Tasteful Friends, Sondheim's Turtle Bay Townhouse Can Be Yours

Video tour for those so inclined

More clicks for Follies. Great.

It's lovely. It was obviously refurbished in the nineties judging by the kitchen and wooden door/window frames common to that period.

I love it. And I love the outdoor space. At $7 Million it's a steal. It should command at least $11Million.

Lovely. It’s perfect.

Where's the dungeon?

There was a fire in the 90s and a lot of repair work done after.

One of the sections of that house seems to have 6.5 ceilings in several rooms. Is that even possible? It's hideous.

Parquet floors, no thank you.

LOVELY space under all that clutter! Once they move out the thousands of objects d' art, neutral furniture, and monochromatic rugs, I can set about adding a bit of color and a feeling of space!

I love the terrace and the gardens. If I ever had to live in a major city, that's how I'd want to live.

It’s quite dowdy, likely because Sondheim spent no money and his decorator, Peter Wooster, has long since been incapacitated by a severe stroke.

It should be preserved for the nation, like the Wahnfried of Midtown Manhattan.

This house seems like a real bargain for a house of that size in Manhattan.

I stayed in the YMCA in Turtle Bay a few times many years ago when younger. As I remember it was a fairly quiet area, especially on the weekends. 2nd Avenue was really good with Irish bars and restaurants. I have no idea what the area is like these days. I imagine all of the affordable eateries have gone.

Anyone else think the realtor is sort of dishy? I think he's got a smokin' bod under the well-tailored clothes. those hands!

Beautiful, why so cheap?

@r14, Go to his IG, I think he's married, sorry

R15 - wait until you turn the black light on.

^ Blood or meth?

@r8, "One of the sections of that house seems to have 6.5 ceilings "

Looks like they're pretty low in the attic level which would have originally been reserved for staff and storage. The rest of the house seems to have normal height ceilings

Not surprising considering his age, but it is drab. And don’t knock parquet floors—they still have a valid place in NY living…

R16... married, schmarried - how much does he want to close the sale?! Kidding... if he's straight, he's straight, but don't tell me, that as a NYC real estate agent, he doesn't know how to flirt with gay clients... those pants!

I don't think property's "drab," but simply tasteful. It's not overdone and fussy. The new owners wouldn't have to do a complete reno, but adapt to their taste.

The property's 5 floors... is there an elevator?

I love the solarium.

Also, Katharine Hepburn lived next door to Sondheim.

So many dead people.

^ He's definitely NOT straight, but half his IG pictures show him with just one other man, so he's either married or in a serious relationship. Of course, being a real estate agent he certainly would accommodate your needs once your credit check passed muster 😏

I love that people think it’s a steal to pay $42,000 a month for 30 years to live there.

I bring home $2,400 a month…so that’s good,

Sorry to be blunt r25, but $2,400 a month precludes you from being a Tasteful Friend.

^ You couldn't even rent a small apartment on that. I hope you live someplace cheap

If I win the PowerBall tonight, I'll buy it.

Christ, was that a video for the property, or a video for the realtor?

He could love the place a little more and himself a little less.

[quote]Where's the dungeon?

In the basement. Of the Alamo.

If I had the money, I'd buy that place in a heartbeat. One of the few "Tasteful Friends" properties I'd consider turnkey.

Wonder how many calls he gets from folks who just want to look. Do you have to demonstrate serious intent?

^ Pretty sure at that price point they do a credit check on you before wasting their time

R27 I live in the Midwest and make $20 an hour which is a good wage when u look at the other jobs in my area. My salary is $43,000 a year. I agree, it’s embarrassingly low…but it’s the market around here. I also have a bachelors degree and am in process of getting my masters. I don’t know it helps all that much.

^ That's fine for where you live, but NYC is really expensive. You'd probably make more there, but it cost a lot to live there

^ That's the thing, places like NYC and California are wonderful places to live... If you're loaded

It has some very good moments

He had himself cryogenically frozen in the dungeon, in case they discover a cure for schmaltz.

Soooo vanilla, meh

Absolutely perfect.

His home in Roxbury is lovely, too.

The reason they don't show the basement is that people won't go near it, they think it's haunted. You see something happened down there years ago. Something not very nice.

WaitWaitWait - - - how many floors - - - and no elevator?

R42 Calm down gramps, you could install a stairlift…lol

Actually I didn’t notice those huge taxes, but then I suppose they would be the same for any house of that size in Manhattan.

I thought it was interesting how The Name was never mentioned, but the references to music and composing were thick on the vine.

The place just wouldn't be the same without Steve in it. Too many memories...

The neighbors would hire a sniper to kill me.

The second floor balcony and third floor stage would be perfect for arias. I am a tenor who can sing soprano very poorly and very loudly.

I’d need castanets, tiaras, and a snood. If I can afford that place, I can afford to pay two or three chucklefucks to listen to me catterwall.

Or give you the clap. Same thing...

[quote]I thought it was interesting how The Name was never mentioned, but the references to music and composing were thick on the vine.

The entire wall of the music room with Sondheim Broadway show window cards (posters) wasn't too subtle.

[quote]I’d need castanets, tiaras, and a snood.

As if you don't have a snood, MISS LIAR!

"The entire wall of the music room with Sondheim Broadway show window cards (posters) wasn't too subtle."

I have that same wall in my house (only a bit larger). He laughed at it the first time he saw it, and asked where I got a couple of the posters.

R22 I knew there were a couple of other celebrities on that block besides Kathrine Hepburn who lived at 244 E 49th for about 60 years, but I didn't know Sondheim was literally right next door.

The stories of their feuds are legendary, R50!

The Sondburn Chronicles:

On the podcast about the making of Into the Woods, there is speculation that a line from the prologue was inspired by Hepburn. Specifically, the Baker and his Wife’s: “It’s the Witch from next door!” Chip Zien also tells a story about being in Hepburn’s house to interview for a part, years before he worked with Sondheim.

R53 - sounds interesting! What's the name of the podcast?

r53

I'm with r54

what podcast?

It’s called “Giants in the Sky.” Ben Rimalower is interviewing various cast members and creatives from James Lapine to Ira Weitzman to Joanna Gleason. It’s inspired by Lapine’s book about the making of Sunday in the Park with George. The editing and technical quality is flawed, which sometime makes the interviewees sound inarticulate or forgetful, but it doesn’t make it any less exciting to hear these people reminisce.

I think it’s interesting Bernadette won’t speak to Ben. Like he has literally interviewed every other person on earth connected to the show

There are still new episodes coming out each Thursday, r57. Maybe you know something more, but it wouldn’t be crazy to conclude the series with Bernadette.

There's no bathroom or even a powder room on the first floor.

Primary bedroom is on the fourth floor.

There really should be an elevator.

r56 - thanks! Definitely going to give this a listen. I love these types of fly-on-the-wall oral histories. I wish there were more of them. The theatre is ephemeral by nature, of course, but so much will be lost to time if it isn't recorded. It's a reason I love the Dancers Over 40 specials that are posted on YouTube.

Sondheim was about 90-91 when he passed away. How did he get upstairs to his damn bedroom?

He mostly spent the last part of his life at his farmhouse in Connecticut.

Is that whack-a-do Mia Farrow in the lower corner of the photo? God, why would anyone invite her to a dinner, get-together? I don't recognize anyone else besides Sondheim and isn't that Marsha Mason on the far-right?

That photo has been posted without context on other threads. It appears to be Thanksgiving dinner of 2021. Jack O’Brien’s new house was not ready, so it was at Marsha Mason’s house. Mia Farrow was Sondheim’s neighbor in Connecticut. He was reportedly in great spirits and very cogent at dinner, then went home and died shortly after midnight.

Did we ever find out Sondheim's true net worth as a result of his passing? All those online celebrity net worth sites are so unreliable.

Director Jack O'Brien is holding the dog. SS and Mia have been good friends for a long time.

Re Into the Woods podcast, isn't it true that Bernadette isn't a great interview? Whether she's shy or not all that smart, she seems reticent to talk freely with a journalist.

Love it but I don't have any awards or celerity photos for the walls. Can I keep his stuff?

r68 - I love Bernie, but, I agree, she's generally not the most interesting interview because she keeps her cards very close to her vest. As little as I care for Randy Rainbow, his recent interview of Bernie on his podcast was actually quite interesting and while she hardly turned into Patti, there were moments of more candor than I'm used to hearing from her. She talked frankly about why she felt The Goodbye Girl didn't work. She also briefly talked about how she is NOT a naturally optimistic person, which some people may find surprising. It would be a shame if she doesn't get interviewed for this Into the Woods podcast.

There is no way Bernadette could give a worse interview than some of the others. If she agrees to do it, her presence alone will be exciting. She may not share dirt, but she will be amusing.

So, R65, it really was the Last Midnight.

I’ve been listening to the podcasts and I marvel at how many of the people involved know so little about what happened. James Lapine was the worst. He argued that Ellen Foley never played the witch on Broadway and there is audio of her playing the role at the end of the run, video, and playbills with her name as the Witch. One would think he would remember that she came back at the end after being fired from the production after the Old Globe try-out.

Also he asks every interviewee about Betty Buckley and why she left and nobody remembers anything.

That's interesting, R73. I'm still going to give it a listen starting this weekend. It is funny, sometimes the people closest to the work are less obsessed with these details than we are as audience members. Maybe Lapine didn't return to direct the replacement casts or maybe he's just old and forgetful. He's a big pot head, isn't he?

Danielle Ferland seems like a very nice person, but most of her interview was useless.

I saw Ellen Foley in the show in San Diego, prior to Broadway. She was absolutely great. But even then word was out that she was just a place holder, and that the team wanted Peters for the role, but she had been unavailable for San Diego. I attended the cast reunion at the Segerstrom Center, and I don't recall Foley being mentioned at all.

Ellen Foley is next on the podcast.