Jerry Herman throws shade at Stephen Sondheim
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- Опубликовано: 7 сен 2024
- Jerry Herman is presented with the 1984 Tony Award for "La Cage aux Folles" - and manages to get his digs in at Stephen Sondheim and his "un-hummable" tunes ... #JerryHerman #StephenSondheim #BroadwayMusical
Herman said that he’s a huge fan of Sondheim and he was actually throwing shade at producers and critics who told him that his style of musical was dead. I’m a big fan of both of these composers but will never understand how this award went to Herman instead of Sondheim.
I think Herman won because "La Cage" was a successful juggernaut critically, financially, and culturally. Having a same-sex couple take center stage in a musical was both groundbreaking and elating. It was a great comeback for Herman; Tony voters were happy for him and wanted to recognize his work. Also, Sondheim's score was complex, mature, and (unfortunately) under-appreciated by many at the time. Thankfully, "Sunday" has since been recognized as a masterpiece. Sondheim (as usual) was pushing the art form forward.
Well, according to Harvey Fierstein Herman bemoaned all the birthday tributes and recognition that Sondheim was getting, and he claims that Herman said this to him in his recent memoir: "Sondheim this and Sondheim that…He’s seventy, let’s have a concert! He’s seventy-five, that calls for a gala! Now they can take all seventy-six trombones and…”
Suddenly the lyric "Give me a tune you can hum" makes a lot more sense.
Ouch...
He was referring mainly to MACK & MABEL, for which he did not get even a Tony nomination for Best Score, in favor of something called THE LIEUTENANT (the notorious My Lai Massacre musical, which played a week.) Herman's THE GRAND TOUR was also a flop, although at least Herman was nominated. LA CAGE AUX FOLLES was his first hit since MAME, and he was exuberant that his brand of tuneful, melodic show music had finally come back into favor and was recognized. SUNDAY IN THE PARK was a bomb in previews until Frank Rich published his rave, and a zillion other articles about it.
👀
And of course as anyone looking up the original telecast knows. This is a fake cut.