‘Sondheim on Sondheim’ celebrates a master songwriter

New bio-show smartly depicts a genius in words and music

BY MICHAEL SOMMERS

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

BROADWAY REVIEW

So many beautiful songs are performed with such consummate artistry that it's impossible to detail most of the highlights in "Sondheim on Sondheim."

A thoughtful, enlightening and very winning celebration of composer Stephen Sondheim, this new bio-revue of his songs and times opened Thursday at Studio 54 in an excellent Roundabout Theatre Company premiere.

Conceived and directed with characteristic smarts by longtime Sondheim collaborator James Lapine, the show compiles more than 30 songs in imaginative ways and groupings. Vintage photos and video clips are augmented by plenty of fresh (and often wryly funny) documentary footage of Sondheim affably chatting about his life and work.

A sterling eight-member company led by the ever-glowing Barbara Cook lends vibrant voices and exceptional interpretive gifts to the words and music created by Broadway's master songwriter.

This wealth of material is strategically organized into various chapters illuminated by songs. One section considers Sondheim's creative process. Another surveys Sondheim's Manhattan boyhood and how he became a surrogate son to lyricist Oscar Hammerstein II. Staged as the single instance of the composer drawing directly from his own life, the whirlwind "Opening Doors" sequence from "Merrily We Roll Along" amusingly chronicles an ambitious young songwriter's 1950s experiences.

Other times the compositions are presented simply as terrific songs, such as when Cook's plaintive rendition of "Not a Day Goes By" intermingles with Vanessa Williams' throbbing "Losing My Mind."

Numbers cut from shows like Madam Rose's "Smile, Girls" (performed only once during the tryout of "Gypsy") are resurrected here as well as others that evolved significantly like "Happily Ever After," which transmuted into the "Being Alive" anthem for "Company." Arguably Sondheim's biggest hit, "Send in the Clowns" is treated humorously via filmed snatches of everybody from Sinatra and Elizabeth Taylor to a YouTube teenager crooning it.

Beowulf Boritt has designed a cool, clever setting that rearranges video screens in a multitude of ways suggesting jigsaw and crossword puzzles. Cleanly lit with subtle emotional intent by Ken Billington, this environment can be a neutral place or turn dramatic as it does for an unsettling "Assassins" excerpt. The designers present a particularly lovely evocation of a half-ruined theater for a haunting version of the "Waiting for the Girls Upstairs" octet from "Follies."

Astutely dressed by Susan Hilferty, the company brings great personal flair and proficiency to the show, which runs about two hours and 45 minutes — but who's counting when every second is so choice?

A sunny yet sensitive presence, Cook remains a matchless Sondheim interpreter and offers a poignant study of Fosca in the throes of "Passion." The sleek Williams is naughty ("Ah, But Underneath") and nice ("Good Thing Going") and altogether fetching. Tom Wopat sincerely mans up ballads and rages away as Sweeney Todd. Norm Lewis' ardent baritone especially soars on "So Many People" and "Being Alive."

Although she's a longtime family friend, let's note how Livingston, N.J., native Leslie Kritzer socks over a blazing "Now You Know" and deftly morphs into specific characters from "Assassins" and "Merrily We Roll Along." The personable Euan Morton likewise summons up colorful people while a lively Erin Mackey and sturdy Matthew Scott capably handle their individual and ensemble moments.

Since the show is all about him, it's appropriate that Sondheim himself dominates these proceedings through the informative and charming documentary segments crafted by Peter Flaherty with Lapine. Michael Starobin's orchestrations and David Loud's musical direction do handsomely by the master's works.

A remarkable assembly of talent and expertise, the production is gracefully staged by Lapine to compare, contrast and otherwise explore the enduring artistry of Broadway's resident musical genius.

"Sondheim on Sondheim" continues through June 13 at Studio 54, 254 W. 54th St., New York. Call (212) 719-1300 or visit www.roundabouttheatre.org.