The puzzling mind of Stephen Sondheim
His cryptic clues deciphered
Shalom, Broadway lovers!
The Broadway Maven’s classes will resume on Tuesday, July 11 and Tuesday, July 18 with a two-part Master Class on Lerner & Loewe taught by Peter Filichia. Classes meet on Zoom from noon to 1:15 pm ET. $25 for the two-part series.
This Weekly Blast contains:
A) an ESSAY about Stephen Sondheim’s cryptic crossword puzzles;
B) a SURVEY in which readers can pick the next Broadway Maven classes;
C) a HOMEWORK VIDEO by Peter Filichia for the My Fair Lady class;
D) a NEWS ROUNDUP;
E) A Broadway Maven YouTube GEM criticizing My Fair Lady; and
F) LAST BLASTs about Fiddler on the Roof and Rodgers & Hammerstein.
In 1968 and 1969, Stephen Sondheim was hard at work at something innovative, a new concept that would startle and enchant his followers. No, I’m not talking about his trailblazing musical Company. The late 1960s was the period when Sondheim also created 42 custom crossword puzzles for New York Magazine, which in their own way were just as radical.
Now, the beloved composer-lyricist hated regular crosswords. They’re “a mechanical test of tirelessly esoteric knowledge,” he wrote. But he loved puzzles, especially a British variant known as the “cryptic crossword,” which he called
a test of wits…. The pleasures involved in solving it are the deeply satisfactory ones of following and matching a devious mind (that of the puzzle’s author).
Fans of Sweeney Todd and Sunday in the Park with George will recognize the deeply satisfying pleasure of matching wits with the Master, so it’s worth a quick peek at his brief but remarkable puzzling period.
Cryptic crosswords typically involve puns, anagrams, homophones, and other wordplay, with each clue offering two possible interpretations. For example, the clue [SPORTS HEADLINE: Siamese Twins Major Attraction at Yankee Stadium] gives the answer DOUBLEHEADER, which refers to both a major attraction at a stadium and the fact that conjoined twins have two heads.
In mid-1968, Sondheim’s friend Gloria Steinem invited him to make puzzles for a new magazine she was working at. He felt Americans deserved exposure to cryptic crosswords and decided to make some that would be both appropriate and fun for American solvers.
Many of his puzzles look radically different from traditional grids, and often have complicated meta-instructions that make every puzzle unique. But the clues tend to follow a series of rules. Even experienced puzzle minds can sometimes get stuck understanding a clue, but the “aha!” moment when a solver figures out what Mr. Sondheim meant is delectably gratifying.
Here’s another of Sondheim’s clues: [Communist embraced bore, went to bed].
The answer is RETIRED, because the word “red” (communist) is divided in half so it can “embrace” a word that means “bore” (tire). And he “went to bed” – retired, get it?
Or try: [Roosevelt, for instance. Real one? Doubtful.]
Here, the answer is ELEANOR. It starts with a straightforward clue, but the word “doubtful” is an extra hint; it means the phrase “Real one” is an anagram, which in this case gives our answer.
The last two examples are Sondheim clues that relate to musical theater. He wrote [We hear the new musical is German] in 1968 when Hair was making a splash on Broadway. The phrase “we hear” is a signal that the answer is a homophone, and HERR is a German homophone for “hair.”
Finally, consider this complicated clue: [Two MGM musical stars (originally in “Pal Joey”) living in Switzerland?]
To solve it, you need to know that Gene Kelly and Van Johnson were both major stars of MGM musicals. They also starred on Broadway together in Pal Joey. And putting their names together makes GENEVAN, a name for someone living in part of Switzerland.
Unfortunately, the published version of Sondheim’s puzzles is long out of print and nearly impossible to find. However, the website for New York Magazine harbors most of them, although accessing the puzzles requires a paid subscription.
Broadway Maven David Benkof is an occasional cruciverbalist (crossword constructor) who has had three puzzles published in The New York Times.
SURVEY: Into the Woods or Gypsy? A Chorus Line or Damn Yankees? Your opinion matters. The Broadway Maven’s classes will be back in full force in August, with David teaching Broadway shows on Sundays and David and Peter co-teaching Master Classes on Sondheim on Tuesdays. You have the power to select the next classes — they’ll be chosen strictly based on the results of the survey linked below. There are 12 Sondheim classes and 30 other classes to choose from.
Your guidance is greatly appreciated! Survey ends Friday at sundown.
For Tuesday’s My Fair Lady class, watch the video below and answer Peter’s question in the comments. As Peter explains, you’ll need to be familiar with the excellent movie version of the show to answer.
And if you want to get started on the July 18 Camelot homework, it’s below.
NEWS ROUNDUP: MAZEL TOVAH: the video of the Center for Jewish Heritage’s “Broadway Responds to Anti-Semitism” panel has been posted to YouTube. Panelists include former Broadway Maven guest and Parade book writer Alfred Uhry, and Funny Girl actress Tovah Feldshuh, who had the most enlightening remarks. Instead of anglicizing her birth name, Terri Sue Feldshuh leaned into her Jewish heritage many years ago and started using her name from Hebrew school, Tovah, personally and professionally. It was a “badge of courage,“ she said, that led to no objections from anti-Semites, but only from fellow Jews…. BRIEF SHINING MOMENT: Say goodbye to Broadway’s best sword fights (probably ever), as Lincoln Center’s excellent production of Camelot has announced an early closing. The new version of the show, with a book by Aaron Sorkin, was well-directed and well-acted, with vigorous stage fighting (instead of characters just observing the duels), but it failed to catch on with audiences or critics, winning none of its five Tony nominations. TALK LESS: Disney Plus has released a new sing-along edition of its live-capture version of Hamilton, which first appeared on the streaming service three years ago. Here’s a preview.
BROADWAY MAVEN YouTube GEMs: One of the first videos on The Broadway Maven YouTube channel was this two-parter complaining about My Fair Lady. Watching them is a different kind of preparation for Tuesday’s class; do you agree with my arguments? Answer in the comments.
Note: links to register for ALL classes are ALWAYS available at TheBroadwayMaven.com.
• Tuesday, July 11 Master Class: My Fair Lady with Peter Filichia (Noon to 1:15 pm ET, $25 for the series)
• Tuesday, July 18 Master Class: Camelot with Peter Filichia (Noon to 1:15 pm ET, $25 for the series)
• Friday, July 21 BroadwayCon Panel on Stephen Sondheim with David Benkof, Peter Filichia, Howard Ho, and Gail Leondar-Wright (1:15 pm)
LAST BLAST: “Tevye” means “God is Good,” and indeed in Fiddler on the Roof, Tevye's conversations with God are a recurring motif, but it’s easy to miss how those dialogues subtly shift as the story progresses. In the beginning, Tevye's tone is almost casual, as if chatting with an old friend. However, by the time we reach the song "Chavaleh," his tone is one of pain and desperation, as he agonizes over his daughter’s choice to marry a gentile and leave the faith. His evolving interactions with God are a window to his character development.
LAST BLAST: Isn’t it fun when a person’s name lends itself to an apt anagram? Well, the creators of shows like Oklahoma! and Carousel have such names. Innovative composer Richard Rodgers’s name is an anagram for “RARE CHORD GRIDS,” and Oscar Hammerstein, whose lyrics and books told of the enduring power of love, had a name that’s an anagram for “ROMANCE HAS MERITS.”
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.