4saturday review Saturday March 32012 | the times

CRAIG SUGDEN; KOBAL; TIMES PHOTOGRAPHY, SCOUT TUFANKJIAN /POLARIS; DONALD COOPER /PHOTOSTAGE StephenSondheim

fulfil afunction as aconstant feeding teacher.“Iwould have very much liked to struggle.”Yetthereisamelancholicthorni- knowingwhat Iknow now.Imight enjoy groundforemotionsandthoughts.”Broad- have gone intotheoretical mathematics, nessalongsidehiswarmth.Hashesuffered things more fully,appreciatingmoments way’smosttalked-about success, The Book but music is amathematical art.”Sond- from depression? “Mygeneral tenor is forwhat they were instead of takingthem of Mormon(bythemakers ofSouthPark),is heim’s ambition wastosee his name on a slightly below the medium line.”His father forgranted.” He recalls having Katharine ‘Nearlyeverything a“funcollegeshow”, hesays dismissively. marquee, “as proof of my existence”.This worked from 14 “and alwaysexpectedtobe Hepburnasa“verydifficult”neighbour, When acustoms form asks where he happenedwith West SideStory. “I sawit, bankrupt, no matterhow successful he got complainingabout the noise as he sang, lives, Sondheim would liketowrite“the thought‘OhmyGod’,then‘Now what?’ ” —itgavehim aslightly depressive air,I composing Company. When her fireplace past”,though his own pastwasn’t much Some of his musicals, particularly inherited that from him”. Sondheim only belchedsmoke intohis house, shecharged fun. He grew up on the Upper West Side, Sunday in the Park withGeorge,and his became “seriously depressed” once, after him half the repair bill. One day, in the gar- the only child of Herbert, adress books are about artistic creation, recoveringfromaheartattackin1979. “I dens,heglancedupandsawHepburnlook- manufacturer,and Etta, who distillingorder from chaos. gothome, wasstartingtorecuperate, then ingout of awindow.“Behind her wasthe on Broadway is designedthe dresses. He “I have German blood in one morningthought,‘Idon’t want to live.’ shadow of aman hanginguphis trousers. doesn’tremember feeling me. Ilikeorder.Itend Iguess it wasadelayedreaction to the He came forward and put his arms around lonely,though, aged10, to be aconservative heartattack. The nextday Iwokeup herwaist.It wasSpencerTracy.” when his parents di- artist, then Iinstincti- perfectlyfine.” But,asinhis musicals, the nostalgia vorced—Herbertleft vely go forsomething Sondheim knows that Hammerstein comesspiked,whimsy briskly subverted. Etta, nicknamedFoxy, outré and pull back. would have been proud of him, because he Eyeinghis awards, Sondheim says: “When foranother woman — My collaborators push has been experimental: “Evenifhehated youget to acertain age they give youalot commercial crap’ “lifebecame unpleas- me towards the experi- the shows he would have appreciated I ofcutglass.Theonlyawardsthatmeanany- ant and scarring”. mental.” didn’t tread the worn path.”Inthe UK last thingarethe onesthatcomewithcash.” Mother and son moved WhatpiercesinaSond- year he sawAlecky Blythe and Adam SweeneyTodd: TheDemonBarberof to Pennsylvania. “I felt heim musical are lines Cork’s London Road “and felt exhilarated FleetStreet,AdelphiTheatre,London unhappy. Shewas difficult. such as in Losing My Mind: in the first15minutes”. Despitebland WC2(sweeneytoddwestend.com,0844 Shewas traumatisedbymy “SometimesIstand/ In the Broadway fare, “people are usingthemusi- 8110053),Mar10toSept 22.Times+ father leaving and took it out on me: middle of the floor,/ Notgoing calformtodoall kinds of things and I’m memberscanbuyticketstoseeSweeney not an uncommon situation, the overbear- left,/Notgoingright”. He lethally zeroesin proud that,inthis countryatleast, Iam Todd followedby anexclusivepost-show As SweeneyToddopens in London, itsauthorexplainsto ing, grasping, voracious mother who both on moments. Arthur Laurents, “a serious partlyresponsibleforthat”. Q&Awith Michael BallandImelda lovesand hates her child. I’m afraid my playwrightwith acapital P”,and Hammer- He admits to being“entirely nostalgic”, StauntononMar15.Formoredetails,go Tim Teeman whymusical theatreisinterminal decline mother never lovedme. Idon’t think she stein told him to “be specific,not general. adding: “I would love to live my lifeagain tomytimesplus.co.uk wanted children. Shewas acareer lady.I Oscar said to writethings as Isaw them. nthe room where Stephen Sondheim deplete. Only supreme geniuseslike thinkIwasan accidentalbirth.Shesaidmy When Itookhim my firstmusical he said, composes, in his Manhattan townhouse, Stravinsky and Picasso worked intotheir father had forcedher to have twoabor- ‘You’re imitatingme. Have the courage to are awards on amantelpiece, aMacBook eightiesand ninetieswith vigour and tions. Since shewas acompulsive liar I be yourself.’That wasagood thing to tell a Proonaday-bed, afrayeddictionaryon freshness. Look at George Bernard Shaw’s don’tbelievethat,but I’ll bet the basis of 15-year-old. It wasthe seedheplanted, alectern,aline drawingofSondheim, a later plays: it’s like, ‘Shut up and lie down.’” truth wasthat shedidn’t want ababy. She whichflowered,thencoveredmylife.” collection of brass letter“S” ornaments He seems avuncular,but sharp. “I’m not wascertainly no mother to me when they Sondheim came out in his forties, but he and astained-glass window lookingout aretiringtype. I’m not agolfplayer. Ican’t were married. My father wasmore of a didn’t agonise about being gay. “In my on communal gardens surrounded by imagine sittinginfront of the television. father,hetookmetoball games. Ithink he generation people didn’t talk about it. The skyscrapers. Most apposite, foralyricist Painful as it is, writingisstill funand Idon’t lovedme.”Hesought custody of Sond- awareness wasn’t there and Iwas alate noted forhis fiendishuse of words, is a haveanythingelseto do.” heim, but wasrefused—he had lefthis bloomer sexually.” He hasn’t formed many block of stone with the epigram: “Nothing Sondheimcallshishome“thehousethat wifefor another woman. “Mymother had relationships and says: “I didn’t fall in love I is writteninstone.”Onablack piano sits Gypsy built”, referringtothe hit musical no time forme, but the minutemyfather till Iwas 60.I’vealwaysenjoyedsolitude.It sheet music with crotchets, quavers and forwhich he wrotethe lyrics. While the leftshe focusedonmebecause sheneeded is receivedwisdom to want somebody or phrasesinpencil.Almosttenyearsafterhis productions entirely created by him have someonetobeatup.” want to be with somebody,but Ididn’t lastnew musical, Sondheim reveals he is not been vast commercial successes, they Later, Sondheim says, shewantedhimto until Imet Peter[Jones, adramatist], and if writinganewpiece. are theatrical totems, including Company, supporther.Did he mind? “Myanalyst Ihadn’t met him Iwould have gone onper- AllTogetherNow,whichheiscomposing Sunday in thePark withGeorge and Assas- onceaskedthatandIthought,‘IguessIdo.’ fectly fine.”HeandJonesweretogetherfor with DavidIves, playwright of the Broad- sins. Criticshaven’t alwayshailedhim — Shebledmefor as much money as she tenyears, now Jonesworks with him. “We wayhit Venus in Fur,isbasedona“small his musicals, likehis songs, are lushbut could.Shealso stolefromme.”Once, when areveryclosefriends.He isveryhappywith moment”inapastIvesplayand focuseson complex, peppybut difficult,playful and shewas about to have surgery, shesent his partner,” says Sondheim, who is also “two people and what goes intotheir rela- painful —yet alongsidehis best-known Sondheim alettersaying that her one happywith his partner,JeffRomley,33. “I tionship”, Sondheim says. He began work- standards (Send in theClowns, Losing My will do anyofmyshows again, maybe they somethingIhaven’tseen before. Follies is a musical maestro regret wasgivingbirth to him. Wasthere would miss it [love]ifitwasn’t there,”he ingonitin1991; similar in structure to Mind)they spikilyendure. willdothemeverydayoftheyear.It’sirrele- dour,experimental work. The nun doesn’t Above: Stephen anyreconciliation before shedied? “No. says. “But Idon’t imagine what lifewould Sondheim’s Merrily We Roll Along,itfol- NewYork recently hostedrevivals of vanttome.” escapefromtheNazisin theend.” SondheimwithSweeney Shewas in anursinghome the lastfew have been likehad Ibeen with someone in lows the storyofarelationship backwards: MerrilyWe RollAlongandFollies,bothpep- He thinks some of his shows have been West SideStory,for which he composed Todd director Jonathan years. Iwentacoupleof timesayear.” my twenties. Therewasn’tthatyearning.” from the present to the firstmeeting. “I’m peredwith those stab-in-the-solar-plexus “unfairly maligned”,particularly Merrily, the lyrics(his bigbreak), and Gypsy were Kent.Left: Michael Ball He sawhis firstmusical at 9, but cinema He doesn’tlikeageing.“Ifeelsuperannu- aprocrastinator,” Sondheim admits with songs about love,loss and the passingof which receivedbrickbats at its premiere in not consideredsuccessful until hit movies as thedemon barber wasSondheim’s firstobsession. Aged10,he ated.Obviously,Ithink about my mortali- his affable growl. “We’ll writefor acouple time; this summer the London revival 1981. “Itwas perceivedasabigger failure were madeofthem, he says. “They made with RobertBurt. Below: became friends with Jamie Hammerstein, ty,particularly when your friends are of months, then have aworkshop.It of Into the Woods will play in Central Park, than it might have been,”Sondheim says. theirmoneyback,whichismydefinitionof Sondheim at home. son of Oscar,the composer who became dying—all my collaborators on West Side seemed experimental andfresh 20 while the much-hailedChichester Festival “When ashow is afailure the firsttime, it is ahit. AFunny Thing Happenedonthe Way Aboveright:the 1961 Sondheim’s “surrogate father”and men- Story and Gypsy are dead. I’m the only one years ago. Ihaveafeelingitmay production of Sweeney Todd is about to never forgiven, even though we did alot of to theForum wasmybiggest hit.”Hewrote film of We st SideStory tor. “EveryoneforgetsOscarwasanexperi- left.”Hehasarthritis, “oritmightbetendo- not be experimental and fresh open in the West End. BasedonChristo- work on it.”For everygood review “there’s music and lyricsbut not the book. “That mental playwright. Everyone forgets that nitis”, in his right thumb: “There are some anymore.” pher Bond’splayabout the homicidal bar- onethatsaysyou’reapiece ofshit”. wasexperimental but in the tradition of Oklahoma wasexperimental. It didn’t sell days when it’s hard to writemysignature.” Sondheim,81andwinnerofan ber and influencedbythe unsettlingfilm This is said evenly; he doesn’tregret not vaudeville, which the audience latchedon out on openingnight. West SideStory was He has “the usual lower back problems so Oscar,multiple Tonysand Gram- scoresofBernard Herrmann and adesire becomingaBroadway darling. “If you’re to.Ihardly consider myself astarving art- experimental, but if it had been adisaster walking isn’t apleasure”,and acataract in mys, is compact and white- to “scare audiences”,Sondheim’s musical writingexperimental work, youcan’t ex- ist. I’vemadeavery good living,justnot a I’m not sure Iwouldn’t have slippedback his right eye, “but it’s not bad enough to get haired, his black standard wasadaptedfor the screen by Tim Burton pecttobepopular,inthe sense of having blockbusterone.Idon’thaveaprivate jet.” intosomethingcomfortable.” operatedon”. poodles—Addie and (withJohnnyDeppinthetitlerole)in2007. largeaudiences.Veryfewshowsofanyreal Sondheim decriesmodernBroadway. He wasdrawn to mathematicsbut stud- On he writes;the challenge is to keep Willie, namedafter Awardingthe Chichester revivalfive “Mostinterestingplaysaredoneoff-Broad- iedmusic because of an inspirational the work fresh.“It’s averythin, maybe characters in Road starslastOctober,LibbyPurvessaidin The waybecause there isn’t apublic anymore invisible, line between your style and Show —athis feet. Times that though aSondheim master- ‘Posterity doesn’t forplays, unless they feature astar,in cliché. If Iplaymyfavouritechord, am I “I’m writingvery work is familiar,itis“never so thrilling, which case they will go to see the star;it repeatingmyself or is that who Iam?” He slowly.It’shard to dark, wild and truthful as under Jonathan interest me.Iwant doesn’tmatterwhat the play is. The same avoids such traps “bypickingdifferent get back on the Kent’s direction”. Even the set of the pro- to enjoyitnow;I is true of musicals. There is an anodyne subjects”. He could “never”writearock, bicycle,”hesays. duction, originally mounted in NewYork homogeneitythatgovernsBroadway musi- hip-hop,pop or jazz-influencedscore. Of His lastnew in 1979 (when it woneight Tony awards), can’tafter I’mdead’ cals, so Idon’t see many. There’snothing the PetShop Boys and Liza Minnelli’s musical, Bounce, hums with afurious energy: Mrs Lovett’s wrongwith having alot of commercial version of Losing My Mind,hesays: “Itwas openedin2003 (Imelda Staunton) infamous pie ovenis freshness are hits. The most popular work crap as longasyou have something else. fine, fun, it didn’t thrill me, didn’t turnme (a revisedver- at firstasubtle glow before bloominginto isnot thebest work:that’s trueof 500years Youwant asupermarket. Unfortunately, off. Igrew up with movies.Movie music is sion, titled Road “thefiresofhell”. Michael Ball’s Sweeney is ofWesterntheatre.” nearlyeverythingonBroadway iscommer- basedonlate19th, early 20th-century Show,appeared “intense,pitiable,real”, Purvessaid. He wouldlikeabigBroadway hit“provid- cial crap.The same is true of the West End. music. Startwith Brahms and end with in 2008). “I have Sondheim washugely impressedwith ingIcanwritethe stuffIlike, and they When Iscanwhat’s on, my heartsinks into Stravinsky—that’s my period.” spent the past Ball and Stauntonat acastrecordingofthe don’tusuallygotogether.Whenpeopleask my boots.” His acclaimedbooks of lyrics, Finishing four years writing production last week. “It’sgratifying,”he would Iliketowriteablockbuster, my Is the condition terminal? “I think so. theHat and Look, IMadeaHat,are full of books [Finishing theHat says of the flurry of revivals. “Itmeans the answer is, ‘ProvidingIdon’thavetosign Commercial theatre will only get more autobiographical comments —but will and Look, IMade shows have lastingvalue. But posterity my name to it.’” Despitehis dark lyrics, narrowastime goeson. There are so many Sondheim writeaproper memoir? “No, aHat], so I’m doesn’tinterest me. Iwant to enjoyitwhile haunted characters and unusual struc- formsofentertainment,theatre is becom- I’venot ledaninterestinglife,”heclaims, rusty. As you I’m here; Ican’t afterI’m dead. If Ican’t see turesand melodies, Sondheim denies ingmore marginalised. It’s become ‘an preposterously.“Igrew up upper-middle grow older or hear an audience’sreaction, what’s the challengingthe traditional musical form. event’: yousee Wicked on your annivers- class. Ifound aprofession early; [one] I your energies point? Maybe the minuteI’m dead nobody “Never consciously.Ijustwanted to write ary. Idon’t think commercial theatre can became successful in. There’sverylittle