Hey everyone, it’s Julie Hennrikus and I am here on the Wicked Authors to share some pretty exciting news. I am part of a short story anthology. These are words that don’t come out of my mouth quickly or easily because short stories are not my forte. But I was asked by Josh Pachter to be part of a really exciting new anthology. The title of it is Every Day a Little Death and it’s short stories inspired by the music of Stephen Sondheim.
So the way this worked is he invited folks to be part of it and then he wanted us all to pick a musical and then pick a song from the musical. And our short story had to be the title of the song. Then our imagination took over. It had to be a crime story. That was the only restriction he put on us.
I got the musical, Merrily We Roll Along which debuted in 1980, 81, 82 around there. It was not a huge success for Stephen Sondheim when it first ran. He never stopped working on it. I actually think Stephen Sondheim is a great example of a true artist because he always pushed himself. He tried something new every time he wrote a new show. Shows like Merrily We Roll Along he kept working on over and over and over again until he found a way to make it work or collaborators found a way to make it work. So he never gave up on it.
There’s a really terrific documentary about the initial production called The Best Worst Thing That Ever Could Have Happened. The conceit of Merrily We Run Along is it starts and then it goes backwards in time. It starts with a party when there is a terrible fight between these three old friends. Then we go backwards to when they were in college and had everything in front of them and life hadn’t gotten in the way. In between we see how it all fell apart.
The song I chose from that was “Not a Day Goes By”. That song is a song that a lot of people know. It’s a torch song frequently performed as part of a cabaret act. It’s really lovely. Here’s a Bernadette Peters version.
I had to noodle this for a while. Now my problem with short stories is that every time I start a short story, I end up starting a new book because writing 5,000 words or less and really telling an entire story is hard to do. There are people who do it well. One of the people on this blog, Edith Maxwell, does it really well. Barbara Ross does it really well. Sherry Harris has done it. It’s just a hard thing for me to do.
So it was hard for me to really think about how was I going to tell a whole story based on this song in less than 5,000 words. At the time, I was listening to the Vicki Bliss series by Elizabeth Peters, which is one of my favorite series. And so I started to ask myself some what ifs. What if Sir John didn’t redeem himself? What if he broke Vicki’s heart?
Right? Because that’s what “Not A Day Goes By” is about. It’s about somebody who loves somebody but cannot be with them anymore because it’s just too hard. And so given that what if and given the song and given the inspiration, I didn’t write about theater, which surprised me, but I did write about the art world and forgeries and use some other research I’ve been doing and came up with this short story.
I’m thrilled that it’s part of this anthology, which is coming out on March 22nd, which would have been Sondheim’s 95th birthday. The theater part of me is just so thrilled to be part of this homage. The writer part of me was really thrilled to have this challenge. And I’m really grateful to Josh Pachter for asking me to be part of it.
The people who are in this anthology are just brilliant. It will be on sale on March 22nd. It’s on Kindle as well. Ask your library to order it, or your local bookstore. Let’s spread the word because this is a really fun anthology full of excellent short stories based and inspired by Stephen Sondheim.
Friends, who is a Sondheim fan? What song do you think would have made a great short story?
Buy links:
Amazon Bookshop.org Barnes and Noble
Watch the video version of this blog post
Or listen to it on your favorite podcast provider!
The Wickeds 
I’m so excited to read this, Julie! So many congratulations. And thank you for the compliment. I do like pushing myself to write short and to try different approaches to storytelling.
LikeLike
You’re inspiring me to do the same. Though it will take me a while to hold up the skill.
LikeLike
Congratulations Julie on the soon to be released EVERY DAY IS A LITTLE DEATH! What an amazing concept! I, for one, would love to read it and have added it to my gotta read list. I can only imagine how hard it is to condense a whole story into as few words. Definitely a talent to be able to do so. It would be like me, who can talks a mile a minute, being refrained from talking on a subject for less than a minute and still saying all I need or want to say.
2clowns at arkansas dot net
LikeLike
Exactly Kay. There are no conversational side roads in a short story. As i mentioned, usually it’s the start of a new book for me.
LikeLike
Congratulations on the exciting news, Julie. I’m looking forward to reading the anthology.
Sondheim was such a genius and I loved all of his shows. My favorite one was and still is Company and the biting lyrics of “Ladies Who Lunch.”
LikeLike
I’m a Company fan as well. He really was a genius. What a career.
LikeLike
I am a HUGE Sondheim fan and will be asking my bookstore to order this as soon as I post this comment. I think “A Little Priest” from Sweeney Todd would make an excellent short story.
LikeLike
Especially for a crime story!
LikeLike
Julie, congratulations!! When I was a kid, my parents would get preview tickets to Broadway shows and take me. I saw the OG prods of shows like A Little Night Music, Follies, and Sweeney Todd! Then I got to work with “Steve,” as he liked to be called, when I was an assistant at The Dramatists Guild. I have a poem in a journal inspired by when he arrived early for a board meeting – on his bike, that’s how he got around – and just sat down and started noodling on the piano. He was an incredibly nice, totally self-effacing man.
LikeLike
First of all, I’m so jealous that you saw those productions.
And I love hearing that he was a lovely person. I’ve heard that from others. Well worth celebrating.
LikeLike
I loved your story so much, Julie. It’s such an evocative song—from a vastly under-appreciated show—and you certainly did it justice. I feel you on the challenging of writing short, every story I have turned in to date has come back from the editor as too long. But it’s a great skill to learn to cut the excess and narrow the focus. Can’t wait to hit the “boards” with you for our event at The Drama Book Shop in May.
LikeLike
Thank you Kristopher! Your story is wonderful as well. People are going to enjoy this anthology. I look forward to the May 8 event.
I am going to keep working on my short story skills. But they are skills.
LikeLike
Hi Julie,
I’m a massive Sondheim fan. I’m one of the few people who actually saw the original production of Merrily We Roll Along. You misspeak (miswrite?) when you say that it was “not a huge success.” It was a huge and massive flop and represented the end of the collaboration between Sondheim and Hal Prince. It ran a grand total of 16 performances after it opened (in November of 1981).
While the score was magnificent, the book wasn’t and, at least at the performance I saw, half the audience walked out because they HATED the three principal characters, particularly Franklin Shepard. I have to admit that another part of the problem was the actors, all of whom were very young and (although incredibly talented) not yet mature enough to be able to play the older incarnations of their characters. The cast included Jim Walton, Lonny Price, and Ann Morrison as Frank, Mary, and Charlie (all of whom have had long productive careers on Broadway) as well as Jason Alexander who played Joe Josephson
The biggest problem with the show was the structure (stemming from the play it was adapted from) was that the show ran backward in time. So, you begin with seeing what failures as people at least two of the three principals have become.
I’ve seen three subsequent productions of the show, and it’s been fascinating to see how Sondheim has kept tinkering with the show. One of the biggest changes (and it’s my personal opinion that it’s the reason the show was a big hit in its latest Broadway incarnation) was the expansion of the character of Gussie, Frank’s second wife. She was pretty much of a non-entity in the original production, but making her the villain in the most recent incarnation softens the character of present-day Frank, allowing the audience to empathize with him, even if they don’t approve.
Ellen is absolutely right about his insistence on being called “Steve.” I have a friend who was involved with a (now defunct) comic book publishing company. He wrote a number of the comics they published (he wrote the dialogue and plot, but didn’t do the drawing) including one whose main characters were Steven Sondheim, plus (I swear I’m not making this up) Frank Sinatra and Madonna. Together, the three of them save the world.
He sent a copy of the finished comic to Sondheim along with a cover letter expressing his appreciation of his work. He received a letter back almost immediately, the first line of which was, “Listen, it’s Steve, not Mr. Sondheim.” They corresponded back and forth for a while, and Sondheim was very generous with his time and his wisdom.
Julie, you’ve ruined me. Now, even though I swore I wasn’t going to buy one single additional book this year, I’m going to have to order it as soon as I finish writing this.
LikeLike
I love this! I rewatched “The Best Worst Thing That Could Ever Have Happened” the night after I finished this post. It delves into everything you said. But I love that the original cast came together for a concert many years later. I would have LOVED to see that.
I’m thrilled to be in the anthology, and think you’ll love the stories.
LikeLike
Congratulations, Julie! I have not seen a lot of Sondheim productions live, but I enjoy his music.
LikeLike
He was an amazing force in musical theater. And a wonderful writing prompt!
LikeLike
Wow! Congratulations! This is so amazing!! I’m also a writer! Currently, I’m writing a novel about a girl in the 19th century and her life experiences as a poet, the intro is on my page. It has all sorts of themes, like superstition, feminism, religion, and world peace. I’m currently working on some romance and tragedy as well! I post a chapter every so often, so anyone, please take a read if you’re interested! I hope to be like you someday, Ms. Julie!
LikeLike