If only angels could prevail,
We'd be the way we were.


I've always assumed that this game works far better with Sondheim than it would with any other lyricist.  That's because I've always assumed he uses a significantly broader vocabulary, which might partly be related to his aversion to "extractable hits," instead tailoring each song to character and dramatic circumstance with uncompromising specificity.  (This is a randomly broad observation, apropos of nothing in particular.  But, just to link it loosely to the two lines above, Sweeney is written with far more attention to "period" diction — or at least to Sondheim, Wheeler and Bond's version thereof — than just about any other musical I can think of; the show's first three words, "attend the tale," place us in some fairly remote past, and for almost the next three hours, the slightly archaic word-choice and syntax never go away entirely, nor do they ever devolve into any insipid, Hollywoodish version of "olde-timey" language).

But I say I "assume" SJS's vocabulary is broader because, notwithstanding the many, many specific instances one could cite, I'm curious about the actual numbers.  How many of his more-exotic words are one-offs within his entire body of work ("ameliorate")?  How many are unique to him ("coercin' [a bull]"), and had the word "cupola" ever, in the nearly 500 years since it entered the English language, been set to music prior to Bounce?  And, in terms of overall breadth, how would a complete concordance of Sondheim's lyrics compare to one of, say, Jerry Herman's?  Again, I'm guessing it would contain "significantly" more entries — but just how significantly?  Is Sondheim's vocabulary, e.g., as much as twice the size of Herman's?  or even more??  How about Sheldon Harnick's?  Or Fred Ebb's?  Would the actual numbers prove Sondheim to be the wordiest B'way lyricist, in terms of the sheer quantity of words he's written, or the average word-length of his songs — and, if so, should that be factored into any assessment of their variety?  Such a concordance might make this game a lot less fun to play, but it would still be fascinating to peruse.

To return to the current target-word, prevail isn't terribly exotic, but it's not super-commonplace, either; still, SJS uses it at least twice that I know of.

You've been a preacher--
  Yes, I have!
You've been an author--
  Yes, I have!
You've been a killer--
  Yes, I have!
You could be an angel--
  Yes, I could!



I'm listening to this song right now from Anthony De Mare's Liaisons: Reimagining Sondheim from the Piano. An insanely good recording.

...or not:

NYT:   Forbidden Broadway Scraps Summer Broadway Run, Citing Crowded Season

1. My arm is supposed to be in the sling for 4-6 weeks.
2. The dishwasher that was supposed to be delivered yesterday now will take until a week from today, so I get to hand-wash for another week!
3. The rain looks like it's turning into snow.
4. I preordered my copy of Here We Are as a birthday present to myself. (because the dishwasher and the new shoulder aren't enough.)
5. B left me several presents in the living room. 

BWW:  Pre-Order Cast Recording For Sondheim's Here We Are

This article includes the complete songlist, 27 tracks in all.

As a teaser for the album, the full 3-minute orchestral "Exit Music" track can be heard on Spotify, Apple Music, etc.; and also as a video (featuring footage from the recording studio, not the show):

Also, Groff and Radcliffe participated in Mendez's wedding to her All Rise costar J. Alex Brinson this past Monday.  The newlyweds are expecting a baby this fall, but in the meantime Mendez will remain with Merrily through July.

Wow, Kathy, that sounds stressful!  Sending good thoughts your way and hoping for a speedy recovery.
For what it's worth, a titanium shoulder actually sounds kinda badass.

"expensive week ahead" is the understatement of the year. My health insurance deductible is $2800 and I went through that on Wednesday evening when I fell in my kitchen, realized it hurt more than a simple fall does, and ended up taking a $40 Lyft ride to the emergency room (1 mile from my house). There it was determined that I had both dislocated and broken my humerus. I had surgery on Friday and finally got back home yesterday afternoon. I have a brand new titanium shoulder. A friend offered to take care of Bernadette. Thank the world for that. I am tired of typing with one finger, so that's all I have to report for now.

Featurettes!  Actually kind of interesting ones!


Never mind the "anti-musical" pitch — here taking on a slightly more specific spin than usual, with music itself as the story's antagonist, and musical theatre, of a sort, as its hero's unlikely salvation in the end.  (In terms of movie-musical story structure, neither of these twists is unprecedentedly original; and in terms of marketing, the past two decades of trying to sell musicals to musical-haters by pandering to their aversion haven't made the strategy any less lame or perverse; but whatever).  Música is chockablock with music, but almost none of it is sung — and then only by the synesthetic hero or his puppet alter-ego — so, while much of its running-time might be described as a wittily sustained visual assault on the idea of film as an inherently realist medium, fragile viewers are largely spared the affront to their willing suspension of disbelief posed by having characters burst into song.

---

Yes sir, quite a blow!
Don't regret it, and don't let's go to extremes.
It's called what's your choice?  It's called count to ten!
It's called burn your bridges, start again.
You should burn them every now and then
Or you'll never grow...

Because now you grow! — that's the killer, is:
Now you grow.