[NEohioPAL] Sondheim disses South Pacific

[Christopher Fortunato]

Interesting he would diss his benefactor Oscar Hammerstein who taught him everything about writing lyrics.
The occasion seemed weird and self-congratulatory what with horrible critic Frank Rich leading the conversation.
 
Sondheim Calls Critics ‘Ignoramuses,’ Disses ‘South Pacific’ 

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By Philip Boroff
Jan. 20 (Bloomberg) -- Since Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “South Pacific” opened at New York’s Lincoln Center Theater in April, it’s been a favorite of critics and audiences and has won seven Tony Awards, the most of any Broadway musical revival. 
On Sunday, Stephen Sondheim tore it apart. 
Interviewed at Avery Fisher Hall by New York Times columnist Frank Rich, the 78-year-old composer-lyricist explained why he’s no fan of the 1949 classic. 
“I think it’s personal taste,” he said. “I find it, um, obvious.” 
“South Pacific” was adapted from the James Michener book “Tales of the South Pacific.” It’s set on two islands during World War II and tells intertwining stories of two romances obstructed by prejudice and a secret mission to gain intelligence about Japanese troop movements. 
Oscar Hammerstein II, who wrote the lyrics and co-wrote the book, was weak with contemporary language, Sondheim said. And his characters are unrealistic, particularly a cheery battalion of U.S. Navy Seabees who build aviation bases. 
“I don’t believe for two seconds that those are Seabees,” Sondheim said. “It’s the happiest war I’ve ever seen.” 
Rare Dig 
Seldom does Sondheim, the most revered living composer- lyricist in musical theater, publicly criticize a contemporary. But he’s free with opinions when the artist is dead, even when it’s Hammerstein, a mentor and father figure. 
(The musical was key in Sondheim’s life: At the opening, on April 7, 1949, 19-year-old Sondheim was introduced to 20-year-old Hal Prince, who would go on to produce and direct on Broadway. The two would collaborate on some of Sondheim’s biggest successes, including “Company,” “Sweeney Todd,” and “A Little Night Music.”) 
On Sunday, Sondheim singled out the last line of “There is Nothing Like a Dame” from “South Pacific” for ridicule: “There ain’t a thing that’s wrong with any man here/That can’t be cured by puttin’ him near/A girly, womanly, female feminine dame.” 
“The whole lyric of ‘There’s Nothing Like a Dame’ drives me crazy,” he said. “It doesn’t sound to me like what the character is trying to convey. Where he (Hammerstein) is at his best is in the romantic stuff.” 
Sondheim rarely gives extended interviews and Avery Fisher Hall, with some 2,700 seats, was packed. The audience included fans, producers, critics, collaborators such as John Weidman and performers such as Bernadette Peters -- the original Dot in “Sunday in the Park With George.” 
‘Reviewed By Ignoramuses’ 
Other nuggets from the 90 minutes: Sondheim showed his contempt for critics, many of whom were slow to embrace his shows. 
“Musicals are the only public art form reviewed by ignoramuses,” he said. “There are very few of them, I can guarantee it, who know anything about music at all.” 
(“I know what I like,” Rich, a former Times chief drama critic, said in his defense.) 
The composer-lyricist was asked about the public’s increased appetite for his work the second time around. Last season, the Roundabout Theatre Co. staged a lauded revival of “Sunday in the Park.” Next season, it’s planning to revive his 1981 flop “Merrily We Roll Along.” 
“Tastes get more sophisticated as time goes on,” he said. “Sometimes a show grows into its own clothes.” 
Sondheim disclosed that a CD of “Road Show,” which wrapped up a run at the Public Theater last month, is likely. 
“It looks like we will be recording it in February,” he said. 
As previously reported, he’s compiling a collection of his lyrics for a book, with essays by him about writing. And he’s “nibbling” with “Road Show” collaborator Weidman about another piece. 
“I should be getting back to the piano,” he said. “I’ve got to start writing music again.” 
“There isn’t anything in particular. There will be.” 
To contact the writer on this story: Philip Boroff in New York at pboroff at bloomberg.net. Last Updated: January 20, 2009 11:32 EST 
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