an abstruse bacharach/sondheim link?

[Steve Schenck]

Over the years, in addition to loving Burt's music, I've come to really enjoy the theater music of Steve Sondheim. Recently, while listening to my newly-acquired "On the Flip Side" CD, that there were portions of the terrific "Juanita's Place" that sound a bit like a piece from Sondheim's early 80s show, "Merrily We Roll Along." I'm talking about the instrumental part of Juanita's place, which I can only imagine was a great dance scene. To me, there are parts that sound so much like parts of "Rich and Famous" from "Merrily." Or, that should be vice versa, as "FLip Side" was from 1967, and "Merrily" was from 1981 or 82... Another interesting piece of the puzzle is that Sondheim also wrote a TV musical for "Stage 67," which was the program that put on "On the Flip Side." His show was called "Evening Primrose." It's not hard to imagine that the various composers met each other, perhaps saw some of their works in progress, perhaps listened to one another's works... A year later, Burt did "Promises, Promises," for which the choreographer was Michael Bennet. Two years later, he did the groundbreaking "Company" with Sondheim. Of that show, Bennet wrote that they were very influenced by Burt's work on "Promises," particularly the way "Turkey Lurkey Time" was used... Who knows, maybe it's all just coincidence, but maybe there was some cross-fertilization of ideas and talents, even if unconscious.

[kyleburke]

Good to see another person has made these connections. I think "Merrily We Roll Along" is Sondheim's most atypical score, as well as being one of his most artistically successful, and it definitely hearkens back to that sort of brassy dynamism that made "Company" such a break-out show. I don't think he would deny that "Company" followed the trend of the new, sophisticated pop style that had its real genesis in "Promises, Promises" (which was later taken up by Cy Coleman and innumberable others). I happened to be listening to the opening night party radio show for "Promises, Promises" yesterday evening, and probably the most-repeated sentiment on that night in 1968 was how the music had broken boundaries and represented a "new horizon" for Broadway music - something easy to forget 38 years later. I would even go so far as to speculate that Burt's name at least came up when Sondheim, George Furth and Hal Prince were adapting and updating the Franklin Shepard character from the Kaufman and Hart play - one has to admit that a few aspects of his life and personality ring strikingly familiar.

[KeithBurke]

Jeeze, kyleburke you sure do talk purdy.

[kyleburke]

Y'old Norristown cowpoke. Come to think of it, no one but me would dare to coin the term 'innumberable'.

BTW - are we related?

[KeithBurke]

Through marriage

[EricMontreal22]

Rich and Happy aalways reminds me of the dance break from 1967's STRAGE version of Cabaret by Kander and Ebb--the song Telephone Song (not in the movie or revival). That was a Hal prince show...

However there are many Sondheim/Bacharach fans besides us--you might wanna ask on www.sondheim.com's forum which is *great* and filled with a few other Burt fans

However an equally big connection between Company and Promises Promises besides Bennett was Sondheim wanted a poppy "contemporary" sound so found his dream orchestrator (who has done all his scores since, excluding Sunday in the Park and Assassins) with the brilliant John Tunick.

E