Send in the Hounds! Sondheim's Worst Lyric
The Broadway Maven, David Benkof, interprets Broadway
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Shalom!
This week, The Broadway Maven looks at an overview of Broadway music:
• On Tuesday, May 10 at Noon and 7 pm ET, we’ll have our second meeting of Introduction to Broadway. That’s the last day registration will be available. Sign up here.
• On Thursday, May 12 at Noon ONLY, online music teacher Mateo Chavez Lewis will be presenting Broadway Music 101. Sign up here.
• This Weekly Blast:
A) proposes a verse that might be termed Sondheim’s worst lyric;
B) includes a YouTube GEM from Mateo (Thursday’s guest) about a song from Come From Away;
D) RANTs about the poor reception Beanie Feldstein has received as Fanny Brice in the revival of Funny Girl; and
D) provides a YouTube GEM comparing six teens performing as the Phantom of the Opera.
Stephen Sondheim was a genius of lyric writing, but even Sondheim had his off days. Probably his worst lyric comes from the song “I’m Still Here” from Follies.
Now, that song has lots of great lyrics:
First you’re another sloe-eyed vamp
Then someone’s mother; then you’re camp
Then you career from career to career
But there’s also this lyric:
Been called a pinko, commie tool
Got through it stinko by my pool
I should have gone to an acting school…
The nugget of the problem is that “commie tool” is not “in the language.” It’s not a phrase people use. In fact, Google shows 83 uses of “commie tool,” almost all of which refer to Sondheim’s lyric.
By contrast, “communist tool” has more than 300,000 hits. That’s the colloquialism in the English language.
So who cares? I mean, Sondheim needed to cut two syllables, and “commie” alone is in the language. Sondheim’s a master of language, so he gets to coin phrases, doesn’t he?
But here, the letter L in “commie tool” is too frequently swallowed, leaving the listener with the equally plausible lyric:
Been called a pinko, commie too
which makes the ear come to expect
Got through it stinko by my poo
which makes no sense in context and is in fact rather unpleasant.
Here, Thursday’s guest Mateo Chavez Lewis breaks down the stirring number from Come From Away entitled “Me and the Sky.”
The reviews of the new revival of Funny Girl have not been kind. Most of the recent rain on Beanie Feldstein’s parade (she plays Fanny Brice) has focused on her singing voice. (I found it pleasant enough.)
A lot of online snark, though, has focused on her weight (Feldstein is more than a little zaftig). The major reviews, though, seem to have studiously avoided the topic.
I think that’s a mistake.
Feldstein’s size is essential to her reinterpretation of the role. In the last 58 years, standards of beauty have moved in Barbra Streisand’s direction. Since the show requires a homely lead actress (the very first song is “If a Girl Isn’t Pretty”), Streisand (Jewish nose and all) would never work in the role today.
Given society’s continuing prejudice against heavier women, though, casting a woman of Feldstein’s heft was a master move on the part of the producers of Funny Girl.
Phantom of the Opera is a rather ambitious show for a high school to produce. Here are six young men singing “Music of the Night.” Which was most impressive? Explain your answer in the comments. You can consider factors beyond voice: costume, scenery, props, movement, makeup.
How do Broadway songs in major keys differ from those in minor keys? How can you tell the difference? Why does it matter?
That’s just one example of the kinds of wonders Thursday’s guest Mateo Chavez Lewis will expose us to as we peel back the layers of Broadway music. With an entertaining presentation filled with musical examples throughout the Broadway canon, Mateo will bring new perspectives to both experts and novices.
Watch the video below with Thursday’s guest Mateo Chavez Lewis. Mateo will explain the role of the 11 o’clock number. Choose your favorite 11 o’clock number and explain in the comments why you chose it.
Note: links to register for ALL classes are ALWAYS available at TheBroadwayMaven.com.
• Tuesday, May 10 Introduction to Broadway, part 2 of 9 (Noon and 7 pm)
• Thursday, May 12 Broadway Music 101 with Mateo Chavez Lewis (FREE, Noon only)
• Tuesday, May 17 Introduction to Broadway, part 3 of 9 (Noon and 7 pm)
The Broadway Maven, David Benkof, helps students further their appreciation of musical theater through his classes, his YouTube Channel, and his Weekly Blast. Contact him at DavidBenkof@gmail.com.