He brought us Into The Woods, Company, Sweeney Todd, A Little Night Music, Sunday in the Park with George, A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum, West Side Story and Gypsy (to name a few). By writing songs that reflect the complexity of his characters, he has changed the way we define a great musical. But even though millions of fans know his songs by heart, few know much about Stephen Sondheim himself. Until now. Roundabout presents Sondheim On Sondheim, an intimate portrait of the famed composer in his own words... and music. Through the use of exclusive interview footage, you'll get an inside look at Sondheim's personal life and artistic process. An ensemble cast of Broadway's best will perform brand-new arrangements of over two dozen Sondheim tunes, ranging from the beloved to the obscure. Directed by frequent Sondheim collaborator James Lapine, this unique experience will take you inside the life and mind of an ordinary New Yorker... with an extraordinary talent.
In the world of American musicals he is indisputably the best, brightest and most influential talent to emerge during the last half-century. Even when his shows have been commercial flops, they are studied, revered and eventually reincarnated to critical hosannas. No other songwriter to date has challenged his eminence, and it seems unlikely that anyone will in his lifetime. It is even possible, if sadly so, that he may be remembered as the last of the giants in a genre that flourished in the 20th century and wilted in the 21st. But such brooding thoughts have little place in a discussion of “Sondheim on Sondheim,” which opened Thursday night. This is a chipper, haphazard anthology show that blends live performance of Sondheim songs with archival video footage and taped interviews with Himself. Conceived and directed by James Lapine, Mr. Sondheim’s frequent (and, to me, best) collaborator over the years, this somewhat jittery production never quite finds a sustained tone, a natural rhythm or even a logical sense of sequence.
Structurally, the show doesn't strain to draw parallels between life and art. But Lapine does find connections in songs and vignettes from the shows, however diverse their source material. Sondheim's words and music are, for all their intelligence and sophistication, most striking for their emotional fidelity to his characters and the universal struggles and joys informing their disparate journeys. Thus the frustrations driving Sweeney Todd's demon barber and the gunslingers in Assassins are as eerily accessible as the romantic obsession captured in the songs Losing My Mind and Not a Day Goes By. We're reminded, too, of Sondheim's capacity for tenderness and hope: Norm Lewis' soaring Being Alive is a highlight, as is the more fragile Beautiful, a duet for Cook and Euan Morton.
2010 | Broadway |
Roundabout Production Broadway |
2017 | Los Angeles |
Hollywood Bowl Revival Los Angeles |
Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
---|---|---|---|
2010 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Musical Revue | Sondheim on Sondheim |
2010 | Drama League Awards | Distinguished Production of a Musical | 0 |
2010 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Actress in a Musical | Barbara Coo |
2010 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding New Broadway Musical | 0 |
2010 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Set Design | Beowulf Boritt |
2010 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Sondheim on Sondheim | Ken Billington |
2010 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Musical | Barbara Cook |
2010 | Tony Awards | Best Sound Design of a Musical | Dan Moses Schreier |
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