#basically the typical sondheim song

[cagesings]

 a  little  priest  🤝  gee  officer  krupke

 seemingly  kind  of  silly,  goofy  showtunes  but  with  darker  undertones  when  you  really  listen  to  the  lyrics

[wings-of-indigo]

So, Waitress is closing and Why I am Happy about that: An Exceedingly long essay Rant about Broadway

Look. Nobody's gonna read this, most likely, but it's 2 in the morning and my brain's been obsessing over Broadway (more than usual, anyway) since communing with my people at intensive this week. So, in the interest of getting some sleep before 8 hrs of dance and shitty high notes tomorrow, here goes.

I love classic, high-school-and-community standard musicals. I love new and experimental musicals. I love Disney film-to-stage musicals. I love institution musicals like Chorus Line, Cats, and Wicked; I even have a soft spot for Phantom. I am eagerly anticipating West Side Story next Christmas (seriously, I have a calander).

BUT.

As I said to one of my fellow dancers during post-class stretch (after noting his insane flexibilty and making yet another resolution to stretch more) I am Sick to GoDAMnEd DEATH of revivals, franchise adaptions, and restagings taking up the Broadway and greater theater markets.

I get why it's happening; I do. Musical theater, even shows that never make it out of Regional productions (Be More Chill, btw, I'm so proud of you bby :'-D ) are REALLY FREAKING EXPENSIVE, not just to stage, but also to develop. Broadway productions nowadays regularly go upwards of TENS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS in costs.

Those costs are more and more frequently being met through funding by large groups of wealthy investors, who can expect basically little to no return on that investment. Only a select few shows that make it to the Great White Way do well enough to turn a profit (let alone the kinds of numbers that Hamilton, DEH, and Wicked continue to make), and more and more shows are closing in defict or once they break even. (Coincidentally, this is probably why we're seeing more and more straight plays on Broadway, especially in limited engagements. They're quicker, cheaper, and still have the same level of prestige.)

It makes sense then to assume that a show linked to an already successful property has a better chance of reaching that break-even mark, or perhaps generating a small return, than a more original idea. It's a surer bet, and we've seen it a lot these past few seasons. Anastasia, Beetlejuice, Pretty Woman, Moulin Rouge, Mean Girls... we get it. We promise. Investors want some security in an extremely and notoriously insecure market before they're willing to lay out the dough.

I get it. Everybody gets it.

And, to be fair, some of those shows are and continue to be GOOD. Tony nominees and award winners, even. But here's the problem: it's boring.

And not because I know how Act 2 ends without getting spoilers on tumblr. Unless they're younger than ten, the population of Broadway-and-musicals fans generally has a good handle on where a show's relevant plotlines are going. It's really not the wanting to know the end that keeps your butt in your overpriced red velvet seat and your eyes on the stage. It's the score, the words, occasionally the choreography, and most importantly the magicians on, off, and backstage bringing those things to life in a new and interesting way.

The antithesis of this, then, is having to watch slavish recreation of iconic scenes, lines, and characters from iconic films, presented Onstage! (TM), now with Bonus Songs! for your reconsumption. (Yes, Pretty Woman, I'm looking at you.)

Hey, I love Pretty Woman the Movie, slightly dodgy messages about feminity aside. I love it as a movie, and I really don't need to watch the knock off version of it, even if it comes in a shiny Broadway package.

Anastasia, and Beetlejuice, on the other hand, work extrodinarily well as musicals because they are NOT carbon copies of the original, somehow miraculously transplanted onto the stage.

Ironically, musicals based on original ideas are actually some of the most successful and well reviewed recent productions. Hamilton, Dear Evan Hansen, Come From Away, and Hadestown this season are all original works, and well, look at them. (Fishy, huh? Coincidence, I think the fuck not.)

Recently I got to see The Prom on Broadway, the day after I saw Pretty Woman. The contrast between shows and my enjoyment of them was well defined. I couldn't look away from The Prom, despite many of the major story beats being as obvious as our Cheeto-in-Chief's spray tan. I and the entire rest of the theater were completely engaged by what was going on onstage, both comedically and dramatically. At Pretty Woman, I found myself checking the Playbill to see how many songs were left for me to make it through and anxiously comparing the size of my thighs to the dancers onstage to pass the time (ah, pre pro Body Issues, welcome back! We all thought you'd retired!)

Three guesses which show I'd choose to see again.

When I read that Waitress was closing, the first thing I did was panic and start marking pre January weekends where I would both be free and possibly have disposable income (I've never gotten to see the show, and frankly I would like too). My second reaction was, yes, to mourn the closure of a wonderful show, but it was mixed with hopeful anticipation. Waitress had a good long time in the sun, and just like a well lived life, eventually it must and should end. It's better, in my humble student opinion, to live with memories and cast albums (and regional productions) than the stodgy life of a show that's jealously clung to its Broadway berth through the tourist-and-date-night trade (*cough*Phantom*cough*). It's sort of like your 40 something mother taking selfies in booty shorts in an effort to prove she's still 'hip' and in her twenties. Cringe.

Ephemera is the nature of live performance, and probably part of its allure. And just like in the natural world, old things have to end so that new things can become. Waitress closing is a vital part of this cycle.

Broadway has a limited number of theaters. That's a hard and absolute fact. Maybe a quarter of them are effectively taken off the market for new shows by productions apparently cursed with immortality. Waitress has just opened up another spot both physically and creatively for a new project- hopefully something we haven't seen before- and I hope to God, Satan, and Sondheim that it doesn't get filled with another franchise spinoff, celebrity jukebox musical, or -Lin Miranda forbid - yet another revival.

Why the revival hate, though? Aren't revivals an major way to revisit the landmark and important musicals of the past and bring them to a new audience?

Well, yes. They are, especially when they're staged and presented with the emphasis on letting the music and words speak for themselves and giving the actors leeway to work with the material, without the typical levels of Broadway Extra (TM) and creative meddling from the producers. (The recent Lincoln Center staging of A Chorus Line is a good example of the stripped down style I'm talking about.) But even if they have their place, once again, revivals (while valuable and cool and all that) are Something We've Already Seen.

Let's take Newsies for example. A show with a huge fan base (mostly teen, mostly girls) who I frequently see wishing for a revival.

Now, I am a raging Newsies fan. Newsies is the show that got me started on attempting to make a profession out of dance and theater. I can sing both the OBC and Live albums back to front. I may or may not have had embarrassing crushes on certain cast and characters that I will take to my grave (I'll never tell and you'll never know, mwahhaha). So, do I love and worship ever iteration of this show? Yes. Do I wish I had been able to see either the Natl Tour or Broadway productions? Hell yes, with all my heart. Do I wish the Gatelli choreography was in any way accessible for me to learn? More than I want Broadway tickets to cost less than my soul, kidney, and hypothetical but unlikely first born combined.

But do I want a Broadway revival? Hell FUCKING No.

It's over, it's done, and it lives on in reinterpretation in regional and junior productions. Good. That, to be quite honest, is where it should belong.

It doesn't need to be rehashed on the biggest stages, and to be frank, neither do most of the ultra popular revivals that have been happening. (Yes, Ali Stoker is awesome and deserves the world, but Broadway does not need Oklahoma. If you need to see it that bad, go find a high school production somewhere. I recommend the midwest.) Broadway does not need 1776 (even though I am looking forward to it). Broadway does not need a Sweeney Todd revival (even though I want one like I want ice cream after suffering through jazz class in an un-air-conditioned studio on a 90 degree afternoon with no breeze. Seriously, I might be making sacrifices at my altar to this cause in the back of my closet).

Broadway needs musicals that are at least nominally original, and if not, come from something obscure enough (Kinky Boots, Waitress, Newsies) that they can make their own way. Barring that, investors, writers, and directors, please have the courage and decency to take established content in a new direction. Please, I'm begging you. I'd honestly-and-truly much rather sit through something that didn't try to shove the better version of itself down my throat even as it bored and annoyed me to tears. If I'm going to pay $80+ to sit through two hours of something terrible (and less engaging than my dancer body image issues) at least let me get my money's worth in unique horribleness.

[aion-rsa]

Best Meryl Streep Musical Performances (Including The Prom!)

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Who would have thought 30 years ago Meryl Streep would become the musical diva of our age? Maybe those who watched her bashfully (and beautifully) sing “You Don’t Know Me” in 1990’s Postcards from the Edge. But largely she was associated with the serious dramas of the ‘70s and ‘80s that won her two Oscars (and saw her nominated for three more) by the time she was 35: Kramer vs. Kramer, The Deer Hunter, Sophie’s Choice. Sober-eyed tearjerkers all.

But an amazing thing happened in the 21st century, didn’t it? Streep, the First Lady of the Academy Awards stage, reinvented herself as the prima donna of the musical-comedy. Sometimes that includes performances so rich that they sing even without any lyrics, such as the imperious Miranda Priestly in The Devil Wears Prada. But often they come with music and verse too, be it ham-fisted kitsch like Mamma Mia! or something as ambitious as playing the Witch in an adaptation of Stephen Sondheim’s Into the Woods.

And today she’s back on the musical big screen—or at least the one in your living room—via Ryan Murphy and Netflix’s The Prom. It’s an all-out musical extravaganza where Streep transcends into her best self: a reigning diva of Broadway. So join us as we use the occasion to count down her greatest cinematic solos.

10. “Changing Lives” in The Prom

For whatever faults The Prom might contain, the Netflix film’s vicious satire of celebrity vanity and performative social action is not one of them. And rarely is that better felt than in Meryl and James Corden’s first big number “Changing Lives.” As a pair of tone-deaf Narcissuses, Streep’s Dee Dee Allen and Corden’s Barry Glickman put on a hell of a show, singing from the lights of 44th St. to the glitzy interiors of Sardis about how being a Broadway star is basically the same thing as Eleanor and Franklin Delano Roosevelt.

Is it a great song? Not necessarily. Is it great to hear Streep exclaim she only wants to hear a review if it’s a rave or mixed-to-positive while downing champagne? Absolutely.

9. “Super Trouper” in Mamma Mia!

We know everyone has thoughts about Mammia Mia! and where its qualities (or sometimes lack thereof) lie. But Meryl Streep’s performance as Donna is inarguably one of its great strengths. Her matriarch of an idyllic little Greek island seems a far cry from the apparent free spirit and hellraiser she once was. Yet in “Super Trouper,” her young daughter (Amanda Seyfried) gets a glimpse of the dynamo Donna once was (and secretly still is) as she takes the disco stage alongside Julie Walters and Christine Baranski.

The trio still make the ‘70s excess of their outfits work, crooning about last nights in Glasgow and reawakening that magic for the next generation. Even Donna’s tuneless exes in the back get swept back in time. It’s sweet, and one of several Mamma Mia numbers to appear here.

8. “Goodbye to My Mama” in A Prairie Home Companion

One of the best films mentioned on this list, A Prairie Home Companion was director Robert Altman’s final film—and the movie appears aware of this. Nowhere is that more tangible in this heart-wringing ballad written in the tradition of early 20th century Country and Western music by Garrison Keillor. An ode to a childhood long gone, and both an aspiration and understated fear about seeing a lost mother again on the other side, the song is an elegy realized in soulful duet by Streep and Lily Tomlin. It harkens the Angel of Death backstage, but in isolation it’s still plenty heartbreaking.

7. “The Winner Takes It All” in Mamma Mia!

We said there’d be more ABBA. And here it is with “The Winner Takes It All,” Streep’s single actual solo. In this moment director Phyllida Lloyd knows exactly where to put the camera, capturing the postcard beauty of a Greek isle at sunset as Meryl sings her heart out, and smashes Pierce Brosnan’s for good measure. Appealingly melodramatic, and with perfect high notes for Streep’s range, the scene puts this Oscar winner in the movie equivalent of a romance novel cover. And who doesn’t want to open that?!

6. “It’s Not About Me” in The Prom

Again rarely does The Prom’s satire land better than in its opening number… but Streep’s big solo “It’s Not About Me” is that rare exception. Strutting into an Indiana PTA meeting in a red mink and extravagant mood, Streep’s Dee Dee introduces herself by belting that she’s here after reading three quarters of an article to ask, “You bigoted monsters, just who do you think you are?” And it’s all downhill from there for her argument, and uphill for our entertainment.

Hijacking a vulnerable teenager’s platform to whine about a New York Post notice and to demand soft lighting and a rainbow coalition of colorful streamers for her Insta-ready moment, Streep is given permission by The Prom to make everything about her. More, please.

5. “Stay with Me” in Into the Woods

Attempting to sing Sondheim is a challenge few take up lightly. With his typically complex lyrics, myriad key changes, and sharp musical bridges, Sondheim has thwarted many a movie star who’s tried. Streep is not one of them. As the villainous and somewhat misunderstood Witch of Into the Woods, Streep dominates the film as an antagonistic force who sees all the other fairy tale archetypes for the schmucks they are.

But that does not include her adopted daughter Rapunzel (Mackenzie Mauzy). As the daughter the Witch never had, Rapunzel is kept secluded away in the woods, but it’s for her own protection. Written years before Tangled, a mother’s fanged psychological warfare and pleas to “stay with me” from the danger in the world is as haunting as it is toxic. And it’s Streep’s best moment in Disney and Rob Marshall’s ambitious, yet bloated, movie adaptation.

4. “Dancing Queen” in Mamma Mia!

Yes, it’s that song and that scene: ABBA’s most overplayed earworm brought to treacly life with maximum cheese, including slow-motion shots of Meryl Streep jumping on a bed and skipping along a Greek coastline. Look over there! Why is that old fisherman playing a piano in the water?! And over here! Where did the hundreds of locals on this tiny, largely uninhabited island come from?!

Read more

Movies

Best Movie Musicals of the 21st Century

By David Crow

Movies

Hamilton Cast Reflect on Backlash and Criticism of Musical

By David Crow

It doesn’t matter! You know from the first time you heard Streep and company belt this that you sang along. You probably still do, joining in at the parade of empowered women, from ages two to 92, who’ve been liberated by the joy of their youth, now or remembered. As they dance badly across the world’s grooviest pier, it plays as loud; as camp; and as a goddamn delight.

3. “My Minnesota Home” in A Prairie Home Companion

Meryl Streep and Lily Tomlin’s other major duet in A Prairie Home Companion, “My Minnesota Home” reworks Stephen Foster’s “My Old Kentucky Home” to give it a Lake Wobegon tenor. It is also the sweetest showcase for Streep and Tomlin’s chemistry, both as singers and human beings. The give and take between the pair, and then Streep’s rousing vibrato during the final chorus, has the air of genuine inspiration and real pleasure. Here are two performers finding harmony together on the stage and before our eyes. It’s big hearted and irresistible.

2. “I’m Checking Out” in Postcards from the Edge

Meryl’s first major musical moment came during the grand finale of director Mike Nichols and screenwriter Carrie Fisher’s wonderful little dramedy. Loosely and nakedly based on Fisher’s own relationship with her movie star mother Debbie Reynolds, Postcards from the Edge is a revealing and sometimes blunt exercise in getting things off a writer’s chest. And one thing Fisher really wanted to clear the air about was her mother’s desire to push her toward musical performance. While Fisher resisted in her own life, she allows the fictional Suzanne Vale (Streep) to give in to mother Doris Mann (Shirley MacLaine).

Read more

Movies

Best 11 Classic Movie Musicals

By David Crow

Movies

Hamilton: The Real History of the Burr-Hamilton Duel

By David Crow

In doing so, she also gives into herself and sings this full-hearted rendition of “I’m Checking Out.” A country hymn to the bitterness of living in the heartbreak hotel, the song allows Suzanne (and hopefully Carrie) to bury some pain, and for Streep to reveal her formidable stage and screen presence in front of a microphone. It is probably the rawest and most intelligent performance on this list.

1. “Mamma Mia” in Mamma Mia!

Among Meryl Streep’s many songs in Mamma Mia!—including a few we did not put on this list, believe it or not—it’s her rendition of the movie’s title song that works best. Imbuing the tune with an infectious playfulness, and leaning into the impatience that pours from ABBA’s lyrics, Streep pounces around the screen like a cat who’s just spotted a bird… or at least three turkeys in the shapes of her exes (Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, and Stellan Skarsgård).

Read more

Culture

How Disney Saved Musicals for a New Generation

By David Crow

Movies

Hamilton: Thomas Jefferson Controversy Explained

By David Crow

As she creeps and creaks around their goathouse (don’t ask), debating whether to sneak another peak, the film finally makes sharp use of a movie’s ability to edit together imagery: We cut between Streep, the exiled suitors, Donna’s daughter and friends, and even an honest to Zeus Greek chorus of extras sticking their heads into the frame to chastise Streep. Not that she can resist her curiosity, nor do we resist watching it. In fact, we want to egg it on as Streep rolls around in overalls and crosses herself before embracing the next crescendo.

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[intrepidacious]

I posted 1,534 times in 2022

That's 1,357 more posts than 2021!

376 posts created (25%)

1,158 posts reblogged (75%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@traitorjoelite

@sweetascanbee

@foreverindreamlandd

@marvelettesassemblenow

@intrepidacious

I tagged 1,534 of my posts in 2022

#nika reads - 585 posts

#bucky barnes x reader - 381 posts

#nika replies - 371 posts

#inbox - 297 posts

#tiff 🌤 - 116 posts

#time after time - 116 posts

#ren 🐝 - 99 posts

#steve rogers x reader - 96 posts

#bookmarked - 84 posts

#sleepover time - 74 posts

Longest Tag: 129 characters

#please reblog if you liked this whatsoever :') i'm queuing my replies so i don't clog your dashes but like. i worked hard on this

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

time after time - masterlist

summary: After what starts out as a fairly normal mission, you find yourself stuck in a time loop. Which would already be bad enough in itself if it didn’t also mean having to watch Bucky die over and over again.

pairing: bucky barnes x time witch!reader

series word count: 47.7k+

warnings: f!reader; more or less canon compliant; time loops, canon typical violence, repeated major character death (in a russian doll/supernatural's mystery spot sort of way); slow burn, mutual annoyance to reluctant friends to lovers; negative self-talk; just a lot of angst (but with an eventual happy ending i promise!!)

this series is set after the events of the falcon and the winter soldier and will include spoilers for marvel projects up to and including multiverse of madness

a/n: welcome to the fic i've been thinking about for almost a year!! i am beyond excited and terrified to finally start sharing this. if you want to get notified whenever i post a new chapter, you can follow @intrepidacious-fics and turn on notifications or follow along on my ao3 💚

please mind that my blog is 18+ only, minors and ageless accounts will be blocked

See the full post

303 notes - Posted January 16, 2022

#4

set me free

summary: Once upon a time, a soldier fell from a train. Thankfully, this time, he is found by gentle hands, and a beautiful voice keeps him safe from the cold.

pairing: bucky barnes x nymph!reader

word count: 6.4k

warnings: bucky dealing with the loss of his arm; a pinch of angst for flavour; reader is perceived as female by men in the forties, but what does that really tell us?

a/n: hi. i really like this one. it combines two of my favourite things, fairy tales and 40s!bucky 😌 title is from the song her voice from the little mermaid musical <3

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358 notes - Posted May 18, 2022

#3

moving on

summary: He gets caught up in the lines and the streak of sunshine on your skin, until you catch him staring and raise a questioning eyebrow, so he looks away, reluctantly, unable to hide the small grin that appears on his face.

pairing: steve rogers x reader

word count: 6k

warnings: friends to lovers fluff, a pinch of angst for spice, heavily leaning into the fact that steve can draw and yes that’s a warning, canon compliant apart from. ya know. the moon stuff

a/n: i've been coping with the passing of stephen sondheim last november by listening to sunday in the park with george nonstop ever since. writing this was basically a love letter to that show and maybe the most cathartic thing i’ve ever done.

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396 notes - Posted January 11, 2022

#2

Build a blurb hehehe! 🩹 tending to each other's wounds, 🚪 showing up at the other's door, begging for comfort, 🍯 friends to lovers, 🔥 slow burn - Enjoy >:3

heal me, baby

summary: Your friendship starts with you cleaning up his wounds and Bucky paying to get the blood stains out of your couch. Something else starts, too.

pairing: bucky barnes x nurse!reader

word count: 2.6k

warnings: canon typical violence, some fluff, s.h.i.e.l.d. still exists AU, protective bucky strikes again

a/n: lisha heard me request prompts to write something short and decided to go with slow burn. thanks for that, love. happy easter and joyous pesach to those of you who celebrate, i hope you're all well <3

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466 notes - Posted April 17, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

not even a little

summary: The problem of living with Bucky is that he makes it impossible not to fall in love with him. Even though you could list several hundred reasons why it’s a bad idea. And you have.

pairing: roommate!bucky barnes x reader

word count: 5.7k

warnings: pining idiots in love, slightly questionable roomie behaviour, simultaneously the softest and cockiest bucky i've written so far, blink and you miss it throwing shade at iron fist

a/n: this is my very late submission for kathie's (@pellucid-constellations) love letters writing challenge <3 thank you for this lovely idea, writing this was a challenge indeed but that is, as they say, a me problem. also huge shoutout to @barnesafterglow and @sweetascanbee, this really and truly would still not be done without you. love you both 💛

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852 notes - Posted April 7, 2022

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[obsessivelollipoplalala]

Well, I think it goes along with Burton's decision to make the movie primarily about Sweeney, himself. The stage show is kind of like "Sweeney Todd + Company"; there are songs by basically all of the named characters. The movie cuts the focus down to its titular character and accomplice, and as a result, I think it has a tighter and more cohesive tone than the stage show, but that's a whole other ramble that I'll hold back lol. It reminds me of what Sondheim said about the plot needing to move forward in a movie musical--it constantly moves in the film with the story being mainly that of Sweeney and Mrs. Lovett, and a movie-going audience might've felt like the parts with Johanna slowed the show down (I'm not saying they'd be right, but I think modern movie audiences are more impatient than theater audiences).

I think there are hints of Johanna's trauma in the movie, like her sitting there alone in tears in the scene when she sees Anothony outside again and throws him a key. But the movie isn't about her, so her role is cut down a lot. I also think "Kiss Me" musically does not fit the tone with the rest of the movie at all. I like "Kiss Me" a lot, I listen to it from time to time, but that lovey-dovey nature doesn't work with the tone of the rest of the film (something like "By the Sea" only works due to the dark comedy of this cannibal singing about this sweet little fantasy lol, and "Not While I'm Around" works because it directly moves the plot forward and there's the dark undertone of Toby innocently singing this song to this woman who's secretly chopping up bodies). I think "Kiss Me" would have felt out of place in the rest of the grim film. I love her harmonizing with the other parts in "Johanna (Reprise)", though, and when I listen to that song by itself, I almost always listen to the stage version.

I think not making her shoot Fogg again comes down to reducing her role in the film; it might have seemed like an out of nowhere decision for her to make given how little we'd seen her in the movie up until that point, you know what I mean? Like, we hardly saw this girl and now she's shooting a guy without hesitation lol. Plus, it could be argued that it's a dropped plot point or even a plot hole that she shoots him and no consequences of that are ever seen in the rest of the show (I know that the show instantly ends when Johanna and Anthony arrive in the bakehouse with the police in the stage show, but a movie-going audience might've been like "soooo what happened with that?" lol).

So yeah, I hear you and I even like Johanna's music in the stage show, but I understand why those decisions were made. This is anecdotal, but when I've had family members or friends see the differences between the movie and film, they typically see Johanna's content as superfluous. Again, I don't necessarily agree with that, I just think that it's a sign that Burton knew what a typical movie audience would and wouldn't go for.

I’ve always hated when Broadway purists disparage the film adaptation of Sweeney Todd not being like the stage show because, well, it’s a film adaptation and not a filmed version of the stage show. Film and stage are very different art forms, and successful film adaptations of Broadway musicals must make changes (Sondheim actually typically disliked movie musicals, but not this one). I can talk for a very long time about why the changes in the film version work so well, but I was pleasantly surprised to see this video did a great job explaining a lot of them in under 10 minutes:

And this comment stood out to me, too:

Just, yes. Yes, yes, yes. I could go on for much longer than this, but I’ll leave it here lol.

The film version and stage version of Sweeney Todd are very different in a lot of respect, but those differences boil down to the differences between the art forms. Burton knew he had to make a good movie. If anyone is going to watch Sweeney for the first time, I recommend the movie first because it’s more accessible to a wider, non-theater audience, but I do think both versions are worth watching, if nothing else, to see how the same story can play out similarly and differently in two separate art forms.

[nadinejustlives]

Sondheim in Black

If you’re looking for something to do this weekend, pop by the Galloway Theatre and catch Sondheim in Black, featuring Namisa Mdlalose and Arlin Bantam. I just did Rent with both of them and decided it would be great to catch up and find out more about their next project.



1. Sondheim in Black, that’s a pretty interesting name, what is the meaning behind it and does it hold any personal significance to your life?

Arlin: It holds personal significance because the title comes directly from us being black. The show comes from the idea of what it is like when Black people sing the show tunes and the Sondheim Catalogs. It’s basically us challenging the typical whitewashing which takes place in musical theatre. We as artists have personally experienced the issues that are brought up in this show, so we just want to bring it to the light. 

Namisa: It was basically Arlin’s idea. I thought of doing a musical revue after seeing a revue that a few graduates from UCT did- and it made me think, “here’s something that I can do that is seemingly inexpensive, as well as well as showcasing my work and talent at the same time.” Then Rent happened and I was reunited with Arlin, we knew we’d have a six week break and I said, “hey, let’s do this!” This is also why I chose to study Theatre Making instead of acting at UCT, as a black artist. I Hadn’t seen many pieces of work created by black artists, so I thought, why not create these avenues myself. There is lots of black work out there, but they either go unnoticed or undocumented or it’s a very specific kind of black work - that i can’t always relate to, or write about or say that it’s from my perspective.

2. You are both fairly new to the industry, having graduated from your respective universities, what has the experience been like so far creating your own show and spreading the word about it?

Arlin: The experience has been good. I was surprised at how people were open to doing the show and how we didn’t experience any negative energy while talking about the show. I mean the people we were talking to were white people, they were open to us representing this side of the story. Handling all the admin was a bit tedious, but overall it has been a good experience. Namisa: I think, the best part was the process, which was quick and easy. We just made decisions because we didn’t have much time to put this together. We made the poster and we were just ready to do it. It is informal and it is about our lives and where we are at. We are not trying to be something we are not. There’s no serious pressure from producers to make money, we are just trying to share our work and talent. Spreading the word was quite easy but it’s still a bit scary. It’s like hosting a party and you’re worried that anybody is going to come.

3. What can we expect to see in this revue and which songs do you think the audience will enjoy the most?

Arlin This revue is just a selection of our favourite numbers from Sondheim. I think songs like; “A little Priest” from “Sweeney Todd” and “Ladies who Lunch” from “Company” are gonna be songs that people recognise. And also we have very theatrical numbers, like “Rose’s Turn” from “Gypsy”. There’s a lot to be enjoyed and things that will be recognised and songs that have been undeniable crowd pleasers since they’ve been written. Namisa: You will see Arlin and Namisa on stage. There’s no characters. There’s no dress up. There’s just us being who we are at our core on stage. I think the audience will enjoy or duet, I’m so excited and I know Arlin will be there to support me through it on stage.

4. In your opinion, how did Sondheim revolutionise theatre?

Arlin I think Sondheim revolutionised theatre in quite a significant way as he made theatre more…intellectual. Before Sondheim, everything was very 42nd Street type show tunes and very classical. Sondheim introduced difficult musical concepts and raised the intellectual level of what was happening on stage. He brought the Avant Garde Music feel into the musical theatre scene, he took musical theatre in a new and interesting direction which had never happened before. 5. What is your favourite Sondheim song and musical?

Arlin My favourite musical Hands down is Company. It’s just such a great musical, the subtly of it’s narrative, the perfection of it’s score- it just makes me very very happy. My favourite Sondheim song would have to be “Another Hundred People” from Company. There’s just something about it thats unlike any other show tune I’ve ever heard! It’s such a unique song and thats what makes it completely worth listening to. Namisa: Being Alive from Company. Actually. JUST THE WHOLE OF COMPANY. (Starts Fan Girling about Company) 6. You mentioned in the blurb that Sondheim is usually performed by one particular race, why do you think that is? And in what ways do you think we can diversify Sondheim and the people performing his music?

Arlin: Sondheim traditionally is performed by white people and I think that is because he is an American writer writing in a country that is made up of majority white people. He wrote what he knew and he can’t be faulted for that. The thought behind this show is how we can diversify this in South Africa, how do we in a South African context shy away from that tradition because we have to, because we have a majority black population. How do we localise the text, how do we look at formulating this through this medium instead of imitating a context that doesn’t represent our particular context. 7. If you could say one thing to Sondheim, what would it be?

Arlin: Thank you for saving Musical Theatre and allowing the world to see that Musical theatre could be clever and witty. It could be amazingly stimulating in a real world, literary sense instead of just being jazz hands and tap dancing. 8. Talk to us about how you guys put the show together and how you worked together to create this revue- since you do not have a director as an outside eye?

Arlin It’s been very interesting because we didn’t have a director. We had already had the idea of doing a revue together and Namisa and Jaco completely came in and understood my idea behind it. From day two it became a three party project, we have all been very equal. We didn’t need a director because we knew where we were going with it from day one. The show is different because it’s a free space, casual atmosphere and a low anxiety space. We can be ourselves in the space instead of needing a director to carve out a character for us. It is about the music and our personal politics, As long as we can get up and perform the songs and completely be ourselves then and get our message across, then that’s what needs to be done and I think that’s what we have achieved. 9. Can we expect more Namisa and Arlin collaborations in the future?

Arlin: You can definitely expect more collaborations. We’ve already thought of moving the project onto other composers. Maybe even get a bigger cast where needed. (He lists possible ideas) We are also thinking of touring theatres and taking it to a festival sometime next year to see how it does. 10. What advice do you have for people who are in this industry and want to put on their own shows, but are too afraid? Arlin I think fear should never be at play when you are sure of an idea, because if you know you have an artistic idea which hasn’t been done before and that there is a social stimulus for it, then you just have to do it. The problem isn’t going to go away unless you tackle it. Yeah, don’t let fear get in the way. Be sure that you know where you’re coming from, because then you’ll  know where you’re going to and you’ll never say yes when you mean no.

Catch Sondheim in Black from April 6th -8th at the Galloway Theatre at 7:30PM 

[obsessivelollipoplalala]

Yes, but Judge Turpin's version of "Johanna" was originally removed from the earlier productions of the show, so while that does indeed represent a version of the show that's more focused on Johanna, they made the decision to cut back on that direction on stage, too, obviously not to the same degree the movie did, but still.

I don't think "Kiss Me" is as out of place in the stage show as it would have been in the film with the extended version of "Ladies In Their Sensitivities" and the Beadle's song at Mrs. Lovett's harmonium (and some of the general tone differences with the performances that the above video discussed). I think the stage show's music diverted from the central grimness a little more than the movie did (even if there's a gross undertone to "Ladies In Their Sensitivities"), and with Anthony's character--you're right. He is totally the opposite from Sweeney, which is why I think Burton cut down on his whole arc, as well, to keep in line with the film focusing on its macabre leads. As I mentioned above, I think it leads to a finished product that is more consistent in its dark tone than the stage show, though I'm not accusing Sondheim of being sloppy or breaking his characters out of character or anything. I also get the impression that Sweeney sees Anthony's love for Johanna in the movie and is still jaded and doesn't give a shit, too, so I don't see a big difference there with that particular aspect. He's still just as unenthusiastic over Anthony's young love and willing to use him as a pawn to get to Johanna as he was in the stage show, imo. Yeah, including the bit about Sweeney rejecting Anthony's help would've been a nice touch, though.

I don't think the stage show outright told us Johanna would kill Fogg, but since it showed us more of her trauma, which you mentioned previously, it doesn't come as much of a shock as it might have it had been left in the movie. I remember watching the stage show and thinking that Johanna was (understandably) a bit shaken up from the beginning, so the Fogg thing wasn't really a surprise (and remember her sort of delirious lyrics in "City On Fire" that are sort of a reprise of "Kiss Me" that further drive home her mental duress, which wouldn't have fit in a movie with both "Kiss Me" and "City On Fire" cut out, since basically all chorus numbers were cut out). I also don't see the Fogg thing as a plot hole btw, I'm just thinking of the typical moviegoer--who is usually someone not fond of musicals--to which you might ask why they would watch this, but god, the amount of people over the years who I've had to listen to going on and on about how they hate musicals and were dragged to a theater to see Les Miz or something by a friend and "why do they keep singing? Why don't they just talk? It's so stupid" snfjsnkfnsgk.....All of that is to say that I genuinely think a movie more faithful to the stage show would have been disliked by a lot of moviegoers lol and, as a film director, Burton knew that.

I think a lot of this comes down to something the above video was getting down to: they're two pretty different versions in a lot of respects, which is why I think both are worth watching. I have songs from the film and stage downloaded (mainly the original cast but I really love "Johanna (Reprise)" from the 2012 Michael Ball production). I think a version with like ~30-40 minutes of more content is inherently going to have more going on, so it makes sense that the stage show has more to unpack with Johanna and the rest of the cast, but when I think about what the film was setting out to do as a film adaptation, I think it did a great job with a show that is/was incredibly difficult to take off stage and put into another art form.

I'm...typing this at work and I think I lost track of things a bit here lol so sorry about that. I guess the question I keep coming back to is "did [x] changes help tell this story more as a thriller film as opposed to a Broadway musical?", and that's what drives a lot of my assessment of what the film did.

I’ve always hated when Broadway purists disparage the film adaptation of Sweeney Todd not being like the stage show because, well, it’s a film adaptation and not a filmed version of the stage show. Film and stage are very different art forms, and successful film adaptations of Broadway musicals must make changes (Sondheim actually typically disliked movie musicals, but not this one). I can talk for a very long time about why the changes in the film version work so well, but I was pleasantly surprised to see this video did a great job explaining a lot of them in under 10 minutes:

And this comment stood out to me, too:

Just, yes. Yes, yes, yes. I could go on for much longer than this, but I’ll leave it here lol.

The film version and stage version of Sweeney Todd are very different in a lot of respect, but those differences boil down to the differences between the art forms. Burton knew he had to make a good movie. If anyone is going to watch Sweeney for the first time, I recommend the movie first because it’s more accessible to a wider, non-theater audience, but I do think both versions are worth watching, if nothing else, to see how the same story can play out similarly and differently in two separate art forms.