Stars on Sondheim: Joanna Gleason Really Wants You to Read Page 92 of Finishing the Hat

March 22 marks Stephen Sondheim's 90th birthday. It's impossible to state the great contribution and influences this titan of the stage has made to musical theater, but we're taking a stab at it by reaching out to some stars who have appeared in his many shows to share their personal experiences.

Joanna Gleason first met Stephen Sondheim in 1986 when she auditioned for a workshop of Into the Woods, which Sondheim wrote with James Lapine. The show opened on Broadway in 1987. It was a hit, earning three Tony Awards, including Best Actress in a Musical for Gleason, who played the Baker’s Wife. The show, which puts a modern spin on beloved fairy tales, continues to be produced around the globe. It was made into a 2014 movie version, starring Meryl Streep, James Corden, Emily Blunt and more. Here, Gleason reveals that "disaster" of a first meeting with the composer, and what song she would love to sing for him on his 90th birthday.

What was the first Sondheim show you ever saw?
The first Sondheim show I ever saw was Follies. Oh, it was gorgeous. I just remember being blown away. Honestly, it was like looking through a telescope at another planet and thinking, “How do I get from here to there? How do I be part of that kind of theater?” This was in the '70s, and in the late '80s, I was part of that world of him. He really is his own world; there’s nobody like him.

Describe your first meeting with Sondheim.
It was on my birthday in 1986. It was a disaster because I came into the room and he was sitting there with James Lapine and [music director] Paul Gemignani, and I had only one ballad to audition for Into the Woods: “What Did I Have That I Don't Have” from On a Clear Day You Can See Forever. I was singing it so slowly that I could literally see them dropping off to sleep. Then they said, “Did you bring an up-tempo song?” This was the fork in the road. I could have either said, “No, thank you very much for seeing me.” But I said, “No, but I could sing this song very, very fast.” And I said to the accompanist, “Play it as fast as you physically can.” I did and they laughed, and I got the workshop. That’s how it started. That was my first meeting with him. 

Which Sondheim role would you love to tackle, whether you’re appropriate or not?
I would have always loved to play Desiree in A Little Night Music but they always thought of me as, “Oh no, you’re Countess Charlotte.” Now, I just have to wait 10 minutes and I can play Madame Armfeldt in the wheelchair, and they can wheel me out and I sing one song and I die, and they wheel me off. That’s what i have to look forward to! 

What’s your favorite personal Sondheim anecdote?
In the "It Takes Two" duet with Chip Zien [who played Gleason's onstage husband, the Baker] in Into the Woods—the first time we sang it, I went up to Steve and I said, “Boy, this is really in Chip’s good key, it's a little high for me.” And he said, “I wrote this for your voice and if you have a problem with that, you should see a shrink.” I went home and burst into tears. I did see a shrink, who said, “Did you hear the first part of what he said? He wrote it for your voice.” Then I was better. I never really stretched my voice. I never thought of myself who could sing with a lovely voice. When you pigeonhole yourself to be a character person, you have image problems that you put on yourself. And then I realized it was one of my favorite things to sing and I got over it.

What’s the best gift you ever got from Sondheim?
It wasn't a gift he intended to give me, but in his book Finishing the Hat, he talks about how he doesn't take a lot of suggestions from actors, but he did from me. We were discussing my song in Act Two of Into the Woods and I said, “What am I doing here, I’m in the wrong story.” And he wrote that literally into my song and he credits me, in his book, page 92. Page 92! And I thought, “Whoa this is like amazing! I’m in the book!” 

Which Sondheim song would you like to sing to him for his birthday?
I don’t want to sing a Sondheim song for him. I know, because Jim Lapine told me years ago, that one of Steve’s favorite songs is Rodgers and Hammerstein's “It Might As Well Be Spring,” which is from the movie State Fair. It’s a gorgeous song. Knowing that Steve loves it, if I ever had the occasion to sing it, I would sing that for him. It may not be the best song to sing right now because it has lyrics about spring fever, and we may not want to sing about fevers right now! [Laughs.] That may have to wait.