In Sondheim & Co., Paul Gemignani , Sondheim's long-time musical director, had this to say about the art of musical direction:

“The musical director of a show does far more than conduct the orchestra. One of the musical director's functions is to make sure the actors retain their characterizations night after night. You must develop a fairly close relationship with the people on the stage because ultimately you are the one who's in charge once the curtain goes up, regardless of whether the stage manager is c calling cues or keeping the show running from the back.

“You must keep the pace going with the actors. It's almost as though you're a performer and it's very important that you feel that you are part of the performance so that you can maintain a keen level of concentration. I may not look at the show every minute, but I listen to it all the time because the actors will do it differently every night and the only way to keep it cohesive is to feel their rhythms. A song might be in one tempo one night and a little faster or a little slower the next. Each scene has its own rhythm and if the rhythm should be down one night you may be able to help them pick it up a little bit, to get their energy up if they're tired.”

For Sondheim in September, we have a different musical director for each night and as well as having to take care of all of the above, the format of the series presents a whole different set of challenges. By definition the rehearsal opportunities will be limited and it demands a very special kind of musician to be able to tune in to over 30 different performers and 20 different numbers in quick succession. To make all the numbers work as intended. To make all the performers feel confident. To keep them all on track. To keep the music moving forward and not let the energy of one song bleed into the next. And as if that wasn't enough, we are talking about Sondheim here. The purely physical demands of playing two solid hours of Sondheim with NO BREAK - sobering. I think like all the performers in the series it was, to a certain extent, the sheer madness of this idea that made our stable of MDs agree to the challenge.

We have gathered probably the three best MDs in the city for this kind of thing. Having auditioned, or performed, with all of them I can honestly say that it wasn't until we had ALL THREE signed up that I knew we had a shot at something great.

When you audition, professionally, for a large role and you don't have your own pianist with you, there are a few seconds after you step into the room and have greeted everyone at the main table. You turn to your accompanist - whom you have probably never met - and you have just enough time to explain any unusual ideas and check starting tempo and then you're on and this 3 minute performance could secure you years of employment or keep you from ever working for that director again! Its in this fraction of time that you know - without ever really knowing how you know - whether your accompanist is going to be a friend or an enemy. Whether they will allow you to forget the music and perform your heart out, or spend the entire audition grinding your teeth and wanting to scream to the panel how much better you would be as the lead in their show if only they hired decent musicians. It's just a very particular skill. A combination of abilities. Reading on sight, Listening carefully, Being open to what the performer is doing and understanding the style and demands of the piece. Being sympathetic, musical, talented and experienced all at once.  So rare to find all of these qualities in one person never mind three.

If I am going on about this it is only because I am constantly amazed by how this actually works. I have been singing in the theatre for over twenty years and I still can't quite understand what a musician does to make the difference between 'playing the notes' and 'creating a performance'. Somewhere in the space between you and them it happens and its quite magical when it does. Those of you odd enough to have chosen this as a career will know of what I speak and if the rest of  you reading this would like to get an idea of how this happens then come and see Sondheim in September. We have three masters of the art!

Thank you all three of  you and for the rest please book soon as we are (happily) filling up fast.

Cheers

WK
 
 
  Some interesting facts about Stephen Sondheim:

  • He was president of the Dramatists Guild from 1973 to 1981.  
  •  He co-wrote with Anthony Perkins a murder-mystery film, The Last of  Sheila, in 1973.  
  • He creates his own puzzles and games.    
  • A murder game he created was the inspiration for Anthony Shaffer's Sleuth. 
  • Oscar Hammerstein II was his mentor and surrogate father.   
  •  He planned to major in mathematics in college.   
  • He auditioned for The $64,000 Question when he was starting out.
  • He did crossword puzzles for New York magazine for 18 months in the late 60s.
  • Most of the episode titles from Desperate Housewives reference his work in some way.

 
 
One of the books I have in my personal library is Sondheim & Co., 1989 edition , written by Craig Zadan. It's an extraordinary look at the work of Sondheim through interviews with many of the people involved in his works throughout the years, and with the man himself. Sadly, it only encompasses up to Into The Woods, with just a passing mention of the workshop of Assassins. It's out of print now but I highly recommend getting it either from the library or a used bookstore.

Since Sondheim is known for his lyrics, I thought I'd give you a bit on his thoughts of lyric writing. From page 231:

"Obviously, all the principles of writing apply to lyrics. Grace, affinity for words, a feeling for the weight of the words, resonances, and tone. The basic differences between lyric writing and all other forms are two principles which dictate what you have to do as a lyric writer.

First, lyrics exist in time - as opposed to poetry. You can read a poem at your own speed but on the stage, as the lyrics come at you, you hear them only once...The music is a relentless engine and keeps the lyrics going.

Second, lyrics go with music and music is very rich, in my opinion the richest form of art.It's also abstract and does very strange things to your emotions. So not only do you have that going but you also have lights, costumes, scenery, characters, performers. There's a great deal to hear and get. Lyrics therefore have to be underwritten. They have to be very simple in essence. That doesn't mean you can't do convoluted lyrics, but essentially the thought is what counts and you have to stretch out enough so that the listener has a fair chance to get it. Many lyrics suffer from being much too packed.

 I've always thought of lyric writing as a craft rather than an art. It's so small."

Until next time,
MK
 
 
  Being Alive, from Company, is one of the most famous of Sondheim's early songs. Company was a landmark musical as it featured a series of vignettes rather than a linear plot. Dean Jones was the first person to sing it, although he only made it to open night of Company’s premiere in 1970, after which the role was taken over by Larry Kert. Company was revived on Broadway in 2007 and that show's lead, Raúl Esparza, performed the song at the Tony Awards that year: You can see his version here.
Being Alive comes at the end of the show and serves as a summary for the journey the lead character, Bobby, takes through the play and it has a soaring quality that marks it as memorable. Originally a song called Marry Me A Little was in that slot but it was felt during the out-of-town tryouts that it didn't truly capture Bobby's journey, so a new song was written. Marry Me A Little now appears at the end of the first act in the most recent revivals.

So where were you the first time you heard it? For me, I was working as an usher at The Elgin and Winter Garden Theatres in Toronto in December 1989. Side by Side by Sondheim (produced by Marlene Smith) was the show used to re-open the Winter Garden after it had been hidden away for 60 years. Side by Side had originated with a group of English performers in 1976 who wanted to perform the songs in concert. The show went on to great acclaim, first on the West End and then Broadway and it's been revived many times since, most recently in Toronto by CanStage in 2004.

The Winter Garden production featured three powerhouse singers: Kathy Michael McGlynn, who had played Grizabella in the Canadian production of Cats; Karen K. Edissi, fresh off her triumph as Miss Adelaide in the Stratford Festival production of Guys and Dolls; and Davis Gaines, who had recently wowed Toronto in Damn Yankees and would force this production to close early as he went to Broadway to take over the role of The Phantom.

It's been 20 years and I still remember the passion in Davis' voice. The song seems to bring out the best of its singers. Years later, I was at a concert version of Company by Reprise Concerts at the Jane Mallet theatre (1998, I believe, with Charlotte Moore as Amy) and I had the pleasure of hearing David Rogers sing it. So the person taking on the song next month has a lot to live up to.

Till Next Time
MK

 
Sondheim in September is a charity event benefiting The Actors Fund Of Canada