Stephen Sondheim and Tony Kushner - Excerpts from The Public Forum

The Public Forum: Sondheim/Kushner

On November 29, 2010, The Public Theater welcomed two giants of the American Theater, Stephen Sondheim and Tony Kushner, to its Public Forum discussion series. Here for the first time you can watch excerpts from the conversation about the theatrical life, the craft of writing, and Stephen Sondheim's book FINISHING THE HAT.

www.publictheater.org

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[dantean]

How is it that the Public Theater had trouble getting good audio of its own event? Problems getting access to the stage or the soundboard?

[Dirkdebruyne]

brilliant, erudite, intellectual...yes of course, but the ability to put something over in a concise and clear way is what separates the good from the great..sorry..but this is amateurish in the exteme, it is not only annoying to the listener and audience but taxes the point of doing an interview in the first place..step one : take a breath, order  your ideas and ask ONE question at a time...I don't care if he's the greatest playwright that ever lived : I HATE this kind of rambling

[Rudy61287]

@Wingfield57 I didn't say that, Wingfield. Please don't put words in my mouth. All I was saying is that this particular example is an example of what is wrong, not what is right. I hardly dismissed him in totality.

If Luciano Pavarotti stumbled his way through a song and you pointed it out, I would agree with you if you pointed it out. That wouldn't mean we were dismissing all his work.

Why is it considered so awful to say anything criticial these days? Things aren't black and white.

[whiteboimonologuez]

@Rudy61287 I could not agree more with that sentiment. True intelligence is quite scarce nowadays.

[Wingfield57]

Personally, I feel like people have been bemoaning the state of the culture and its ability for discussion for hundreds of years. The effect the information age is having on speech is no different in relation to what came before than the effect of television or of the cheap, mass produced book. To say that one of the deepest and most eloquent writers alive today is contributing to the failure of today's discourse because of his skills as a public speaker is utterly ridiculous.

[Rudy61287]

@whiteboimonologuez I've only read/seen his works, not seen him outside the occassional interview here and there, but I'll take your word for it and give him the benefit of the doubt. However, you will surely agree with me that we need to worry about quality/standards in this culture right now. We need more well-spoken people with intelligent thoughts and questions up on stages, not less. I can't help but be upset when I see a lack of it.

[whiteboimonologuez]

@Rudy61287 Thing what you want, but having seen Kushner speak publicly several times and interview many times, he just isn't extremely well-spoken. He's a brilliant mind but often has trouble clearly and concisely articulating his thoughts. I personally don't believe that it is a lack of professionalism.

[ctmomof3]

Not just a playwright. A Pulitzer Prize winning playwright who is perhaps one of the most erudite and gifted playwrights living today. A man so brilliant that Signature Theatre Company has devoted their entire 20th Anniversary season to his work.

[Rudy61287]

@whiteboimonologuez Yes, I do. I love "Angels in America." My impression here is that he didn't care enough to prepare. He looks unprepared to me, as though he skimmed through "Finishing the Hat" early that morning. There is just too much of that happening lately - lack of professionalism, lack of care.

[whiteboimonologuez]

@Rudy61287 do you realize that he's not a professional interviewer, but a playwright? it's not meant to me an interview, it's meant to be a conversation with questions.