http://www.talkinbroadway.com/alltha...php?id=1848424
Review roundup of 20 reviews of Sondheim on Sonheim -
6 "pro", 14 "mixed"

Doug, I agree with you about Barbara Cook. She can do no wrong. Unfortunately, there was not enough of her perfection (singing, that is) in the show!
Ben Brantley's mixed review in the Times closely matches ours.
Brantley was right on target when he referred the show as "a chipper, haphazard anthology," and then later added, "...this somewhat jittery production never quite finds a sustained tone, a natural rhythm or even a logical sense of sequence." That pretty much sums up one of our main criticisms of the show........that, plus the desire for more singing and less talking.

Just saw "Sondheim on Sondheim" today. I am surprised to say that I really enjoyed it. (dh did not)

Here's why I was surprised:
I went with low expectations because of friends' comments and what I had read. I am not a huge Sondheim fan - I think I prefer his lyrics to some of his music. I like a lot of his stuff; I don't like all of it. Some of it I dislike.

What I liked: I liked the format and staging, the cast was very good. I enjoyed hearing his stories (in all fairness, I love artists' background stories). Seeing Barbara Cook was a real treat, but I enjoyed all of the performers. (Fantastic seats were an extra plus).

Criticism? Sure:
Too long, not enough of the well-loved songs were sung, but all-in-all, I enjoyed it. To me it's a revue, not a play and I'm glad I saw it.

Sorry, but I didn't have time to come back and write about this over the weekend. While I pretty much agree with HowardR about the production's unevenness, I also loved the show and though it was both a fascinating glimpse into Stephen Sondheim's life and work as well as an enjoyable night in the theater. For me, seeing Vanessa Williams and Barbara Cook was worth the time and cost, but like Centralparkgirl, I also enjoyed all the performers.

Barbara Cook is a legend and a national treasure; she's forgotten more about singing than most of the so-called singers these days will ever know, and very few of them will have a successful, 60-year career and sound in some ways better in their early 80s than in their early years. Her rendition of Fosca's song "I Read" from Passion was truly beautiful. And I always love hearing her sing "In Buddy's Eyes" (in truth, I can't imagine anyone else signing it so well, but I was stunned at how much I enjoyed Vanessa Williams's rendition of "Losing My Mind."

Not everything worked. That much is true. But I found myself transfixed at almost every turn. For me it was one of the highlights of the season so far. Granted, I'm a huge Sondheim fan, so you have to take that into account. But if you can see this show, I'd recommend you jump at the chance.

We saw God of Carnage Friday night, and really enjoyed it.

Saw Race Saturday afternoon and loved it.

Saw Lend Me a Tenor Saturday night and thought it was cute, but no more.

abram, we were at Lend Me a Tenor Saturday night too! Didn't realize you were going to the same show.

DH & I enjoyed it, though we didn't laugh as hard as some of the other audience members. I thought the 2nd act was better than the first. My favorite actors in the show were Anthony LaPaglia and Jan Maxwell.

God of Carnage is closing.

Promises, Promises review -
http://theater.nytimes.com/2010/04/2...6promises.html

Pretty much saying what I said after opening (preview) night.
I wish it weren't so. I wish I enjoyed it more, but...didn't. "Tepid" is a good word. I will be surprised if it does well after Sean Hayes and Kristen Chenoweth move on.

Terry Teachout did not like Promises Promises either:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...514792712.html

30 minutes into Glee with Kristen Chenoweth singing Burt Bacharach and I swear I'm enjoying it more than Promises, Promises.

I find that more than a little sad.

<< but I was stunned at how much I enjoyed Vanessa Williams's rendition of "Losing My Mind." >>

That number was incredibly moving!

Loved Million Dollar Quartet even though it was before my time. Got seats 2 days before show...had 1 single in orchestra and 2 together in Mezzanine row FF. Took the Mezz. The day of the show 4 others from our bus waited an hour in the TKTS line and got 4 seats together in 5th row.
How did that happen? Did a volcano stranded traveler not make it and called...? the Mezzanine seats were fine especially row FF because we had lots of leg room while the other rows had less leg room than an airplane seat!

Fifth Row is usually "house seats" held for cast, producers, etc, rather than sold to the public. If those seats are not claimed by the day of the performance then they are released. Getting great seats like that last minute is not at all unusual, but it's never anything you can count on.

Finally having a reason to chime in here. I've never been a Sondheim fan until now. I thought the show was fabulous. I've seen quite a bit of his stuff, loved some, hated others and now I realize there are shows I need to see.

In addition to the excellent cast, I actually loved the documentary interludes and the placement of the orchestra and the set. (NOTE - I would not recommend this show at all to folks who come to NYC to see Mamma Mia for the 14th time or Phantom for the umpteenth time). It really is 50 years of parallel Broadway history. Personally, I love leaving the theatre singing the songs and as Sondheim himself pointed out Send in the Clowns was his only "hit" but his music and lyrics were always understandable, hummable and they brought along the story line.

(NOTE - for all of you with American Express stock, I used my last Traveler's Cheque for the experience. Am EX has made quite a profit from the float on the check all these years - I honestly have NO idea when I bought that check - no more profits from my cheques)

Sue - I thought they mentioned more than once in the show that his critics always complained that his songs weren't hummable. The cast even did a number about that.

They mentioned it several times - sang about it - he also said it and I said - but I used to dislike his stuff for just that reason.

We saw Lend Me a Tenor last Friday and totally enjoyed it. Wonderful, easy acting and thoroughly entertaining two hours. Saw Promises, Promises on Saturday night. While musical numbers and sets were very nice, the show did not live up to our expectations. It was a bit too long and a bit dull.

Today's Times (Saturday) - has an interesting article by Holden about Sondheim - his career - his approach to the musical and what his stuff is all about. Good reading for those who have not yet seen the show - and for those who have.

I saw "Come Fly Away" on Saturday. Fortunately, it was a matinee and I was out of there shortly before the evacuation! If you like Sinatra and dance, this is the show for you. I thoroughly enjoyed all of it including the 18 piece band and the vocalist. The eight lead dancers were terrific.

Wish we could go to NYC to see Come Fly Away! We're not big Sinatra fans but we did use that song as our "first dance" on our wedding. :)

Lend me an historian! Was "Send in the Clowns" not written for someone without huge vocal range? Angela Lansbury or Elizabeth Taylor pop up as names. Glad to hear someone is doing that wonderful song justice.

DH and I saw "Looped" in DC last year. Again with the historian, how many folks remember Ms. Bankhead? Valerie did a super job.

Discussed in the show...
"Send In The Clowns"
The show's best-known and Sondheim's biggest hit song was almost an afterthought, written several days before the start of out of town tryouts.[18] Sondheim initially conceived Desiree as a role for a more-or-less non-singing actress. When he discovered that the original Desiree, Glynis Johns, was able to sing (she had a "small, silvery voice") but could not "sustain a phrase", he devised the song "Send in the Clowns" for her in a way that would work around her vocal weakness, e.g., by ending lines with consonants that made for a short cut-off.[19] "It is written in short phrases in order to be acted rather than sung...tailor-made for Glynis Johns, who lacks the vocal power to sustain long phrases."[20]
(from Wiki)

Isn't everyone on Fodors too young to remember Ms. Bankhead? I thought Valerie Harper did a great job too!

When my daughter was a child, when she got a cold and had a deep, raspy voice, she called it, "Getting the Tallulahs."

I'm too young! Well, not really but I came to "know" her from re-runs of movies and "I Love Lucy". Was not born when she was on stage.

starrs: thanks for Glynis Johns' name. I AM too old to automagically go to the web for info.

abram: how did your daughter know Tallulah?

Tony nominations are out. Is it just me, or are there a lot of movie/tv actors nominated for performances that have gotten less than sterling reviews?

http://www.tonyawards.com/en_US/nomi...mo=email050410

I'm excited about the nominees. :-)

TDusette, that's an interesting question--but I don't know the answer!

Here's an article from People. It seems they would say "yes" to the number and "no" to the less than sterling -
http://www.people.com/people/article...365991,00.html

TC, I'm curious who you are referring to. Looking at the best actor in a play category, for examples, the five nominees--Jude Law, Alfred Molina, Liev Schreiber, Christopher Walken and Denzel Washington--all received sterling reviews. Then, take the five actresses nominated--Viola Davis, Valerie Harper, Linda Lavin, Laura Linney and Jan Maxwell. Again, all received glowing reviews.
The only two nominees that MIGHT fit your description are possibly Catherine Zeta-Jones and Sean Hayes in the musical categories. I certainly wouldn't categorize two as "a lot." Further, to disprove the theory, please note the absence of two of the biggest stars on Broadway this season from the list of nominees--Daniel Craig and Hugh Jackman!

Oh Howard, you love to take me to task. Maybe I was thinking more of the plays than the specific performance which is unfair of me, since the nominations are for acting (with or without a good vehicle - maybe in spite of). The nominations just seemed crammed with TV/movie actors. Could say more about Broadway casting than about Tony noms. And who do you predict as winners, so I might do more planning for my May theater week?

abram; what was her age group, dahling?

Interesting challenge, TC. I think this is the most wide-open Tony competition in years. The only sure winner is Angela Lansbury as best supporting actress in a musical. Otherwise, they are pretty much wide-open races.
My predictions? (Note that I rarely make an out-and-out single prediction! It was that kind of a year!)
Best play--Next Fall or Red
Best musical--American Idiot or Fela
Best revival or a play--A View from the Bridge or Fences
Best revival of a musical--La Cage aux Folles
Best actor in a play--Liev Schreiber or Denzel Washington
Best actress in a play--Viola Davis or Linda Lavin
Best actor in a musical--Douglas Hodge
Best actress in a musical--I have no idea!
Another unique aspect of this year's nominations is that one of the individuals cited for best music is Bradford Marsalis for Fences, which is NOT a musical!

<< Best actress in a musical--I have no idea!>>

Kate Baldwin or Sherie Rene Scott

Saw 'Collected Stories' tonight - not as sharp as I hoped it would be.

Award competitions in the arts, in general, seem to lose more importance each year - for me.

TDudette, she's 36.
Last September, we visited her in Atlanta and went to the Tallulah Falls, after which the actress was named.

"Maybe I was thinking more of the plays than the specific performance which is unfair of me, since the nominations are for acting (with or without a good vehicle - maybe in spite of)."

Huh? Now I'm even more confused. So you're suggesting those "poor vehicles" like Hamlet, Fences, and A View from the Bridge" aren't really very good plays?

abram: She must have watched re-runs.

There is a wonderful "Lucy" show with the two of them. One of the hour-longs after they moved to Connecticut.

In case anyone is interested, the PBS show Maria Hinojosa: One-on-One episode tonight features Lin-Manuel Miranda from In the Heights. http://www.wgbh.org/programs/program...m?programid=12

Interestingly, in the news today was the fact that the new Supreme Court nominee is a grad of Hunter College HS. They mentioned repeatedly that Cynthia Nixon is a grad too. But they didn't mention that Lin-Manuel Miranda, Robert Lopez (Avenue Q) and my ds are also grads. Miranda was also a sub there until he made it with In the Heights.

CPG: If you haven't seen Dr. Knock staged by The Mint Org.
do go.
WSJ'S Terry Teachout gave a huge positive review of it in
the 5/11 Metro New York pages. Normally he does not
give his total blessing.
Chagrined to admit I had not heard of this cute little
org. right in the theatre district & really loved the play.