They're Gonna Be All Right
It began with a father eager to have his beloved daughter hear his favorite musical. He had very low expectations it would take hold, what with it being about a cannibalizing serial killer and her being an easily grossed-out 10 years old.
The kid had the entire libretto of "Sweeney Todd" memorized in a week.
"You liked 'Sweeney'?" Consort said happily, "Let's see what you do with this one."
She had "West Side Story" memorized in a week, and briefly developed a habit of yipping the way the Puerto Rican girls did in "America."
Then "Gypsy."
Sorry, no. Then "Assassins," then "Gypsy." It's easy to forget whether it's killers before strippers or strippers before killers.
Then a kind friend of the family lent her his entire CD Sondheim oeuvre. Which lead to, among other things, my 12 year-old recently singing a heartfelt version of "Here's to the Ladies Who Lunch" as she fed the cats.
She knows Sondheim's musical director's son played John Hinkley in Assassins. She knows Merrily We Roll Along, a show which ran for 16 performances. Her current favorite Sondheim lyrics are "Sometimes she drinks in bed/Some times he's homosexual." She has sung this softly in public on occasion which has caused other parents to look at me oddly. Again.
Well, as someone once said, Isn't it nice to know a lot?And a little bit.. not.
The kid had the entire libretto of "Sweeney Todd" memorized in a week.
"You liked 'Sweeney'?" Consort said happily, "Let's see what you do with this one."
She had "West Side Story" memorized in a week, and briefly developed a habit of yipping the way the Puerto Rican girls did in "America."
Then "Gypsy."
Sorry, no. Then "Assassins," then "Gypsy." It's easy to forget whether it's killers before strippers or strippers before killers.
Then a kind friend of the family lent her his entire CD Sondheim oeuvre. Which lead to, among other things, my 12 year-old recently singing a heartfelt version of "Here's to the Ladies Who Lunch" as she fed the cats.
She knows Sondheim's musical director's son played John Hinkley in Assassins. She knows Merrily We Roll Along, a show which ran for 16 performances. Her current favorite Sondheim lyrics are "Sometimes she drinks in bed/Some times he's homosexual." She has sung this softly in public on occasion which has caused other parents to look at me oddly. Again.
Well, as someone once said, Isn't it nice to know a lot?And a little bit.. not.
posted by Unknown at 11:17 PM
8 Comments:
Awww! My DD13 also *loved* "Sweeney Todd" but her favorite to date is "Rocky Horror" (she's been going since she was a baby) (much to her father's dismay, because he hates all musicals).
Anonymously, because blogger never lets me log in, TimWarp at aol dot com.
Heehee! Love that last quote! (I'm trying to resist waving my hand annoying - me! I know that one!)
That's awesome, though. For early adorable obsessions, I think musical theater is a great place to start.
--Marie
That was totally me as a kid. I'd borrow every musical soundtrack from the library and listen to them over and over and over again, carrying my little cassette player around with me (it was the 70's, OK?) until I knew every word.
I'm pretty sure I drove my mother crazy.
I particularly love Into The Woods. (And yes, I realize that one wasn't around until the late 80's, but I still love all musicals. Now I just drive my husband crazy.)
When we were kids in the 70s, my sister and I would pool our meager allowances each month to buy an LP of a Broadway musical — Sound of Music, Carousel, West Side Story, South Pacific — from the local supermarket which had a record bar. We would then play the record incessantly on our portable record player, transcribing the songs and memorizing them. Its a good thing that my Mom used to do exactly the same thing when she was a teen in the 50s. Now we swap DVDs of Sondheim musicals.
I love this! I grew up listening/watching old musicals including Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire and Bing Crosby. My mother always had her favorites on TV.
After sharing this post with my sister, we laughed about seeing A Chorus Line and Company at UCLA when we were 10 -12 years old.
I think Company is still one of my favorite musicals.
There is one musical but they lose me after the bunker scene.
Love. And not just because I share a love of Sondheim with Daughter and Consort. You have such a way with words that now...laying in bed at nearly 10:30pm...I've got bits of the entire Sondheim library running through my head. I'll drink to that!
I feel you. I have a 9 year old daughter obsessed - and I mean OBSESSED - with "Phantom of the Opera."
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