Thank you SO much for this. After watching, I went back and watched the Kennedy Center Honors where Sean Connery was inducted. So many memories. I wanna go back!!
Thank you for this, especially on a Saturday when so many of us need a smile. Sondheim will never be forgotten and he will be seen and heard as long as we keep his music and lyrics alive.
Thank you for sharing this, & so sorry to hear of the true loss to our culture & world. May He Rest in God's Love, and May His Loved Ones, & Fans, Forever Remember Him through His Works & His Precious Life Here on Earth.💔🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼
Sondheim's passing affected me probably more than any "celebrity" death in recent memory. I could write paragraphs about what his work, his art, has meant to me over the years. As professional singer, I wasn't called upon to perform his music very much as I was in a different "fach", as we call it, a different category of vocal music. But, I still LOVED his music and his character creations. Later, as a voice teacher working with a lot of very talented musical theatre students, I got to know his music on another level. I got to delve into its "nuts & bolts" and see how to approach it as a musician, a singer, and an actor. Then, glimpsing his music's inner workings, one can REALLY appreciate its genius. Few people, IMO, captured various aspects of the human condition better than Sondheim did with his creations. This was certainly true within the genre of the Broadway musical. One can go through the total spectrum of all his shows and I daresay everyone can find a character with which they can identify SOMEWHERE. There are still certain songs sung by certain characters in certain situations that touch me to the depths of my soul as no other. The way he could so skillfully put the right words into a character's mouth, with often delicious rhymes, and then set it to just the right music--THAT was genius. We shan't see his like again.
After wallowing in the tons of tributes pouring out for Sondheim, and there have been some brilliant ones, I wanted to share one I happened upon that I found particularly touching. This is from former New York Magazine writer/critic Frank Rich, a favourite writer of mine. Few were perhaps as well acquainted with Sondheim as he was, and in this article he wrote for New York he writes about his long relationship with Sondheim, how they met and their ups and downs of their friendship through the years. He offers many insights into the man that can only come from someone who knew him and loved him as a friend. I offer it here merely as an adjunct to Dan's wonderful post, and as an FYI for them that might like a further glimpse into this amazing man and his career. Enjoy:
Thank you, Dan, for the fond memories of time past. We used to be in magical times it seemed. Although there were undercurrents of what was to come, it appeared that those “old times” would continue forever as we ride into the sunset. But alas, just these last five years have almost erased, in my opinion, the last one hundred years of the progress we were making as a Nation.
Of course, the question is now, where are we headed? Hopefully, the clowns, which seemed to have been sent, are never to return. Exit stage left with sad faces hidden behind masks.
Wow, so entertaining! I especially enjoyed the 2nd half of this tribute to Stephen Sondheim. And the surprise singer Scott Bakula. With thanks for a Saturday Smile and more.
Thanks for making me smile this morning, Dan, even though the smile comes with a certain amount of sadness at the passing of the genius Sondheim. I have got to be the biggest lover of musicals, especially his musicals. I will certainly miss him and his brilliance.Thank you again, Dan. You have been making me smile for many years. Actually, since I was a young bride and I was watching you on television trying very hard not to get blown away by Hurricane Carla!
I truly love these Saturday smiles—even if it takes me a few days to get to them! Thank you!
Smiles indeed, and memories that last for decades. We are blessed that Stephen has enriched our lives with joy and hope. RIP sir.
Incredible memory! Warmed my heart! Thank you!
A true genius and he will be missed!
Thank you for the posting and remembrance of genious.
Thank you! Made my day!
Thank you SO much for this. After watching, I went back and watched the Kennedy Center Honors where Sean Connery was inducted. So many memories. I wanna go back!!
Thank you for this, especially on a Saturday when so many of us need a smile. Sondheim will never be forgotten and he will be seen and heard as long as we keep his music and lyrics alive.
Thank you Steady Family‼️
Thank you for sharing this, & so sorry to hear of the true loss to our culture & world. May He Rest in God's Love, and May His Loved Ones, & Fans, Forever Remember Him through His Works & His Precious Life Here on Earth.💔🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼
Thank you for such a moving tribute to a musical genius!
Sondheim's passing affected me probably more than any "celebrity" death in recent memory. I could write paragraphs about what his work, his art, has meant to me over the years. As professional singer, I wasn't called upon to perform his music very much as I was in a different "fach", as we call it, a different category of vocal music. But, I still LOVED his music and his character creations. Later, as a voice teacher working with a lot of very talented musical theatre students, I got to know his music on another level. I got to delve into its "nuts & bolts" and see how to approach it as a musician, a singer, and an actor. Then, glimpsing his music's inner workings, one can REALLY appreciate its genius. Few people, IMO, captured various aspects of the human condition better than Sondheim did with his creations. This was certainly true within the genre of the Broadway musical. One can go through the total spectrum of all his shows and I daresay everyone can find a character with which they can identify SOMEWHERE. There are still certain songs sung by certain characters in certain situations that touch me to the depths of my soul as no other. The way he could so skillfully put the right words into a character's mouth, with often delicious rhymes, and then set it to just the right music--THAT was genius. We shan't see his like again.
After wallowing in the tons of tributes pouring out for Sondheim, and there have been some brilliant ones, I wanted to share one I happened upon that I found particularly touching. This is from former New York Magazine writer/critic Frank Rich, a favourite writer of mine. Few were perhaps as well acquainted with Sondheim as he was, and in this article he wrote for New York he writes about his long relationship with Sondheim, how they met and their ups and downs of their friendship through the years. He offers many insights into the man that can only come from someone who knew him and loved him as a friend. I offer it here merely as an adjunct to Dan's wonderful post, and as an FYI for them that might like a further glimpse into this amazing man and his career. Enjoy:
https://nymag.com/news/frank-rich/stephen-sondheim-2013-12/?utm_source=fb
Wonderful! What a genius we have lost.
Thank you, Dan, for the fond memories of time past. We used to be in magical times it seemed. Although there were undercurrents of what was to come, it appeared that those “old times” would continue forever as we ride into the sunset. But alas, just these last five years have almost erased, in my opinion, the last one hundred years of the progress we were making as a Nation.
Of course, the question is now, where are we headed? Hopefully, the clowns, which seemed to have been sent, are never to return. Exit stage left with sad faces hidden behind masks.
Wow, so entertaining! I especially enjoyed the 2nd half of this tribute to Stephen Sondheim. And the surprise singer Scott Bakula. With thanks for a Saturday Smile and more.
Thanks for making me smile this morning, Dan, even though the smile comes with a certain amount of sadness at the passing of the genius Sondheim. I have got to be the biggest lover of musicals, especially his musicals. I will certainly miss him and his brilliance.Thank you again, Dan. You have been making me smile for many years. Actually, since I was a young bride and I was watching you on television trying very hard not to get blown away by Hurricane Carla!