"Hymn to Dionysos" from Stephen Sondheim's "The Frogs"

[qos]

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From Wikipedia: The Frogs is a musical "freely adapted" by Stephen Sondheim and Burt Shevelove from "The Frogs," an Ancient Greek comedy by Aristophanes, originally performed in Yale University's gymnasium's swimming pool in the mid-70s.

Dionysus, despairing of the quality of living dramatists, travels to Hades to bring George Bernard Shaw back from the dead. William Shakespeare competes with Shaw for the title of best playwright, which he wins. Dionysus chooses to bring Shakespeare back instead, thereby improving the world, and its political situation. This original production is most famous for having Meryl Streep, Sigourney Weaver and Christopher Durang in its ensemble. Sondheim compared the acoustics of the original production to "performing in a urinal."

Comments

[labelleizzy.livejournal.com]

wow.
how did you find this? I've heard of "the frogs" but sure didn't know it was being performed in modern times, much less by Sondheim!

[shadowandstar.livejournal.com]

I've added a note to the entry about Sondheim's version of the play.

There's been a recent revival with Nathan Lane as Dionysos, and a cast album was released. I looked it up on YouTube after listening to the album.

[labelleizzy.livejournal.com]

i THOUGHT i recognized Nathan Lane!!

SQUEEEEeeeeee!

*bookmarks that on YouTube*

thanks!