My friend Stuart Brown produces SOUNDS OF BROADWAY, a 24/7 online radio station playing the music of Broadway, Off-Broadway, the London stage and much more. Yesterday he sent out a message about an upcoming program that included a notice about a program we recorded several years ago. It was part of our series (20 episodes!) of “The Complete Stephen Sondheim,” this one focused on EVENING PRIMROSE, the half-hour 1976 TV musical that Sondheim created with book writer James Goldman. Here’s his announcement.
| In 2021, I began collaborating with Rick Pender, the author of the Stephen Sondheim Encyclopedia and Stephen Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd: Behind the Bloody Musical Masterpiece, on a series of podcasts where we discussed every Sondheim musical. In all, he’s been a guest of ‘On Broadway’ 22 times; there are 20 official episodes of The Complete Stephen Sondheim plus two additional interviews. ↠ View complete list of Rick Pender episodes |
| And so we concluded the series with Episode 20 in October 2024 … or did we? It seems I misplaced one of the tapings where we discussed Sondheim’s only foray into TV musicals, the show Evening Primrose. Evening Primrose was the ninth episode of the first season of the American television series ABC Stage 67. The book was by James Goldman and lyrics and music by Stephen Sondheim. It is based on a John Collier short story published in the 1951 collection Fancies and Goodnights. It aired on November 16, 1966 on the ABC Network. [IMDB] The musical starred Anthony Perkins, as a poet who takes refuge from the world by hiding out in a department store after closing. He meets a community of night people who live in the store and falls in love with a beautiful young girl played by Charmian Carr (who played Liesl in the movie of The Sound of Music). Bizarre complications arise when the leader of the group forbids their relationship. This episode will finally see the light of day when it is officially released this Friday, Sept. 18. For a sneak peak as well as some background info, check out the show page, Episode 21 – The Complete Stephen Sondheim. You can also listen to it though your favorite podcast app on Friday. |