Six by Sondheim

Apologies if I have posted this in the wrong section- moderators, move if need be.

This was a 2013 HBO documentary directed by James Lapine, complex of many interviews with the great man himself over the many years, some of when he was an extremely young man.

Most show were covered.

Some really interesting tit bits. How Send in the Clowns was written in such a way that it allow non-singers enough space to breathe. It also covers all of the many artists who have covered it.

The lessons that he learn from the flops Do I hear A Waltz and Anyone Can Whistle.

How My Friends- Sweeney Todd singing to his recently reunited razor blades is a love song.

The connections of the words the pinch and the paunch and the pension in the song The Millers Son and how he had to think as the character.

There were scenes with the original Broadway cast recording Company, especially Being Alive.

The problem he has was that this was a shoe about marriage, of which he's had no experience. So he had a friend, Mary Rofhres who was on her second marriage over for dinner and he got out a notepad and took notes.

He was able to recall his time with Ether Merman during Gypsy and how, at the time, he was writing for a particulate performer.

He recalled that one of the things he learnt as a songwriter was that he constantly had to justify every word

Somethings Coming from West Side Story is an arc song; how you as the listener is seeing the journey that is yearning to take.

They showed how Yvonne De Carlo- a famous film actress, now on television- was cast in Follies and destined to sing a filler song called Can That Boy Foxtrot! which eventually became I'm Still Here in the show.

For this song he was inspired by Joan Crawford who's career had also arced, which, at the time, DeCarlo's career was taking.

They touched briefly on Pacific Overtures and again, ever so briefly, his sexuality and his regret that he'd never had children and the importance of teaching.

The song Sunday from his personal favourite show that was never meant to get to Broadway is supposed the resemble a funeral march- with the long, drawn out harmonising.

There was even, remarkably, a filmed version of Opening Doors from Merrily We Roll Along starting Darren Criss, Jeremy Jordan and America Ferrera including Sondheim himself and said when he wrote it he was trying to recall what he was going through at a similar age.

I mean, I just stumble across this and would urge any Sondheim fan to watch this on catch-up if you can

I really hope it's repeated sometime soon, as I didn't get to see it and it sounds amazing.

Thank you!!

Oh yes, I forgot about that.

It was weird. Was it from a film?