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A Conversation with Stephen Sondheim at the Long Center
You might not think that a 90-minute talk with a Broadway composer on the Long Center stage would generate rapt attention, gales of laughter and two standing ovations …
Sandra and Bill Didlake
But if the conversationalists are Stephen Sondheim, Broadway’s greatest artist, and Robert Faires, quick-witted Austin Chronicle arts editor, an audience of more than 1,000 pay attention …
Paul Beutel and Laura Powell
Seated on two cushioned chairs downstage from Austin Lyric Opera’s rented “La Boheme” set, Sondheim immediately settled into rich feast of description, analysis and narrative, while Faires appeared a bit hesitant until he landed his first joke, based on a song title from “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.” (Hey, I would have been frozen with intimidation by the great man, despite Sondheim’s warmth) …
Allison Raven and Samantha Williams
They dug into the process of “setting” lyrics to music and vice versa. Sondheim explained how each of his songs is a one-act play, how the music forces the stresses in an actor’s verbal interpretation and how his music explicitly follows the patterns of conversational English …
Michael Mitchell and Martin Zimmerman
He also talked at length about his collaborations with James Lapine, John Weidman, George Furth, Larry Gelbart, Jonathan Tunick, Leornard Bernstein, Arthur Laurents, Jerome Robbins, Hal Prince and other creative and interpretive giants, along with stars such as Ethel Merman, Patti LuPone, Angela Lansbury and Elaine Stritch …
M Scott Tatum and Craig Saper
The revelations just poured out. I’m sure the audience would have stayed for another 90 minutes, but life goes on. The unsung hero in all this is Long Center managing director Paul Beutel, who insisted on this opportunity for Austin, even if it was not a guaranteed money-maker.
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