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| The Cast of "Sondheim on Sondheim" with Sondheim (photo: Mark S. Howard) |
In musical theater today, no one is more revered than
composer/lyricist Stephen Sondheim. Creating a musical revue,
Sondheim on Sondheim, back in 2010, was a labor of love for
James Lapine, a frequent collaborator with Sondheim over the years of
their extraordinary careers. Utilizing some four dozen songs
(including one original number written for the revue), with his
lyrics and music from over six decades, with nineteen shows
represented, Lapine conceived and created a wonderful collage of
Sondheim's professional life. It featured familiar, lesser-known and
even a half dozen cut numbers (especially from Company,
notoriously revised in rehearsals and try-outs). This revue ran for a
limited run of two months on Broadway, mounted by the Roundabout
Theatre, and has now arrived in Boston as the current production by
Lyric Stage Company.
The result is a thoroughly enjoyable collection of
Sondheim's finest songs, not unlike looking through a family
scrapbook and sharing one's recollections of unforgettable musical
moments. One such special moment is a new song by Himself written
directly for the Broadway version, “God”, in which the
composer/lyricist makes tongue-in-cheek reference to his exalted
position in the musical theater pantheon. To whit, his wit:
God!
I mean the man's a God!
Wrote
the score to “Sweeney Todd”.....
With
a nod, to de Sade.....
Smart!
The lyrics are so smart!
And
the music has such heart!....
Still you have to have something to believe in
Something
to appropriate, emulate, overrate
Might
as well be Stephen, or to use his nickname
God!
There are many memorable turns from the eight member
cast that consists of Leigh Barrett, Mala Bhattacharya, Maritza
Bostic, Christopher Chew, Aimee Doherty, Davron S. Monroe, Sam Simahk
and Patrick Varner. While all are blessedly unmiked, some project
better than others. Even a cursory listing of high points would have
to include “The Best Thing That Ever Has Happened” (composed for
a straight couple in the short-lived musical Bounce, then
rewritten for a gay couple in the same show when it was revised as
Road Show), “Franklin Shepard Inc” from Merrily We Roll
Along, sung here by the charming Simahk, and of course the lovely
and haunting “Send In the Clowns” performed by Barrett. (Simahks'
expressive face with those cheek bones and dimples to die for should
be insured, while either Barrett or Doherty could wow you just
singing from the telephone book). The excerpt from Sweeney Todd
makes one long for Chew's fondly-remembered rendering of the entire
show.
As Directed here by Spiro Veloudos, Producing Artistic
Director of the company, it's a treat, with excellent Choreography
and Musical Staging by Ilyse Robbins, fine Musical Direction by
Jonathan Goldberg, great Scenic Design by David Towlun, suitable
Costume Design by Gail Astrid Buckley, and dramatic Lighting Design
by Chris Hudacs. Thanks in part to Projection Designer Seaghan McKay,
Sondheim is the star of this show in more ways than one, and there's
also a very clever enhancement of Veloudos' usual introductory
speech. Where Broadway used over sixty plasma screens, McKay does
wonders with just a handful.
Yet Sondheim wrote, “even Cream of Wheat has lumps”.
As is the case with most book-less revues, many songs lose
significant impact when performed out of context (for example, “Send
in the Clowns” is decidedly not as moving as it is when it is sung
in the context of the whole libretto of A Little Night Music).
There's also the matter of arbitrary choices; Lapine opines and
that's that. Nonetheless, even though as at most buffets one might
feel one's plate overfilled and overstuffed, this is a feast for
Sondheim fans.
Toward the end of the show, Sondheim, when asked if he
missed ever having children of his own, admits he has such regret,
but notes that art is the alternative way to have a legacy. He also
quotes his teacher Oscar Hammerstein who described him as his friend
and mentor, echoing the lines from Anna in The King and I: “By
your students you'll be taught”. On the question of whether
Sondheim is truly God, most of us would probably self-describe as
agnostics; but the man's lyrics and music are certainly divine. When
all is sung and done, this is a must-see for anyone who is a devotee
of Sondheim. And who isn't?
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