yesterday

blog yesterday blog tomorrow but never blog today

So here's yesterday's blog…before today is gone, too.

I went to Stratford again, and saw A Little Night Music, the only musical by Stephen Sondheim with a song that had a shelf life of its own: “Send in the Clowns” is his most performed and recorded song (400 to 600 recordings, depending on what list you look at). The role of Frederik Egerman was first played by Len Cariou, claimed in the program as a Stratford alumnus. He was, indeed, and an alumnus of mine, too. He had a role in the first adult play I had produced - on the stage of the Manitoba Theatre Centre (now Royal) - my adaptation of Ibsen’s An Enemy of the People (March 1963 - lo how the years pass!) When Bill and I saw Len play in New Y irk, we took him out for supper after the show and understood how he could manage to look so lean, handsome and virile in long johns; he ate oysters only and drank one Scotch. I thought of him when I saw Ben Carlson playing Egerman in the Stratford production in that union suit - not nearly as sexy as Len was. But I digress. The show was delightful. Sondheim is delightful. People still don’t entirely realise what he is doing. His lyrics are as witty as his music and reward close attention. I asked a woman at the end of my aisle as we were leaving if she enjoyed the show.

“Oh, yes,” she said, "It had a happy ending.”

It’s an operetta, after all.