tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4763772100015353700.post530959336979182777..comments2023-10-11T14:18:03.816+01:00Comments on Works Well: Let's get rid of the clownsRoderick Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16828395545197001637noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4763772100015353700.post-92132547707202825292010-11-23T13:05:53.581+00:002010-11-23T13:05:53.581+00:00Christopher: As to meeting minutes, virtually all ...Christopher: As to meeting minutes, virtually all of mine were contained on one sheet of A4<br /><br />FigMince: I was in two minds about Mr S. I was impressed by his willingness to chase down character, plot and wit in his lyrics, also to ditch whole songs because the show would have been too long, also to re-write, often for the tiniest of reasons. I also recognised the failings in others he pointed out. But he appears to elevate show tunes to the level of grand art and is less concerned with what is memorable.<br /><br />He knocks Lorenz Hart for a nonsensical line in My Romance:<br /><br /><em>Or a waltz to a constantly surprising refrain</em><br /><br />and I can see his reason. But the fact is neither Sondheim nor anyone else ever bettered: <br /><br /><em>When love congeals,<br />It soon reveals,<br />The faint aroma of performing seals,<br />The double-crossing of a pair of heels,<br />I wish I were in love again.</em><br /><br />For which I would forgive him all sorts of easily forgotten errors.Roderick Robinsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16828395545197001637noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4763772100015353700.post-63542857528797552962010-11-23T01:12:53.888+00:002010-11-23T01:12:53.888+00:00I'm not sure, BB, about the propriety of Mr So...I'm not sure, BB, about the propriety of Mr Sondheim's going public with his personal evaluations of the work of his peers. Mind you, I'm the guy who once told an industry workshop that peers are people you're expected to pretend to consider to be as good as you are – and didn't get the laugh I'd hoped for, probably because the room was full of lesser mortals. (Note the verbosity of three consecutive infinitives in that sentence.)<br /><br />But anyway, in regard to Mr Sondheim's critical analysis of musicals, he in particular should be aware that there's a difference between execution and audience reception, between the deconstruction of the raw material and the eating of the pie. If it tastes good, maybe the composition doesn't matter.Allan Lloydhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11841668091720591745noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4763772100015353700.post-86653893686120129072010-11-22T20:01:44.664+00:002010-11-22T20:01:44.664+00:00I learned my craft writing engineering reports and...I learned my craft writing engineering reports and meeting minutes. That kind of writing is more spare than Hemingway.christopherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04201537517464996231noreply@blogger.com