RainbowJude
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ASSASSINS Article: "In the Cross Hairs"Around the time of the Assassins revival, Time published an article about the show entitled "In the Cross Hairs", in which the Richard Zoglin interviewed Stephen Sondheim. Some of the interesting quotes:
On the original production of Assassins:
| Richard Zoglin wrote: | | How in-your-face is this show? Sondheim originally wanted to open it at the former Texas School Book Depository in Dallas. Says he, with a smile worthy of Sweeney Todd: "It would have been sensational." |
On the themes of Assassins:
| Richard Zoglin wrote: | | Sondheim sees the show as a comment on the dark side of the American Dream. "If you are led to believe that you can be President, so to speak, and you find out that you can't - that you have mistaken the kind of idealized dream for reality - you're likely to get angry," he says. "And maybe likely to want to kill a symbol." |
On melody:
| Richard Zoglin wrote: | | Sondheim has little patience for the long-voiced criticism that many of his scores abandon melody for astringent experimentation. "I do what is required for each show," he says. Besides, melody is "a very tricky word," he says. "When someone says a tune is not melodic, they mean they can't hum it easily. And my claim would be, if I play it for you 10 times, you will be able to hum it." |
I love the quotation about the Texas School Book Depository.
Later days
David
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