Composer Elliot Goldenthal on Finding a Sound for Gloria Steinem With ‘The Glorias’ Score
Jon Burlingame “The Glorias,” now streaming on Amazon Prime, tells the story of feminist icon Gloria Steinem, her troubled home life as a child, her travels through the decades, and her rise to prominence as a leader in the women’s movement.It fell to New York composer Elliot Goldenthal to musicalize that journey. The director, Julie Taymor, is his longtime partner, and he has scored all seven of her films, winning a 2002 Oscar for the Mexican-flavored music of “Frida.”Surprisingly, electric guitars are featured throughout the score, although there are moments of jazz and orchestral textures as well. The composer was inspired by Taymor’s images of the bus carrying young Steinem out west.