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I Cain't Say No

The highlight--maybe the one and only highlight--of last night's dull Tony Awards presentation was "I Cain't Say No."

Three thoughts from the Sondheim Bible:

(1) God is in the details. "Fer a while I ack refined and cool, a settin on the velveteen settee. Nen I think of thet ol' golden rule, and do for him what he would do fer me!" You sense Annie's wit and subversiveness: She is doing something with the "Golden Rule" that certainly doesn't match the intention behind her teacher's speech at Sunday school.

(2) Let form match content. The lines I'm obsessed with: "Whatcha gonna do when a feller gets flirty an' starts to talk purty? Whatcha gonna do? S'pposin' that he says that your lips are like cherries, or roses, or berries. Whatcha gonna do? S'possin' that he says that yer sweeter than cream and he's gotta have cream or die? Whatcha gonna do when he talks that way? Spit in his eye?"

Notice how uneven the two imagined actions are. Annie gets carried away with the romantic scenario. The erotic events go on and on and on. But when she tries to imagine a firm stance of opposition, she can produce only one line: "Spit in his eye." We know which choices Annie will make in her future.

(3) Less is more. Of course Annie doesn't really spell out what she means by failing to say "no." "Soon as I sit on their laps, something inside of me snaps." We're left to make some inferences.

Delightful.

How nice it is to see two great Hammerstein roles--Carrie and Annie--honored in back-to-back years. And how much juicier are these roles than the apparent "leads"!
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