Stephen Sondheim has unkind things to say about Lady Gaga’s performance at the Academy Awards
I don’t know about you, but one of my favorite parts of this year’s Academy Awards show was when Lady Gaga took the stage and wowed us with a sensation medley from The Sound of Music.
Julie Andrews certainly was impressed and shared an tearfelt happy hug with Gaga.
So who would’ve thought that the legendary Stephen Sondheim (Sweeney Todd, Gypsy, Company) was watching and was not at all impressed.
He tells The Times of London: “On the Academy Awards she was a travesty. It was ridiculous, as it would be from any singer who treats that music in semi-operatic style. She had no relationship to what she was singing. What people liked was her versatility.”
Ouch.
Sondheim, 84, also had unkind things to say about live TV musicals like Peter Pan Live! which aired on NBC in December: “From what little I’ve seen, they’re so embarrassingly bad you have to sit and make fun of them or you’re just wasting your time.”
Both the Oscars and Peter Pan Live were produced by Craig Zadan and Neil Meron.
On the day the Sondheim interview was published, Zadan posted a tweet that didn’t mention him by name but could have been aimed at him: “Why do certain toxic people feel the need to verbally destroy every performer they see when no one cares about their opinion anyway. #shutup”
Comments
(All comments are reviewed before being published, and I review submissions several times per day.)
CraigR. says:
Although I care what Sondheim thinks( he is the greatest living composer), if the Dame liked it then his opinion is meaningless. He needs to understand that the average person has a connection to those songs that is not about the musical intent, but their feelings and memories. He should be so lucky to have a show that is so beloved after fifty years that people share it with their children. He wants to be remembered like his mentor, but he has never touched people in the same way, although he has created more masterpieces than Hammerstein.
K. Martinez says:
Just another bitter old fart putting down the younger generation. You’d think he’d just be happy for his own success.
GaryB says:
It seems to me that he is holding these events up to his standards of supreme excellence in the musical theater. Thank goodness there are great talents like Mr. Sondheim around who can put these flimsy performances and productions in proper perspective. The musical theater has begun a slow descent into entertainment for the masses — the multiplex vision. If someone doesn’t point out why some art is average or worse, we will become a misinformed society with a lack of appreciation for quality.
Jim says:
Sounds like someone is overdue for a good flogging and she’s cranky. Her dungeon must be down for disinfecting.
VDUFFORD says:
That bitter old fart…is one of the true GREATS of all time!
howard says:
Yes, he’s great, but his comment about Gaga’s performance is totally off track! She, for me, was the Oscar show highlight this year.’
K. Martinez says:
VDUFFORD – No argument there. The man’s a genius. Sad thing is, his opinion should matter, but when it degenerates into belittling and bitchiness he loses credibility.