PALEY CENTER FOR MEDIA, THE: INSIDE MEDIA: OSCAR HAMMERSTEIN II: OUT OF MY DREAMS {LONG VERSION ANAMORPHIC}
Summary
One in a series of evenings and special screenings presented as part of The Paley Center for Media's Inside Media events. Held at the Paley Center in New York, this evening celebrates "Oscar Hammerstein II: Out of My Dreams," the television special examining the life and career of the famed librettist and theatrical producer. Host Ron Simon (curator, The Paley Center for Media) offers opening remarks and introduces Hammerstein's daughter Alice Hammerstein Mathias, present in the audience with other family members, and then brings filmmaker JoAnn Young to the stage. Young thanks various family members and associates who worked on the film, including daughter and editor Laura Young, and then introduces the film, which is screened in its entirety. (For synopsis and credits, see ACCNUM 107203.)
After the film, Simon introduces moderator and Hammerstein biographer Ted Chapin and Stephen Sondheim, composer and Hammerstein protégé. The conversation touches on such topics as: Sondheim's first meeting with Hammerstein in 1941; a funny letter between the two from 1949 regarding their respective shows; his "resentment" of "South Pacific" because it infringed upon Hammerstein's viewing of one of Sondheim's shows; Hammerstein's multiple "assignments" to the budding writer, including a suggestion to write music for a play he disliked; his work on the play "Beggar on Horseback," unseen by the general public; his abandoned work on "Mary Poppins" and comparisons to the vignette-like style of the more successful "Company"; Hammerstein's experimental ideas, unlike those of composer partner Richard Rodgers; the "vitriol" towards Rodgers and Hammerstein from Agnes de Mille, who directed the failed show "Allegro"; Sondheim's memories that she was "not a nice lady" and the on-set challenges; Jerome Robbins' demands on "West Side Story," including his desire for eight weeks of rehearsal time; Sondheim's memories of teaching Hammerstein to play chess; Sondheim's infamous fractured relationship with his mother that often drove him to the Hammerstein home; Hammerstein's consultation with Sondheim about "We Kiss in a Shadow" from "The King and I," which he immediately imagined as a waltz; Hammerstein's critiques of Sondheim's "West Side Story"; his three specific criticisms of "Gypsy," including the need to maintain proper tension after the showstopping "Rose's Turn"; the possibility that Hammerstein would have hated Sondheim's dark musical "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street," produced after his death; tension between the Hammerstein and Rodgers families and Oscar's difficult experiences working with Richard; Rodgers as a "cold man" in contrast to Hammerstein's warmth; their near-production of "West Side Story" and the reasons why it fell through; Sondheim's enjoyment of the "sacred profession" of teaching; a letter from "South Pacific" director Joshua Logan recommending a song between Anna and the children in "The King and I," which became "Getting to Know You"; the pros and cons of BMI (Broadcast Music, Inc) Workshops for aspiring musical writers; Sondheim's use of the Socratic method in teaching his students; and Sondheim's mother's potential reasons for choosing Doylestown, PA as a hometown.
Details
- NETWORK: N/A
- DATE: January 31, 2012 6:30 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 1:36:15
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: 107083
- GENRE: Seminars
- SUBJECT HEADING: N/A
- SERIES RUN: N/A
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- Ron Simon … Host
- Ted Chapin … Moderator
- JoAnn Young … Guest
- Stephen Sondheim … Guest
- Alice Hammerstein Mathias … Guest
- Agnes de Mille
- Oscar Hammerstein II
- Joshua Logan
- Jerome Robbins
- Richard Rodgers
- Laura Young