[ad_1]
Stephen Sondheim was one of the greats of musical theater, bringing us shows like “West Side Story,” “Gypsy,” “Sunday in the Park with George,” and “Into the Woods,” just to name a few. Sondheim was known for rather difficult scores, with complex polyphony; independent melodies woven together. As an actor who didn’t have a history with musical theater, this must have been incredibly daunting. In the Female.com.au interview, Alan Rickman said he welcomed the risk and joked, “Well, if I’m terrible, they’ll just fire me.”
It’s such an odd and complex role that it’s no wonder he would take a chance and actually sing in front of Sondheim, something even seasoned musical theater veterans might balk at. Rickman was asked about finding the right musical tone for the part. He said:
“Well, I think one of the miracles of the film is you kind of forget that it’s a musical because the speaking and the singing melt into each other. It’s not like, ‘And here’s a big number.’ And also, when I had my one fairly nerve-wracking moment with Sondheim when you know, I mean, that is challenging, when you’re alone in a room with a piano, a pianist, and then Stephen Sondheim walks across the room and says, ‘Okay, let’s hear it.'”
That’s similar in a way to a musical like “Les Misérables,” in which most of the dialogue is sung. There are spoken lines in “Sweeney Todd,” but not a lot. It’s hard to imagine the moment when the piano begins playing, and there’s musical theater legend Stephen Sondheim in front of you, waiting for you to open your mouth.
[ad_2]
Source link