variety.com: The Tony-winning Broadway icon Bernadette Peters has long been considered one of the foremost performers of composer Stephen Sondheim‘s work. But as Peters revealed in the latest episode of “Stagecraft,” Variety‘s theater podcast, it wasn’t quite love at first sight when she initially performed his tunes. It was more like love at second sight.
5 comments:
Okay. I would pay SO much money to see Bernadette Peters as Sweeney Todd. Or Mrs. Lovett, to be honest. It’s really heartwarming to hear how fondly she talks about his work and how much she enjoyed being a part of it. I definitely agree that Sondheim is a sort of musical Shakespeare; the language and style and everything about his work is so original, distinctive, and beautiful. Especially when we talk about Shakespeare as “aerobic acting” because of all the physical work and breath control involved even just in speaking the words––obviously musicals can already be much more intensive because there’s singing and dancing, but Sondheim has an additional challenge from the verbosity and unique patterns of the songs. And I definitely do think of Bernadette Peters herself as a sort of quintessential Stephen Sondheim actress. She’s absolutely iconic in Into the Woods, Sunday in the Park With George, and, well, everything she’s ever done.
I agree with Bernadette Peters about Sondheim being our Shakespeare. While I enjoy Shakespeare's plays, they are what shaped the way language has been treated in theatre. I’m an enjoyer of musicals, but I most enjoy Sondheim musicals, because he had a way with his lyrics. He created his language, much like Shakespeare, and taught us to take care of the words we sing and say in musicals. Sondheim was brilliant and I wish I could go back in time and see Bernadette Peters in Sunday in the Park with George. I also would love to see her as Sweeney Todd in Sweeney Todd the Musical. I think that would be such a fun twist on an already pretty twisted musical. I’m excited to watch our production of A Little Night Music next week because it’s been a while since I’ve seen a Sondheim and I know the music will move me like it has every time before.
Because I am in Thetaer I think people would hand me from a tree if I said I don’t really like Sondheim. So it was oddly comforting to hear that an actress who is known for performing his work sort of felt the same way at first. I always have found it interesting to see who and what society deems as “genius” so I am always skeptical of the people, writers, performers, or even directors who everybody says are amazing. I think it is really easy to go into a lot of their work with too high expectations. And while I have come to appreciate and love of lot of that type of work I think it is perfectly okay to need to learn how to grow into it, to begin to understand it as you have spent more time with it. I think the expectation that you have to fall in love with people's work is ridiculous and I just appreciate that this article sort of talks about that.
My first impression of Stephen Sondheim and Berdinette Peters are both combined in the beauty that is Into The Woods. Since then I, like so many, have seen more and more of both of these people’s work, and have held it close to the heart. Even without knowing every Sondheim show to have been produced, simple knowing two or three is enough to understand why a Sondheim score is a daunting challenge. And the man has such range in what type of stories he tells! Sometimes I forget that the same man who did Into The Woods also did Sweeney Todd. From a fairy tale to a demon barber. There’s definitely an argument to be made for Sondheim to be considered our Shakespeare. First, they both created many pieces of work for the stage that have been seen and loved by many. They both are known for complex work and brilliance, and they both left a lasting impression on theatre. And last, they both have long names that start with S. However, Shakespeare has since been turned into a public education student’s nightmare. His work gets studied in a medium not originally intended, by students without the appreciation or patience to understand his work. So in this regard, I hope Sondheim’s legacy does not follow in Shakespeare’s path.
Ive never particularly thought about comparing Sondheim and Shakespeare however it does make quite some sense when I think about the broad facts. Sondheim has such a specific style and is almost instantly recognizable when it comes to hearing a piece written by him. This is very similar to Shakespeare as one can almost always immediately tell when Shakespeare has written something. I think the other unique thing about Sondheim and Shakespeare is that they each have very large canon where a lot of their works are largely successful. Every theatre person I know has their favorite Shakespeare’s and their favorite Sondheim’s. I think another good comparison between the two is how wordy both of them are and how obsessed with Rhythm they both are. Although I think calling Sondheim, Shakespeare might be a bit of a stretch now, just cause his musicals are so recent, I think that if his musicals truly stand the test of time then he very well could be. Only time will tell.
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