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Really? I felt both were to polemic. Not like Brooks Atkinson.<BR><BR>> Date: Tue, 20 Jan 2009 16:53:00 -0500<BR>> From: TBROWN@plaind.com<BR>> To: neohiopal@listserve.com; learnedhand@live.com<BR>> Subject: Re: [NEohioPAL] Sondheim disses South Pacific<BR>> <BR>> the tenure of frank rich as chief drama critic for the new york times<BR>> (1980-93) is probably the greatest by any critic at any newspaper<BR>> anywhere.<BR>> <BR>> since then, his columns on politics and culture have become some of the<BR>> most lucid and convincing available.<BR>> <BR>> t.<BR>> <BR>> <BR>> <BR>> >>> Christopher Fortunato <learnedhand@live.com> 1/20/2009 2:49 PM >>><BR>> <BR>> Interesting he would diss his benefactor Oscar Hammerstein who taught<BR>> him everything about writing lyrics.<BR>> The occasion seemed weird and self-congratulatory what with horrible<BR>> critic Frank Rich leading the conversation.<BR>> <BR>> Sondheim Calls Critics *Ignoramuses,* Disses *South Pacific* <BR>> <BR>> Email | Print | A A A <BR>> By Philip Boroff<BR>> Jan. 20 (Bloomberg) -- Since Rodgers and Hammerstein*s *South<BR>> Pacific* opened at New York*s Lincoln Center Theater in April,<BR>> it*s been a favorite of critics and audiences and has won seven<BR>> Tony Awards, the most of any Broadway musical revival. <BR>> On Sunday, Stephen Sondheim tore it apart. <BR>> Interviewed at Avery Fisher Hall by New York Times columnist Frank<BR>> Rich, the 78-year-old composer-lyricist explained why he*s no fan of<BR>> the 1949 classic. <BR>> *I think it*s personal taste,* he said. *I find it, um,<BR>> obvious.* <BR>> *South Pacific* was adapted from the James Michener book *Tales<BR>> of the South Pacific.* It*s set on two islands during World War II<BR>> and tells intertwining stories of two romances obstructed by prejudice<BR>> and a secret mission to gain intelligence about Japanese troop<BR>> movements. <BR>> Oscar Hammerstein II, who wrote the lyrics and co-wrote the book, was<BR>> weak with contemporary language, Sondheim said. And his characters are<BR>> unrealistic, particularly a cheery battalion of U.S. Navy Seabees who<BR>> build aviation bases. <BR>> *I don*t believe for two seconds that those are Seabees,*<BR>> Sondheim said. *It*s the happiest war I*ve ever seen.* <BR>> Rare Dig <BR>> Seldom does Sondheim, the most revered living composer- lyricist in<BR>> musical theater, publicly criticize a contemporary. But he*s free with<BR>> opinions when the artist is dead, even when it*s Hammerstein, a mentor<BR>> and father figure. <BR>> (The musical was key in Sondheim*s life: At the opening, on April 7,<BR>> 1949, 19-year-old Sondheim was introduced to 20-year-old Hal Prince, who<BR>> would go on to produce and direct on Broadway. The two would collaborate<BR>> on some of Sondheim*s biggest successes, including *Company,*<BR>> *Sweeney Todd,* and *A Little Night Music.*) <BR>> On Sunday, Sondheim singled out the last line of *There is Nothing<BR>> Like a Dame* from *South Pacific* for ridicule: *There ain*t a<BR>> thing that*s wrong with any man here/That can*t be cured by<BR>> puttin* him near/A girly, womanly, female feminine dame.* <BR>> *The whole lyric of *There*s Nothing Like a Dame* drives me<BR>> crazy,* he said. *It doesn*t sound to me like what the character<BR>> is trying to convey. Where he (Hammerstein) is at his best is in the<BR>> romantic stuff.* <BR>> Sondheim rarely gives extended interviews and Avery Fisher Hall, with<BR>> some 2,700 seats, was packed. The audience included fans, producers,<BR>> critics, collaborators such as John Weidman and performers such as<BR>> Bernadette Peters -- the original Dot in *Sunday in the Park With<BR>> George.* <BR>> *Reviewed By Ignoramuses* <BR>> Other nuggets from the 90 minutes: Sondheim showed his contempt for<BR>> critics, many of whom were slow to embrace his shows. <BR>> *Musicals are the only public art form reviewed by ignoramuses,* he<BR>> said. *There are very few of them, I can guarantee it, who know<BR>> anything about music at all.* <BR>> (*I know what I like,* Rich, a former Times chief drama critic,<BR>> said in his defense.) <BR>> The composer-lyricist was asked about the public*s increased appetite<BR>> for his work the second time around. Last season, the Roundabout Theatre<BR>> Co. staged a lauded revival of *Sunday in the Park.* Next season,<BR>> it*s planning to revive his 1981 flop *Merrily We Roll Along.* <BR>> *Tastes get more sophisticated as time goes on,* he said.<BR>> *Sometimes a show grows into its own clothes.* <BR>> Sondheim disclosed that a CD of *Road Show,* which wrapped up a run<BR>> at the Public Theater last month, is likely. <BR>> *It looks like we will be recording it in February,* he said. <BR>> As previously reported, he*s compiling a collection of his lyrics for<BR>> a book, with essays by him about writing. And he*s *nibbling* with<BR>> *Road Show* collaborator Weidman about another piece. <BR>> *I should be getting back to the piano,* he said. *I*ve got to<BR>> start writing music again.* <BR>> *There isn*t anything in particular. There will be.* <BR>> To contact the writer on this story: Philip Boroff in New York at<BR>> pboroff@bloomberg.net. Last Updated: January 20, 2009 11:32 EST <BR>> _________________________________________________________________<BR>> Windows Live* Hotmail*: Chat. Store. Share. Do more with mail. <BR>> http://windowslive.com/howitworks?ocid=TXT_TAGLM_WL_t1_hm_justgotbetter_howitworks_012009<BR>> <BR>> Sign up for FREE breaking news updates at cleveland.com/updates<BR><br /><hr />Windows Live™: Keep your life in sync. <a href='http://windowslive.com/explore?ocid=TXT_TAGLM_WL_t1_allup_explore_012009' target='_new'>Check it out.</a></body>
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