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Did anyone see the 1986 27th Lancers Stephen Sondheim Show? GREAT Frank Dorritie arrangements!


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Anyone remember this show?  I think it was ahead of its time.  Great arrangements by Frank Dorritie!

The 1986 27th Lancers played a Sondheim Suite.  A full show of Sondheim Music!  They finished 13th but I think it was ahead of its time.   

George Zingali came back that year (first time since he left after 1981) to help out with show concept and drill design.  

Someone has the video up on Youtube, check it out.

Sadly, it was the last year the Lancers would field a competitive corps.

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I completely agree. Those were beautiful arrangements and the level of musicianship was high. I have always felt that the reason they fell short that year was probably low drill GE and demand.

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Thanks for the kind words. We were all scrambling to get inside Sondheim's craft. The brass charts would have been pretty humble without Charlie Poole's percussion, Tom Lizotte's teaching skills and the visuals by Sylvester and Zingali. To be sure, that was a great group to scramble with.

The show wasn't everyone's cup of tea, but neither is Sondheim.

Here's the long-lost video:

 

...and if you'd like more back-story:

https://marchingartseducation.com/1051-sondheim-on-a-football-field/

 

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Sondheim has always been more about lyrics than melody, though he's no slouch in the latter category, either.

I've often wondered what this show might have become had we been able to use mics and vocalists. In my mind's ear I keep hearing Streisand and Bernadette Peters.

(Dream on, Pal.)

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  • 1 year later...

I'm a musical actor and love Sondheim (my senior thesis was Marry Me A Little), and the show isn't without charm, but it's so far from what people associated 27 with in almost every way that I found it hard to reconcile the show itself with who was performing it. Plus, the same visual problems that had plagued the corps for five years were still there. 

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18 hours ago, tommytimp said:

I'm a musical actor and love Sondheim (my senior thesis was Marry Me A Little), and the show isn't without charm, but it's so far from what people associated 27 with in almost every way that I found it hard to reconcile the show itself with who was performing it. Plus, the same visual problems that had plagued the corps for five years were still there. 

I think that's a fair critique, as far as it goes. It is interesting though, that after 37 years people are still discussing it here.

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22 hours ago, ironlips said:

I think that's a fair critique, as far as it goes. It is interesting though, that after 37 years people are still discussing it here.

And not just because it was the last competitive corps from 2-7. I remember borrowing one of my college friends' '86 vinyls and hearing this show for the first time. Then listening to it again. And again.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Not making finals in 1985 was a serious wound for 27th, and there was a realization since 1984 that the corps needed to update to be more competitive while not losing what made 27th such an iconic corps. 1986 Sondheim was a step in that direction. The culprit often named in the 13th placement at prelims is loss of rehearsal time. Broken down buses cost 27th some valuable practice time at the end of the season. Where the scores were so close, and 27th beat Troopers earlier in the season and I believe Velvet Knights, this is plausible. I was a huge 27th fan, though not a huge fan of the 1986 show, but when I saw it early season, I did think it would be enough to make finals. 

I knew people who marched in 1986 and have met others since that time. You may never get two people to agree on what it was like to be a 27th Lancer in 1986, a year that must have had its share of highs and lows, but all seem to agree the show was progressive and perhaps a bit ahead of it’s time, the judges didn’t understand it, and it should have made finals.

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  • 3 weeks later...

I do know that those who were connected with that production were affected forever. There was a spiritual vibe to the show, staff and members that was very special. We were all aware of the challenges of the season operationally (the corps not having a staff for a critical week of the season because of an inoperable staff bus. At one point four busloads of people were crammed into two buses), financially and creatively (the reluctance of some to accept a non-Danny Boy Lancer identity.) It was the art and the inspiration of people like George Zingali, Frank Dorritie and Charley Poole. The outside world looks at 13th place. Those of us who lived the '86 Lancers appreciate that -- despite or maybe because of the challenges -- it was a once in a lifetime experience. 

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  • 3 weeks later...

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