Sondheim of the Day - Company

The world of musical theatre is in mourning - as are we here at Dolores Delargo Towers - at the death of one of the greatest ever talents in that genre Mr Stephen Sondheim.

As any regular reader will be aware, I, Madam Arcati and the rest of our "gang" are avid Sondheimites. It was, indeed, The Madam who really introduced me to the great man's incredible repertoire, courtesy of his cherished copy of the original West End cast recording of Ned Sherrin's hit revue Side By Side By Sondheim - and he even got Mr Sondheim's autograph back when he worked in the theatre, which I had framed for his 50th and takes pride of place on our wall:

click any pic to embiggen

By way of a fitting tribute, this week I plan to feature a musical per day from the Sondheim back-catalogue (which stretches back six decades!), for your delectation, starting with a masterpiece, Company...

The first second [after A Funny Thing Happened On the Way to the Forum] successful musical for which the Maestro wrote both words and music, it was lauded at its launch in 1970 for its innovative adult-oriented themes. A synopsis of the plot from the Sondheim.com site:

Set firmly in, and often about, New York, Company follows five married, once married, or soon to be married couples and their mutual friend, Robert, a 35 year old bachelor who has been unable to connect in a long-term relationship. The relationships are presented in a series of vignettes, primarily through Bobby's eyes, so that we see the less than ideal aspects of commitment. However, it is obvious to the audience that the committed are happy. Eventually, Bobby learns that while relationships aren't perfect, they are a necessary part of "Being Alive."

Without further ado, let's have a selection of songs from the show's fabulous score:

Neil Patrick Harris and cast - Side By Side

Elaine Stritch - The Little Things You Do Together

Millicent Martin, Julia McKenzie and David Kernan - You Could Drive A Person Crazy

Madeline Kahn - (Not) Getting Married Today

[Note - there numerous versions out there of this number - including when Julie Andrews famously sang all three parts]

Bernadette Peters and Richard Chamberlain - Barcelona

Elaine Stritch - Ladies Who Lunch

[Another song that has been covered dozens of times - notably, during lockdown last year, by a cast of divas in dressing-gowns!]

Julian Ovenden - Being Alive (BBC Proms 2010 - Sondheim at 80)

It is a stunning show - we went to see the amazing "gender-swapped" version back in 2018, starring Rosalie Craig and Patti LuPone, and believe me, the numbers still work with two boys Getting Married Today, a male "trolly-dolly" heading to Barcelona, and the "boop-boop-be-doos" of You Could Drive A Person Crazy performed by three men!

Everything you ever needed to know about Company at Simply Sondheim site.

RIP, Stephen Joshua Sondheim (22nd March 1930 – 26th November 2021)

What IS this thing called, love?

I am just not ready to start yet another week in the benighted office - I feel like I need "more weekend"...

Hey ho. These things are sent to try us. It pays the bills.

To lift the mood a little on this Tacky Music Monday, here's today's birthday girl the magnificent Elisabeth Welch, in the company of musical theatre aficionados Karen Morrow, David Kernan and [Alan Jay Lerner's widow] Liz Robertson, with a medley of Cole Porter numbers: What is This Thing Called Love?, Nobody's Chasing Me and Friendship.

Elisabeth Welch, Karen Morrow, David Kernan and Liz Robertson - Cole Porter TV Medley

That cheered me up! Have a good week, dear reader...

Elisabeth Margaret Welch (27th February 1904 – 15th July 2003)

Gee! I'd like to be - on some marquee, all twinkling lights

Merely because Elaine Paige played one of her songs this morning on her Radio 2 show, my thoughts turn to one of my favourite showbiz artists ever - the fantastic Elaine Stritch!

Still very much in the business (at the age of 83!), Elaine cannot be summed up succinctly - a career that spans seven decades is not to be sniffed at!

Needless to say, the "Grand Dame of Broadway" has worked with them all - Noel Coward, Rogers & Hart, Irving Berlin, Ethel Merman, Jule Styne, Betty Comden & Adolph Green, John Lahr, Hal Prince, and of course Stephen Sondheim. She trained at drama school alongside giants of the acting world, including Marlon Brando (with whom she had a brief, if apparently unconsummated, flirtation) and Bea Arthur.

In the 1970s she moved to the UK, taking up a long residence in one of the suites at the Savoy. It was during this time that she became most famous to British audiences, playing alongside Donald Sinden in the hugely successful ITV comedy Two's Company, and appearing several times on Parkinson, and in Tales of the Unexpected and Jackanory.

After the death of her British husband in 1982, she returned to the US, where she has not stopped working since - a variety of TV shows from The Cosby Show to The Big Gay Sketch Show. And along the way she continued to appear on stage, most notably her award-winning one woman show At Liberty.

It was at the UK run of this show at the Old Vic in 2002 that we were privileged to see the divine Ms Stritch on stage for the first time. Madame Arcati was particularly thrilled, having been a fan of hers since acquiring a copy of her eponymous 1960s album Stritch. And she certainly didn't disappoint! Interspersing songs from her long repertoire with snippets and anecdotes from her life and theatrical career, it was a magical occasion - and a rare opportunity to see a true legend perform.

Here's a few bits and pieces I found, as a tribute to this remarkable lady...

The song EP played this morning on Radio 2:





Here's Elaine in conversation (at a gay centre benefit just last November) with American gossip columnist Liz Smith, known as "The Grand Dame of Dish", with whom Elaine has been friends for decades (see above photo of them as young ladies):



With Millicent Martin, Marian Montgomery and David Kernan in Ned Sherrin's 1979 ITV series Song by Song - a show that I have absolutely no recollection of whatsoever (bizarrely, but then I was merely a teenager, and had yet to really discover my penchant for showtunes):

Millicent Martin, Marion Montgomery, David Kernan, and Elaine Stritch - Dorothy Fields Medley

One of Elaine's classic Sondheim numbers:

Elaine Stritch - Ladies Who Lunch

And her show-stopper, also one of Sondheim's greatest...

Elaine Stritch - Broadway Baby

I love this woman!

Elaine Stritch on the Broadway Database

Elaine Stritch on IMDB