Sondheim sounds like Sondheim

[lauradi7dw]

We went to see the Lexington High School production of "Assassins" last night. The usual combination of nearly professional and occasionally flat. I detest the little microphones that seem common in musical theater now anyway, and one of them was distorting. The people at the mixing board eventually killed that one and we could hear the performer anyway, sitting in the back row. I expect they could learn to project.
I've noticed before that many Sondheim songs are easily recognizable as such. These three in particular have similarities for me:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N7XRg8scL7o

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-jBb7aDfMPM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dEEIjmB0JfU

Comments

[luckylefty.livejournal.com]

We saw that production on Thursday night (the actor who played Lee Harvey Oswald, James Swanson, is the son of our friend Craig Swanson). I agree with you about the microphones. We subscribed to Turtle Lane Playhouse about 5 years ago because they were one of the few places you could see unamplified musicals. Since then, they've started amplifying. MIT Theatre Guild is now the only place I know to hear unamplified musicals.

I think the students at Lexington high would be better served by more and smaller productions, rather than the "big musical" focus. More students could have big roles, They could perform in a smaller space, where they wouldn't feel the need to amplify. And they could be exposed to a wider variety of musical and theatrical styles.

[lauradi7.livejournal.com]

We had planned to go on Thursday but I had car trouble and we didn't make it back home in time to go.
There are little plays in the black box theater upstairs, including some
student-authored playlets, but there is always one big musical in the fall, and by specific policy of Mr Bogart, the director, it never is going to be stuff like Oklahoma or any of the other old standard high school fare. The most appalling one (to us) was a production of Nine, not just inappropriate for a high school but for anybody, as far as I'm concerned. I think my favorite of the ones we've seen while living in Lexington was the Marx Brothers' play "Animal Crackers," but that was an aberration - too family friendly for the usual LHS production. The year they did the Scarlet Pimpernel they changed the character Citizen Chauvelin to female, changing some of the implications rather a lot.

[luckylefty.livejournal.com]

Mr. Bogart's policy saddens and puzzles me. If he conducted the Lexington High School symphony orchestra, would he have a policy that they would never perform Beethoven and Brahms symphonies and other such "old standard high school fare"? These musicals are standard fare at high schools, community theaters, professional local theaters, and broadway revivals, because they are great shows. And while I personally don't like it much, I would have thought that "Les Miz" had by now moved to the category of "old standard high school shows", so I don't quite understand his categorization. Mostly when I've gone to see James perform, I've felt "James was great; too bad it was in such a weak show". There's a reason people put on Oklahoma more often than Evita---it's a much better show!