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The 20th, and final, episode in a series on the complete works of Stephen Sondheim. Rick Pender, the author of the The Stephen Sondheim Encyclopedia, is our musical guide. For this episode, Rick and I discuss our Top 8 Stephen Sondheim musicals.
The 19th episode in a series on the complete works of Stephen Sondheim. Rick Pender, the author of the The Stephen Sondheim Encyclopedia, is our musical guide. For this episode, we feature the musical Off-Broadway revue, Marry Me a Little. The show is a musical composed of outtakes from Stephen Sondheim's early musicals.
In this Encore Episode from 2021, author Rick Pender takes us inside the creation of The Stephen Sondheim Encyclopedia. Rick Pender is a longtime member and former chair of the American Theater Critics Association. He first began reviewing theater in 1985 for a public radio station he managed at Northern Kentucky University. He later became the theater critic for CityBeat – Cincinnati's alternative weekly newspaper -- and eventually became its arts and culture editor. He also often contributed articles to The Sondheim Review, a quarterly magazine that I know many of you remember fondly, and for 12 years, from 2004 to 2016, he served as its managing editor. His latest venture, The Stephen Sondheim Encyclopedia, is a 638 page overview of anything and everything related to Sondheim's work, life and career. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The 18th episode in a series on the complete works of Stephen Sondheim. Rick Pender, the author of the The Stephen Sondheim Encyclopedia, is our musical guide. For this episode, we feature the musical The Frogs. The show is a musical "freely adapted" by Stephen Sondheim and Burt Shevelove from The Frogs, an Ancient Greek comedy by Aristophanes. The Frogs was originally performed in Yale University's gymnasium's swimming pool in 1974. The show was produced on Broadway in 2004 with the book revised by Nathan Lane and the score expanded by Sondheim.
In our inaugural episode, hosts David Rigano and Mark-Eugene Garcia introduce themselves and discuss their favorite Stephen Sondheim shows. The episode features an enlightening interview with Rick Pender, the author of "The Stephen Sondheim Encyclopedia," conducted at the Drama Book Shop. Podcast Music by Paul Rigano More information on Author Rick Pender can be found at https://rickpenderwrites.com/
The 17th episode in a series on the complete works of Stephen Sondheim. Rick Pender, the author of the The Stephen Sondheim Encyclopedia, is our musical guide. For this episode, we feature the musical Saturday Night. This was supposed to be Sondheim's first Broadway show in 1955 until the untimely death of the lead producer scuttled the work.
The 16th episode in a series on the complete works of Stephen Sondheim. Rick Pender, the author of the The Stephen Sondheim Encyclopedia, is our musical guide. For this episode, we feature the musical Road Show (also known as Bounce and Wiseguy). Rick will talk about how Sondheim worked with a number of collaborators to create the show that never made it to Broadway.
The 15th episode in a series on the complete works of Stephen Sondheim. Rick Pender, the author of the The Stephen Sondheim Encyclopedia, is our musical guide. For this episode, we feature the original production of 1994's Passion. Rick will talk about how writer/director James Lapine and Sondheim collaborated on the show to create one of the composer's most unique musicals.
The 14th episode in a series on the complete works of Stephen Sondheim. Rick Pender, the author of the The Stephen Sondheim Encyclopedia, is our musical guide. For this episode, we feature the original production of the 1987 Stephen Sondheim musical, Into the Woods, which ran for 765 performances on Broadway.
Join WRBI News Director Tom Snape, and the rest of the WRBI Crew, for enlightening conversations with fascinating people in Southeast Indiana. Brew up your favorite beverage, relax, and listen every weekday morning at 9:30.
The 13th episode in a series on the complete works of Stephen Sondheim. Rick Pender, the author of the The Stephen Sondheim Encyclopedia, is our musical guide. For this episode, we feature the 1965 Stephen Sondheim/Richard Rodgers musical, Do I Hear a Waltz, his last Broadway show where he only wrote lyrics.
The 12th episode in a series on the complete works of Stephen Sondheim. Rick Pender, the author of the The Stephen Sondheim Encyclopedia, is our musical guide. For this episode, we feature the 1962 Stephen Sondheim musical, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, his first Broadway show where he wrote both music and lyrics.
The 11th episode in a series on the complete works of Stephen Sondheim. Rick Pender, the author of the The Stephen Sondheim Encyclopedia, is our musical guide. For this episode, we feature the 1971 Stephen Sondheim musical, Follies. We discuss the show and play a number of songs from the Original Broadway production.
The 10th episode in a series on the complete works of Stephen Sondheim. Rick Pender, the author of the The Stephen Sondheim Encyclopedia, is our musical guide. For this episode, we feature the 1959 Stephen Sondheim-Jule Styne collaboration, Gypsy, which starred Ethel Merman. We discuss the show and play a number of songs from the Original Broadway production.
The 9th episode in a series on the complete works of Stephen Sondheim. Rick Pender, the author of the The Stephen Sondheim Encyclopedia, is our musical guide. For this episode, the 1984 Pulitzer Prize winning musical, Sunday in the Park with George. We discuss the show and play a number of songs from the Original Broadway production.
The 8th episode in a series on the complete works of Stephen Sondheim. Rick Pender, the author of the The Stephen Sondheim Encyclopedia, is our musical guide. For this episode,, the 1964 musical Anyone Can Whistle. We discuss the show and play a number of songs from the Original Broadway production.
The 7th episode in a series on the complete works of Stephen Sondheim. Rick Pender, the author of the The Stephen Sondheim Encyclopedia, is our musical guide. For this episode,, the 1970 landmark musical Company. We discuss the show and play a number of songs from the Original Broadway production.
The sixth episode in a series on the complete works of Stephen Sondheim. Rick Pender, the author of the The Stephen Sondheim Encyclopedia, will be our musical guide. For this episode,, the 1979 musical Sweeney Todd. We discuss the show and playing a number of songs from the Original Broadway production.
COMPANY COMPOSER: Stephen Sondheim LYRICIST: Stephen Sondheim BOOK: George Furth DIRECTOR: Hal Prince CHOREOGRAPHER: Michael Bennett PRINCIPLE CAST: Beth Howland (Amy), Dean Jones (Bobby), Elaine Stritch (Joanne) OPENING DATE: Apr 26, 1970 CLOSING DATE: Jan 01, 1972 PERFORMANCES: 705 SYNOPSIS: On his 35th birthday, bachelor Robert is confronted by his happily, and unhappily, married friends, as well as his three girlfriends, who all push him towards committing to another human being. Stephen Sondheim had tremendous early success as a Broadway lyricist, but until the success of Company, his work as a composer could not be regarded as commercially successful. Based on a series of sketches about married couples by actor George Furth, Sondheim and director Hal Prince developed a musical which navigated a bachelor's relationships with his lovers and married friends. Rick Pender promotes Company's significance as an early book musical which, through Boris Aronson's design, Prince and Michael Bennett's staging, Jonathan Tunick's orchestrations, subject matter, and rough narrative, epitomized contemporary storytelling and broke away from the conventions of traditional musical theatre. Later revivals of the show staged by John Doyle and Marianne Elliott employed tactics which kept Company at the cutting edge of the art form and in dialogue with timely societal critique. Rick Pender- From 2004 to 2016 Rick Pender edited The Sondheim Review; in 2017 he launched EverythingSondheim.org. His book The Stephen Sondheim Encyclopedia was published in 2021. He has written about theater for Cincinnati CityBeat since it began publishing in 1994, and he was the paper's arts and entertainment editor from 1998 until 2006. Ohio's Society of Professional Journalists recognized him the state's best arts critic in 2002 and 2017. He contributed theater interviews to public radio station WVXU's weekly arts magazine for 15 years. Rick is a past chair of the American Theatre Critics Association. Rick's Book Available Here SOURCES Company by Stephen Sondheim and George Furth, published by Theatre Communications Group (1995) Company, Original Broadway Cast Recording. MasterWorks (1970) Original Cast Album: Company, starring Dean Jones and Elaine Stritch, directed by DA Pennebaker. New Video Group (1970 Stephen Sondheim's Company with the New York Philharmonic, starring Neil Patrick Harris and Patti LuPone, directed by Lonny Price. Image Entertainment (2012) Company, starring Raul Esparza and Barbara Walsh, directed by John Doyle. Image Entertainment (2008) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
The fifth episode in a series on the complete works of Stephen Sondheim. Rick Pender, the author of the The Stephen Sondheim Encyclopedia, will be our musical guide. For this episode,, the 1973 musical A Little Night Music. We discuss the show and playing a number of songs from the Original Broadway production.
The fourth episode in a series on the complete works of Stephen Sondheim. Rick Pender, the author of the The Stephen Sondheim Encyclopedia, will be our musical guide. For this episode, we mark 46 years since the Broadway opening of Pacific Overtures by discussing the show and playing a number of songs from the Original Broadway production.
The third episode in a series on the complete works of Stephen Sondheim. Rick Pender, the author of the The Stephen Sondheim Encyclopedia, will be our musical guide. For this episode, we mark 30 years since the Off-Broadway opening of Assassins by discussing the show and playing a number of songs from the Original Off-Broadway and Broadway revivals of the production.
The second episode in a series on the complete works of Stephen Sondheim. Rick Pender, the author of the The Stephen Sondheim Encyclopedia, will be our musical guide. For this episode, we mark the 40th anniversary of the Broadway opening of Merrily We Roll Along by discussing the show and playing a number of songs from the Original Cast Recording and the NY City Encore's production..
If you make a list of the most important names in American culture in the latter half of the 20th Century, Stephen Sondheim has to be right near the top. When he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2015, President Obama said “Put simply, Stephen reinvented the American musical.” Sondheim passed away on November 26 at the age of 91. Back in April, Bob Barrett spoke about the composer with Rick Pender, author of “The Stephen Sondheim Encyclopedia.” Today on the Best of Our Knowledge, let’s listen again to our conversation about one of America’s great composers. We also spend an Academic Minute in a community forest.
If you make a list of the most important names in American culture in the latter half of the 20th Century, Stephen Sondheim has to be right near the top. When he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2015, President Obama said “Put simply, Stephen reinvented the American musical.” Sondheim passed away on November 26 at the age of 91. Back in April, Bob Barrett spoke about the composer with Rick Pender, author of “The Stephen Sondheim Encyclopedia." Today on the Best of Our Knowledge, let's listen again to our conversation about one of America's great composers. We also spend an Academic Minute in a community forest.
Theater critic Rick Pender joins Cincinnati Edition to discuss the 91-year-old legend of the American stage.
The first episode in a series on the complete works of Stephen Sondheim. Rick Pender, the author of the The Stephen Sondheim Encyclopedia, will be our musical guide. We start off by marking the 60th anniversary of the release of the film version of West Side Story by discussing the movie and playing a number of songs from the soundtrack.
We're in Cincinnati, Ohio, with my new friend Rick Pender of RickPenderWrites.com. We talk about Riverfest fireworks, Civic Music Hall ballet, and riding coasters at Kings Island Amusement Park. Show notes are at https://WeTravelThere.com/cincinnati Indulge in the timeless production of "O" by Cirque du Soleil, an aquatic tapestry of artistry, surrealism, and theatrical romance performed in, on and above water. Intermission is Over. Now Performing only at Bellagio, Las Vegas. Buy tickets now at cirquedusoleil.com/O
Author Rick Pender takes us inside the creation of The Stephen Sondheim Encyclopedia. Rick Pender is a longtime member and former chair of the American Theater Critics Association. He first began reviewing theater in 1985 for a public radio station he managed at Northern Kentucky University. He later became the theater critic for CityBeat – Cincinnati's alternative weekly newspaper -- and eventually became its arts and culture editor. He also often contributed articles to The Sondheim Review, a quarterly magazine that I know many of you remember fondly, and for 12 years, from 2004 to 2016, he served as its managing editor. His latest venture, The Stephen Sondheim Encyclopedia, is a 638 page overview of anything and everything related to Sondheim's work, life and career. It was published earlier this year and has been selling briskly and receiving rave reviews. The Stephen Sondheim Encyclopedia is available in hardcover and e-book from Rowman & Littlefield. However, if you go to Rick Pender's website, rickpenderwrites.com, you will find a code that will provide you with a 30% discount. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
He has worn quite a few hats over the years, coming to town from Cleveland as a broadcast executive of sorts for WGUC, moving into PR, journalism, and now books. Rick talks to us about radio, live theater, his books, 100 Things to do in Cincinnati Before you Die, Oldest Cincinnati, and The Stephen Sondheim Encyclopedia Be sure to listen for the special promo code for 20% off near the end of the episode. Listen here below, or find it in iTunes, Stitcher, Podbean, TuneIn, and Spotify--- really anywhere you get your podcasts. Be sure to download and subscribe today, so you don't miss an episode! Get social with us: Facebook: Cincy Shirts Official Facebook Page Twitter: Cincy Shirts Official Twitter Page Instagram: @CincyShirts Snapchat: @CincyShirts The Cincy Shirts Podcast theme is “Cincinnati” by Big Nothing who are actually from Philadelphia.
I interview Rick Pender, the editor of the recently published Stephen Sondheim Encyclopedia. We talk about the process for putting the book together, Sondheim's career, and some interesting Sondheim fun facts.
"The Stephen Sondheim Encyclopedia" is a comprehensive reference devoted to musical theater’s most prolific and admired composer and lyricist. Entries cover Sondheim’s numerous collaborators—from composers and directors to designers and orchestras—key songs—such as his Academy Award winner “Sooner or Later” (Dick Tracy), and major works including "Assassins," "Company," "Follies," "Sweeney Todd," and "West Side Story." The encyclopedia also contains information about Sondheim’s mentoring by Oscar Hammerstein and his early collaboration with Leonard Bernstein, and profiles the actors who originated roles and sang Sondheim’s songs for the first time, including Ethel Merman, Angela Lansbury, Mandy Patinkin, and Bernadette Peters. Rick Pender has been an award-winning theater critic since 1986. He is past chair of the American Theatre Critics Association and was the executive editor and publisher of "Everything Sondheim" and managing editor of "The Sondheim Review."
In the three decades, this program has been on the air we've talked about science, math, history, literature, and education policy and theory. But not this week. This week, we're talking show tunes. If you make a list of the most important names in American culture in the latter half of the 20th Century, Stephen […]
Cincinnati is an old city by American standards, and a lot of its earliest landmarks remain in tact. Many such places and experiences make up the bulk of the new book Oldest Cincinnati by local author and historian Rick Pender.
“My writing about theater in general, is to inspire people to go to the theater... But I especially like to inspire people to dip their toes into the oceans of Sondheim.” An award winning theater critic since 1986, Rick Pender was named Ohio’s best critic in 2002 and 2017 by the Society of Professional Journalists. He is the former editor of the Sondheim Review, and currently the executive editor and publisher of Everything Sondheim, a website and nationally distributed quarterly magazine. For his new book, The Stephen Sondheim Encyclopedia, Rick has compiled a trove of detailed entries about nearly every subject Sondheim touched, bringing to life not only the man's well known collaborators and projects, but also many names you may have glimpsed in programs, or on cast albums, and has gathered definitive descriptions of lesser known works and influences that you'd have to search dozens and dozens of books to to uncover. Rick holds a PhD in English Literature, and has interviewed Stephen Sondheim, onstage and in the studio, several times. The Stephen Sondheim Encyclopedia is now available for purchase. As a child in Ohio, Rick was “kind of a theater geek”, and participated in his high school productions. He had an early attraction to the lyrics of West Side Story, the first LP soundtrack he purchased as a teenager, but at the time was still unfamiliar with Stephen Sondheim. It was after a surgery in the 80’s when Rick discovered a CD called A Collector’s Sondheim, and his passion took hold. “By virtue of having all that education in literature, the whole concept of storytelling is very important to me”, Rick shares. He opens up about his initial attraction to Sondheim’s work, noting the words and lyrics in particular first drew him in, and describes his love for Sondheim's integration of music and lyrics to fit and expand upon character. Rick also takes us through the timeline for the creation of The Stephen Sondheim Encyclopedia, which he originally thought would be the work of multiple contributors, and chronicles the development of his own relationship with Stephen Sondheim himself. In this episode, we talk about: The making of The Stephen Sondheim Encyclopedia Being inspired by West Side Story Why he thinks of Sondheim as a modern day Shakespeare The intellectuality of Sondheim’s music and lyrics The working relationship between Sondheim and Hal Prince Hammerstein mentoring Sondheim, who later mentored Lin Manuel Miranda Connect with Rick: Download and/or purchase The Stephen Sondheim Encyclopedia Visit Everything Sondheim Connect with The Theatre Podcast: Support us on Patreon: Patreon.com/TheTheatrePodcast Twitter & Instagram: @theatre_podcast Facebook.com/OfficialTheatrePodcast TheTheatrePodcast.com Alan's personal Instagram: @alanseales Email me at feedback@thetheatrepodcast.com. I want to know what you think. Thank you to our friends Jukebox The Ghost for our intro and outro music. You can find them on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook @jukeboxtheghost or via the web via jukeboxtheghost.com. A very special thanks to our patrons who help make this podcast possible! Cheryl Hodges-Selden, Paul Seales, David Seales If you would like to see your name in this show notes or get a shout out on the pod itself, visit ttp.fm/patreon to become a member and show your support! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Mike talks with author Rick Pender about his new book about the oldest places in Cincinnati.
-Out With Ashley: Bad Habits Your Spouse/Significant Other Has.... -Rick Pender: 100 Things to Do in Cincinnati Before You Die -Jennifer Aniston's on Instagram! -The Dad Joke of the Day! -The I Look Like Your Werewolf Inflatable Phone Hack! -24% of men say THIS is deal breaker on a date? -Sarah with an H takes on Chelsie! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices