Sondheim on Sondheim is the most high profile, and comprehensive, of this year's birthday celebrations for the man who is arguably the greatest songwriter in the history of Broadway. Even the Sondheim works that have been commercial flops over the years are still analyzed and studied line by line like it were the Zapruder film. While we know much about his body of work, we haven't known too much about the man himself. This review gives us a peek behind the curtain and into the mind of Sondheim.
Let's be upfront--- the Show isn't for everyone. Casual fans will probably leave asking why they had to sit through a song that was cut from Gypsy, rather than hear any of the well known showstoppers from the production. But this is precisely the thing that sets this review apart from other Sondheim inspired tributes.
While the "stars" of the show are technically Vanessa Williams, Barbara Cook, and Tom Wopat, there is no bigger star on the stage than Sondheim himself, who narrates his life story and career on cleverly designed LCD screens, laid out like Scrabble tiles across the stage. Much of the interview footage was recently taped in Sondheim's New York apartment, but also includes archived material from old television appearances on programs like the "Mike Douglas Show".
Younger Broadway fans like myself will automatically be struck by the fact that there was a day when television talk show hosts had Broadway composers as guests to talk about their craft. It's nearly impossible to imagine Stephen Schwartz being invited to discuss Wicked with Ellen Degeneres or Jay Leno in this day and age. Some might say that this speaks as to the irrelevance of Broadway with mainstream audiences in 2010. I prefer to think that it's because there is no composer in the last 30 years whose work is as well crafted as Sondheim.
Over the course of the show, we learn that the genius didn't always happen on the first try. The cast performs the original opening song from A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum as Sondheim explains the difficulty of writing a song that was catchy, but also set the proper tone for a relatively bawdy (at least at the time) comedy. We also see treated to all three of the original endings for Company, before Sondheim settled on "Being Alive" (breathtakingly performed by Norm Lewis). Sondheim certainly gives the impression that much of his work had been reworked extensively before their Broadway runs, in an effort to get it right. I wonder if that much care is still put into the musicals of today. One has to imagine that the "Addams Family" creative team would have benefited from extra time to sort through it's script and music issues before being rushed to the Lunt-Fontaine Theater.
The only downside of the show is that some of the numbers don't make sense when staged out of context. "You Could Drive A Person Crazy" is supposed to be a song of frustration sung to Robert by three girlfriends. Instead, we see Tom Wopat and Barbara Cook awkwardly try to sell themselves as a married couple. Tom Wopat is equally awkward when paired up as a love interest to Leslie Kritzer, who is half his age, and played his daughter in last year's flop A Catered Affair. In fact, Mr. Wopat is largely responsible for most of the evening's misses, none bigger than him wandering aimlessly across the stage feigning anger during "Epiphany" from Sweeney Todd.
The female leads are far more effective. Vanessa Williams looks stunning, and is totally in her element with a goose bump inducing version of "Losing My Mind". Many younger theater goers I know have been critical of Barbara Cook's performances in the show. At 82 years old, her voice isn't what it once was, but nobody in the cast does a better job of finding the emotional truth in Sondheim's lyrics than she does. Perhaps it's something about people who have lived long enough to endure every experience of human life, because Angela Landsbury is stealing the show a few blocks away in A Little Night Music.
But the evening's most touching and poignant moments are when Sondheim opens up about his family. In great detail, he explains how Oscar Hammerstein was the biggest male influence in his life. His relationship with his mother was far more strained, as we find out that his mother called giving birth her biggest regret in life. James Lapine seamlessly segues that story into a stirring performance of "Children Will Listen" from Into The Woods.
Let's be upfront--- the Show isn't for everyone. Casual fans will probably leave asking why they had to sit through a song that was cut from Gypsy, rather than hear any of the well known showstoppers from the production. But this is precisely the thing that sets this review apart from other Sondheim inspired tributes.
While the "stars" of the show are technically Vanessa Williams, Barbara Cook, and Tom Wopat, there is no bigger star on the stage than Sondheim himself, who narrates his life story and career on cleverly designed LCD screens, laid out like Scrabble tiles across the stage. Much of the interview footage was recently taped in Sondheim's New York apartment, but also includes archived material from old television appearances on programs like the "Mike Douglas Show".
Younger Broadway fans like myself will automatically be struck by the fact that there was a day when television talk show hosts had Broadway composers as guests to talk about their craft. It's nearly impossible to imagine Stephen Schwartz being invited to discuss Wicked with Ellen Degeneres or Jay Leno in this day and age. Some might say that this speaks as to the irrelevance of Broadway with mainstream audiences in 2010. I prefer to think that it's because there is no composer in the last 30 years whose work is as well crafted as Sondheim.
Over the course of the show, we learn that the genius didn't always happen on the first try. The cast performs the original opening song from A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum as Sondheim explains the difficulty of writing a song that was catchy, but also set the proper tone for a relatively bawdy (at least at the time) comedy. We also see treated to all three of the original endings for Company, before Sondheim settled on "Being Alive" (breathtakingly performed by Norm Lewis). Sondheim certainly gives the impression that much of his work had been reworked extensively before their Broadway runs, in an effort to get it right. I wonder if that much care is still put into the musicals of today. One has to imagine that the "Addams Family" creative team would have benefited from extra time to sort through it's script and music issues before being rushed to the Lunt-Fontaine Theater.
The only downside of the show is that some of the numbers don't make sense when staged out of context. "You Could Drive A Person Crazy" is supposed to be a song of frustration sung to Robert by three girlfriends. Instead, we see Tom Wopat and Barbara Cook awkwardly try to sell themselves as a married couple. Tom Wopat is equally awkward when paired up as a love interest to Leslie Kritzer, who is half his age, and played his daughter in last year's flop A Catered Affair. In fact, Mr. Wopat is largely responsible for most of the evening's misses, none bigger than him wandering aimlessly across the stage feigning anger during "Epiphany" from Sweeney Todd.
The female leads are far more effective. Vanessa Williams looks stunning, and is totally in her element with a goose bump inducing version of "Losing My Mind". Many younger theater goers I know have been critical of Barbara Cook's performances in the show. At 82 years old, her voice isn't what it once was, but nobody in the cast does a better job of finding the emotional truth in Sondheim's lyrics than she does. Perhaps it's something about people who have lived long enough to endure every experience of human life, because Angela Landsbury is stealing the show a few blocks away in A Little Night Music.
But the evening's most touching and poignant moments are when Sondheim opens up about his family. In great detail, he explains how Oscar Hammerstein was the biggest male influence in his life. His relationship with his mother was far more strained, as we find out that his mother called giving birth her biggest regret in life. James Lapine seamlessly segues that story into a stirring performance of "Children Will Listen" from Into The Woods.
It's a shame that the Tony Awards have eliminated the "Best Theaterical Event" category, because Sondheim on Sondheim is certainly deserving of the recognition. Then again, it's not like Sondheim needs any more accolades than the one he already has---- living legend
Grade: A-
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