#wiseguys quest

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so something sondheim did was he’d sometimes ask the book writer to write a monologue that sondheim would use as inspiration for a song, and that’s what happened for ‘talent’ and it’s really cool being able to see that in execution, here’s the monologue that weidman wrote for paris in an early draft of the script:

Ever since I was a boy, I've had a passion. For the arts. The theater, the ballet. When I was still at school, I was convinced that I'd grow up to be a painter. Turned out I didn't have the—I don't know, the talent, the dedication, it doesn't matter. Because when I stepped off that train in Palm Beach and looked around, I realized what I was meant to be. Not an artist, but a patron of the arts. I had a vision. I saw it all, right there in front of me. An entire community, spread out along the seashore. The finest artists colony in all the world! And do you know what had revealed it to me? It was the light. The light off the Atlantic. It was like no light I'd ever seen before. Hard-edged. Unsentimental. It was ours. It was American. And in that light—in that luminescence—I saw painters, sculptors, artists of every type, working at the absolute height of their powers, laboring to bring forth a new art for a New World. And I saw myself, too. Wandering among them, urging them on, setting their genius free. Me. Paris Singer. Savoring the satisfaction of delivering their brilliant work into the brilliant light... That was my dream. It still is.

I'm linking the version from wise guys because I'm biased, here are the lyrics for ‘talent’, unchanged through all three iterations of the show:

When I was a tyke I said, "What I like Is art I know I'm a boy But what I enjoy Is art."

Looking at paintings, going to plays Music and books informing my days Filling my mind Flooding my heart With art!

I had this dream of becoming an artist A painter, a poet, who knows? I had a nice little talent for drawing And a natural feeling for prose I even began to compose

So many talents Wasn't I blessed? All of them good A few of them better None of them best

Just enough talent To know that I hadn't the talent So I put my dream And my self-esteem To rest

I couldn't decide Then one day I spied Palm Beach A speck on the map No more than a gap Palm beach

Jungle and seashore, muddy and raw But in a flash I suddenly saw What it would take What I could make Palm Beach!

I had this dream of a city of artists Versailles by the Florida sea A sort of world congregation of artists All encouraged to set themselves free I knew what I wanted to be!

I'd be their host and supporter The patron saint Of the things that they'd write And compose and paint

I shall wander among them with lavish praise As they carve their statues Construct their plays Design their buildings Recite their rhymes Making modern art Fit for modern times!

So many talents Gathered en masse! Painters and poets Artists and dreamers Watered like grass

And if the talent I have Is for nurturing talent Then succeed or fail I will see they sail First class

And my father can go stick it up his ass!

I think it's really interesting to compare the monologue with the lyrics, and it's super cool to get the chance to... weidman's monologue briefly touches on the talent aspect but mostly centers The Vision whereas sondheim spends a lot more time on that idea of lacking A Certain Something to truly achieve (perceived) greatness in art. another thing that sticks out to me is that the song is composed to evoke a train, so it makes sense to me why sondheim would center more of the momentum of paris' dream rather than the visuals or american ideals. (sidenote, it's interesting that both of sondheim and weidman's shows has a deeply American(tm) core to it, assassins links the various assassins through the [distortion of?] american ideals they represent while wise guys has the dogged pursuit and--to some extent--failure to realize the american ideals expressed by their parents) (actually, tangentially, when I say 'distortion' of american ideals, I don't think it's a *true* distortion per se--manifest destiny is a core american ideal and the assassins essentially carry out the logical conclusion of the idea that Everything Belongs To Me As Is My Divine Right) (so 'distortion' as in going beyond the 'benign' or any positive interpretation of american ideals) ok as I was typing this, I think rather than de-emphasizing the american ideals exhibited in weidman's monologue, sondheim works it into the music and lyrics (train motif, emphasis on forward momentum)--which is ALSO interesting because while paris is initially presented as a down on his luck ex-heir striking out on his own to follow his dream, when things get tough paris goes back to his father (lol). I really like this song, it's a great introduction to a character that's completely sincere but also. a huge misrepresentation by the character of himself.

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air said they think I need to have less white whales but the thing is I’ve found every single one. wise guys (1999)? happiness (2009)? dr. stephen f evans’ handout about punctuation in academic writing? fear and trembling (2003)? I always win.

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ok I need to go to sleep. but first. I need to do a close reading of ‘next to you’ from wise guys.

so ‘next to you’ happens pretty early in the show. plot-wise, addison and wilson mizner went to alaska to pan for gold, actually got rich, then lost it all in a game of poker. in second vaudeville, addison and wilson part ways, addison returning home to their mother, wilson going off because he refuses to go home empty-handed.

this song still exists in bounce, but was cut from road show. which is a huge shame—not only is it a wonderful tune with some really stand-out lyrics, it does a fantastic job establishing/reinforcing characterization and family dynamics. it’s also weaker in bounce because it ends up cramming ‘my two young men’ in the middle instead of being a reprise of it, which means ‘I don’t know which one I love more’ gets dropped in the middle and not just at the end, which cuts the impact of the line, and I’m getting off track. ok back to wise guys

with competition between the brothers being emphasized, I think sondheim did a REALLY good job showing addison being overshadowed by wilson and modifying his approach as a result. he knows mama mizner like adventure, so he opens with a straightforward (embellished) description—it’s wilson that hijacks the song and turns it around to being about mama mizner. that’s one of the fundamental differences between addison and wilson; addison’s tailoring to what (he thinks) she asks for, and wilson’s tailoring to what she wants. or, rather than tailoring, wilson and mama mizner just operate on the same wavelength, and it’s not one that comes naturally to addison.

so after wilson thoroughly hijacks the song, addison tries to cut in with a new approach, he goes from describing the aurora borealis and the “fairyland” of alaska to: “every moment I was digging, frozen to the bone, digging all alone, all that I could do was think of being—” and it’s him trying to emphasize adventure still but he’s obviously trying to follow wilson’s lead in making this about mama mizner now; he worked and suffered and was thinking about her. but he doesn’t even get to finish his sentence before willie cuts in again (lol). side note, my favorite line in this song is wilson’s “next to you/moonlight on the snow is unexciting/next to you/the moon is just an accident of lighting” like man. phenomenal.

anyway, in the next part (after mama mizner starts incorporating ‘my two young men’ into the song) addison completely abandons using his own methods and just ends up parroting wilson, and then they diverge again; addison’s “I will come and live with you” and wilson’s “I’ll leave you alone”. and in this divergence, there’s the ONLY time wilson echoes addison instead of addison echoing wilson, the line “anything you want”, but then addison diverges from wilson with “tell me what you want”. and after THAT line is when mama mizner drops “I don’t know which one I love more”. and that’s the pattern. wilson’s secure, addison’s insecure, and mama mizner reinforces the dynamic by providing no *meaningful* assurance; she’ll say reasons she loves them both, but her favoritism is obvious. and this thread is continued on through ‘isn’t he something’, not only through the subject of the song but the interaction that happens in the middle (WHICH GETS CUT. COMPLETELY. WHICH WAS A HUGE MISTAKE!!) like I consider it very important for mama mizner to double down when *directly faced* with addison’s inferiority complex. actually while you’re here listen to ‘isn’t he something’

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OH MY GOD VICTOR PULLED THROUGH WISEGUYS QUEST COMPLETE

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I love calling vaudeville bits ‘america manzai’

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sister was listening to a show, ended up being jukebox musical not-quite historical rpf (based off not direct) anyway it was whatever but while I was reading the wiki

shoves this musical aside. can you imagine if wise guys ever had a full show with full staging and they did this for I’m on my way. I can’t think of a single other instance they could use this mechanic in the show so it wouldn’t be worth it but can you imagine. I’m imagining right now. Oh, 1) on my way, 2) earthquake, 3) maybe something related to the Boca Raton pitch & housing crash. wow… wise guys…

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if I had infinite money I’d finance a production of wise guys