Turn, Turn, Turn

I saw the musical La Cage Aux Folles years ago and was underwhelmed. I'd enjoyed the movie (I also like the American Birdcage adaptation), but the talented people behind the musicalization hadn't improved on the source. In fact, the Harvey Fierstein script seemed like a weak sitcom while the Jerry Herman songs sounded second-tier. The only number I recall truly enjoying was "The Best Of Times."

New Yorker critic Hilton Als lavishly praises the Kelsey Grammer revival. For all I know it's an excellent production, and maybe the show is better than I remember, but Als goes on to make a comparison which has me questioning his taste:

...Albin loves Jean-Michel more than he can say, so when Georges suggests that he butch it up and pose as an uncle for the Dindons’ visit, he agrees, which occasions the “Rose’s Turn” of “La Cage”: “I Am What I Am.” Hodge not only sings the song credibly (his pipes aren’t big, but they’re expressive); he treats it as an aria of self-discovery—Albin is trying to earn the right to be the person he is.

I understand the connection he's making between "Rose's Turn" and "I Am What I Am"--both are famous solos the leads sing about themselves, both are big numbers of self-discovery--but on a deeper level they couldn't be more different.

Much of the difference is that between Jerry Herman and Stephen Sondheim--a divide Herman indicated when he picked up his Tony for La Cage and seemed to refer slightingly to Sondheim, whom he'd defeated that year (Sondheim's score was Sunday In The Park With George).

Herman writes anthems, song filled with platitudes, generically expressed.  Look at the first verse of "I Am What I Am":

I am what I am, I am my own special creation
So come take a look, give me the hook or the ovation
It's my world that I want to have a little pride in
My world and it's not a place I have to hide in
Life's not worth a damn 'til you can say, hey world
I am what I am

While this song is about gay pride, it could be sung by anyone.  It's really in the style of "My Way" or "I've Gotta Be Me."

Meanwhile, Sondheim writes song for specific characters at specific points in the show. (If he wrote a song about gay pride I guarantee you Sinatra wouldn't sing it.) "Rose's Turn," one of the most famous numbers in Broadway history, couldn't be written until well into the production, when Sondheim (and composer Jule Styne) had an idea where the show was going--indeed, words and melodies are taken from other numbers.

And it's not a feel-good song. It's Mama Rose having a breakdown. She's not singing a song of pride, she's going over the wreckage of her life, demonstrating her delusions and bitterness. She's singing to an imaginary audience, trying to get the acclaim that's been denied her:

Why did I do it?
What did it get me?
Scrapbooks full of me in the background.
Give 'em love and what does it get ya?
What does it get ya?
One quick look as each of 'em leaves you.
All your life and what does it get ya?
Thanks a lot and out with the garbage,
They take bows and you're battin' zero.

If Als has to compare "I Am What I Am" to any song from Gypsy, it should be "Everything's Coming Up Roses." Both are the big hit of the show, both are sung by leads promoting their view of life, both end the first act, and both have become anthems.

Even then, there's a difference. La Cage wants us to be proud of Albin when he sings his song of affirmation. But while Sondheim and Styne wrote "Roses" to be separable from the score, when seen in context, it's terrifying--Rose has hit a low point, but rather than admit defeat and go back to a simpler life offered her, she doubles down and become twice as crazy.

Hello, Dolly! ran 2844 performances, Mame 1508, La Cage Aux Folles 1761. When Jerry Herman has a hit, it's out of the park. Stephen Sondheim has never had a show run 1000 performances. Maybe it's because Jerry Herman, in songs like "I Am What I Am,"tells us what we want to hear, while Sondheim, in songs like "Rose's Turn," shows us things that make us want to look away.