Left – Phillip Lowe. Cover – Dean Vince, Debora Krizak, Blake Erickson, Rob Johnson, Phillip Lowe. Photos – Michael FrancisSondheim on Sondheim is exactly what its title implies: a multimedia revue not only featuring an ensemble performing the music of Stephen Sondheim, but cleverly cut together film of the man discussing his work, together with interesting snippets of Sondheim interviews over the years and a lifetime of personal and professional photographs. It is like a meta revue: a master class and revue all in one.
Conceived by one of Stephen Sondheim’s long time collaborators, James Lapine, Sondheim on Sondheim is a tribute to the career of Broadway’s finest lyricist/composer of the last 50 years (there is a joke in the show alluding to a New York Magazine article which was titled “Is Stephen Sondheim God?”). As much pleasure comes from the on screen interviews with Sondheim as with the live performances of his music.
Working on a simple set, decorated with a curtain of prettily scrunched up sheet music, director Jay James-Moody’s strong ensemble cast sing and dance their way through a staggering forty or so songs from Sondheim’s vast repertoire. For Sondheim novices in the audience it is a wonderful opportunity to be introduced to a cross section of his work. Existing Sondheim fans can enjoy some of their favourite numbers while learning more about both his life and artistic process and how the two intersect to produce some of the most deeply personal, compassionate songs in the music theatre canon.
The favourites are well represented with the assured ensemble performing Comedy Tonight, Children Will Listen and Anyone Can Whistle. Louise Kelly and Phillip Lowe perform a charming and affectionate You Could Drive a Person Crazy. Counterpointing two of Sondheim’s most famous torch songs, Not a Day Goes By and Losing My Mind, Christie Sullivan and Debora Krizak perform a poignant duet. Rob Johnson gives full flight to his comic skills in Franklin Shepherd Inc. While choreographer Monique Salle doesn’t get her own solo, she is uniformly strong in her ensemble work, particularly in Opening Doors and The Gun Song.
Sondheim is both modest and generous in what he shares with the audience, offering interesting insights into how the success or failure of a production could depend on the choice of the opening or closing number. Some of the songs that were dropped or that never made the final cut are included, together with their more successful replacements from A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum and Passion. One of the best stories is how Company director, Hal Prince was unhappy with the pessimistic tone of the original closing song, Happily Ever After, so Sondheim ingeniously uses some of the lyrics from the first song but changes the tone to create one of the most stirring show stoppers in his repertoire, Being Alive (beautifully performed by Dean Vince).
There is a great sense that nothing is too precious and much humour comes from making jokes about how difficult the music is to sing and how producers crave a “hummable “ score.
Following a tender rendition by Debora Krizak of Send in the Clowns comes a sublime to the ridiculous mashup (ranging from Sinatra, Streisand to tone deaf teen) of umpteen YouTube clips of Sondheim’s most recorded song.
Sondheim, along with others of his generation, pursued the idea that “musicals could be more than constructs of block comedy scenes and novelty songs leavened by the occasional ballad…”. In an old television interview, Sondheim addresses criticism that his shows are full of neurotics. He points out that everybody has troubles of some sort and that audiences identify with his songs exactly because they often address the anxieties we all share.
Sondheim’s themes of isolation, desire, ambition, loyalty and love are all exquisitely encapsulated in the music selected and beautifully rendered by a strong cast, making this production both enlightening and entertaining for fans and novices alike.
Squabbalogic presents
SONDHEIM ON SONDHEIM
Director Craig Stewart
Venue: The Reginald Theatre, the Seymour Centre
Dates: 1 – 18 October 2014
Times: Tues – Fri 7:30pm, Sat 2pm & 7:30pm
Tickets: $49 – $42
Bookings: www.seymourcentre.com | (02) 8065 7337
