.

[HorseTears]

Posted: 12/11/13 at 11:57pm

Must she, really? I can't look at her without thinking of a PBS pledge drive now.

For those truly puzzled by Jarvis Cocker, you might remember his wonderful vocal contribution to Wes Anderson's 'Fantastic Mr. Fox' film, but I think the best introduction to him is with the wonderfully theatrical 'This is Hardcore', an absolute triumph and one of my grandmother's favorite songs.








THIS IS HARDCORE -- (the best Pulp song) Updated On: 12/12/13 at 11:57 PM

[darquegk]

Posted: 12/12/13 at 12:17am

I find it interesting that nowadays, we see Jarvis Cocker-esque figures, or figures based around Jarvis Cocker (the cocky 1990s Britpop rocker who has faded from the spotlight) far more than we actually see Jarvis Cocker. Charlie on LOST, Aldous Snow in Get Him To The Greek, and Atticus Fetch on Californication are all allegedly inspired by Cocker.

[KathyNYC2]

Posted: 12/12/13 at 7:17am

Just watched it last night..and loved it. I obviously didn't know as much as Sondheim as many here so I learned a lot about the man. I knew he didn't really have a great relationship with his family and that The Oscar Hammerstein family was really his family...but hearing his talk about his mother and what she said to him before surgery was heartbreaking.

Loved the mix of his professional and personal lives - which made him who is it today and how he became the professional he became.

All the songs were interesting but I will always have a special spot in anything from Company and I have the DVD of the original cast of Company making the recording - but I could never get tired of watching Dean Jones sing Being Alive.

I need to DVR it again and save it..it was worth more than one watch.

[CarlosAlberto]

Posted: 12/12/13 at 11:54am

I watched it last night. I lost myself for 90 full minutes of pure Sondheim. There were some wonderful performances. I loved the I'm Still Here deconstruct and I especially loved all the material from Merrily We Roll Along. I was sort of on the fence with Audra's interpretation of Send in the Clowns...she really brought nothing new to the song and I found the YouTube mash-up far more interesting.

Oh, and I have to hand it to Sondheim...he bagged himself a nice looking fella at 60. I'm impressed. Kudos to him. Hope they are very happy together.

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 12/12/13 at 2:30pm

I plan on getting the DVD, but *coff* does anyone know where to find this online (HBOGo doesn't work in Canada.) I'm surprised it hasn't shown up on torrent sites yet, given all the good press it's gotten.

[HorseTears]

Posted: 12/12/13 at 4:46pm

@EricMontreal22: Have you considered a free or low cost service like TunnelBear or TuneIr? I'm probably going to bite the bullet on one of those services so that I can watch UK programming (like the BBC iPlayer) from the US.


More on all of the proxy services, IP address switchers, VPN networks etc. available.

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 12/12/13 at 8:02pm

I loved every moment of every clip of Sondheim speaking. Even though I'd heard the stories and theories before, I could listen to them again every day or two.

And I loved seeing the Larry Kert and Dean Jones numbers again, as well as all the archive footage.

Otherwise, I didn't know what the hell James Lapine was trying to accomplish--which isn't unusual.

[Matt Rogers]

Posted: 12/12/13 at 8:32pm

Does anyone know if there are airings planned for this weekend?

[indytallguy]

Posted: 12/12/13 at 9:46pm

If you Google HBG Six by Sondheim there will be a link on the HBO site that gives its future airings.

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 12/13/13 at 7:02am

Oh, and I actually fast-forwarded through most of "I'm Still Here". The idea of such an unusual rendition SEEMS like a good idea; after all, we've all heard numerous theatrical divas sing it straight.

But the version in the doc was like fingernails on a chalkboard.

[StageStruckLad]

Posted: 12/13/13 at 8:57am

I'm especially fascinated by that footage from Gypsy, which was advertised as "recently discovered." I would love to know how much more there is. Loved seeing her bump and grind through "Rose's Turn."

And for those who share my fascination with Merman as Rose, there used to be a clip online of her singing "Everything's Coming Up Roses" in costume at Madison Square Garden for some JFK event in 1960 (she arrived late and didn't have time to change out of her costume). It's probably the closest we'll ever get to seeing her perform that song as she did in the show. The clip used to be online at some official JFK site, but I can't find it now.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 12/13/13 at 9:33am

It was JFK's Inaugural Ball. She was the only one not in formal attire. I've seen lots of pictures but never any film.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 12/13/13 at 9:43am

Correction: It was not the Inaugural Ball. It was lat at night, the night before the Inauguration, January 198-19, 1961.

First, there was a serious concert at 8 PM in honor of Eleanor Roosevelt at Convention Hall.

Then selected guests moved on the National Guard Armory, where Kennedy's brother-in-law Peter Lawford had organized a show that included performances by Leonard Bernstein, Ella Fitzgerald, Harry Belafonte, Bette Davis, Louis Prima, Keely Smith and Sir Laurence Olivier. Frank Sinatra sang “That Old JACK Magic" and, at the new president's request, Ethel Merman sang “Everything’s Coming Up Roses."

[StageStruckLad]

Posted: 12/13/13 at 10:21am

Thanks for the info, PalJoey. It looks like the video was on this site, but it got removed. Hopefully it's still out there somewhere.
Kennedy Inaugural Gala

[PalJoey]

Posted: 12/13/13 at 10:59pm

Finally caught up with it. So moving and exhilarating.

[Hex3]

Posted: 12/13/13 at 11:16pm

Still so upset that I wasn't able to catch this. Again, if anyone has any idea how some one outside of the US can watch this, throw an old girl a bone.

[binau]

Posted: 12/13/13 at 11:22pm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LejtDwoY1bY

Posted: 12/14/13 at 6:58am

qolbinau, right now you're my favourite person in the whole world... thank you

[artscallion]

Posted: 12/14/13 at 7:45am

I was leery. But I really enjoyed "I'm Still Here"
It seems like the kind of thing Sondheim would have loved too. He's said that he's a big fan of people reinterpreting his songs.

The rest of the show was amazing. "Being Alive" made my night. Love Audra. But as someone said, she brought nothing new or remarkable to "Send in the Clowns" I suspect that's why they tried to make it interesting with the fade in/out business. They failed.

[PalJoey]

Posted: 12/14/13 at 8:14am

The morning after, the things Sondheim said about Oscar Hammerstein are still resonating in my mind and heart. What a gift that man gave him--and without that gift, Sondheim probably would not have been able to give us the gifts he has given us.

The "I'm Still Here" was a worthless reimagining. It brought nothing to the song or the lyrics or the documentary and could easily be cut from future presentations, which chould be re-titled "Five by Sondheim." I will certainly be fast-forwarding past it next time I watch it.