Side by Side By Sondheim @ Theatre Frisco
—Sam Lisman
Side by Side by Sondheim isn’t a play; it’s a musical revue, a series of songs disconnected from their sources and taken totally out of context. One might think, because of this, that the songs would lose their power, but for some reason, they don’t—at all.
Theatre Frisco’s current production, based on Harold Prince’s Broadway revision of Ned Sherrin’s original London version, is an excellent opportunity to celebrate the first half of Stephen Sondheim’s career. (Pacific Overtures is the cut-off point.) The focus is on Company and Follies, which together make up a full half of the evening’s thirty songs (including the song from which the title of the revue is taken).
The original production featured one male and two female singers, along with two piano players. Director Andi Allen (who also handles sound design), an experienced Sondheim singer herself, added an additional male and female singer to bring the cast to five, allowing her to divvy up the songs to better match each singer’s strengths.
On opening night, the women left the men in the dust.
Jodi Crawford Wright performed the more mature pieces (“I’m Still Here” from Follies, the risqué “I Never Do Anything Twice,” written for the movie The Seven-Per-Cent Solution, and Desiree’s songs from A Little Night Music,“You Must Meet My Wife,” plus Sondheim’s best-known number, “Send in the Clowns.” I’d be clamoring for her to play Mama Rose in Gypsy next, had we not just had two area productions of the show in the past few months. She also killed when given the opportunity to play the comedic ingenue, singing “The Boy From…,” a Sondheim-Mary Rodgers parody they wrote for Mad Magazine’s live The Mad Show. And she did with a straight face, too.
Andrea Fernandez Tom had the daunting task of performing the most difficult song in Sondheim’s challenging canon, “Getting Married Today” from Company. As the breaking-down bride, her delivery wasn’t quite as frenzied as Beth Howland’s original Amy, but I’m thrilled to report that she perfectly enunciated every syllable in the song, leaving the frenetic machine gun-esque lyrics completely understandable. It was something to hear. Moreover, she was delightful dueting in “The Little Things You Do Together” from Company, and in “We’re Gonna Be All Right,” the magnificent song from the otherwise forgettable Do I Hear a Waltz, a Sondheim-Richard Rodgers collaboration. (His mentor Oscar Hammerstein asked him to do it). She also scored big with Anita’s part in “A Boy Like That/I Have a Love” from, of course, West Side Story.
Alana Fabio was hilarious doing the over-the-top portion of “Getting Married Today,” but wowed the audience with both Company’s “Another Hundred People” and Follies’ “Broadway Baby.” That said, she was so perfect singing Maria’s part in “A Boy Like That/I Have a Love” that when I closed my eyes, I honestly thought it was the singer overdubbing Natalie Wood in the movie. Likewise, her rendition of “Losing My Mind” (from Follies) was scary-good.
Ken O’Reilly excelled on the title song from (the criminally under-produced) Anyone Can Whistle (seriously, that’s a show whose time has come) and “Could I Leave You” from Follies (although the spoken introduction completely killed the twist that should have delighted the audience—note to future directors: do not mention who sings the song in the show).
David Noel seemed to be struggling somewhat, particularly during the group numbers and duets. Because of the effective sound design (points off for Jodi’s malfunctioning microphone in the first act), you could really hear when someone was singing different words than the rest of the cast, or when words were missed. That happened in one of the less familiar songs, leaving the audience not really understanding that portion of the song. Hopefully those were opening night issues which will be worked out. Noel did give solid performances of “Buddy’s Blues” from Follies and “I Remember,” from the very odd, very forgotten television musical, Evening Primrose.
The two highly talented piano accompanists, music director Cody Dry (who also narrated most of the show) and Joey O’Reilly (the son of performer Ken O’Reilly, in what must have been a neat treat for both) are excellent—a joy to listen to.
I questioned the choice of making Company’s showstopper “Being Alive” a duet, as I think it diluted the power of the song. Moreover, I strongly disagree with the decision to replace Anyone Can Whistle’s resounding “There Won’t Be Trumpets” with Gypsy’s trying-too-hard-to-be-funny “You Gotta Have a Gimmick.” But that’s nothing compared to my despair over dropping Follies’ sublime “Too Many Mornings” from the songlist—for a meaningless pastiche (titled “Conversation Piece Medley”) of almost random musical phrases and lyrics from songs throughout Sondheim’s first ten shows (several of which had been performed fully earlier in the night). I will say, though, that it gave Alana Fabio the opportunity to sing a few more lines from West Side Story, and that was joyous.
The lighting design by Meghan Settle kept the audience focused on the right places; Rodney Dobbs’s furnished-around-the-edges set gave the performers places to sing and sit (and hide Elise Knox’s few but appropriate props). But what was most impressive were the authentic-looking posters from the original shows that decorated the back wall of the theater.
If you’re steeped in the pre-Sweeney Todd portion of Stephen Sondheim’s career you should definitely go see this production. If you’re not that familiar with this period, you should absolutely go see this production. If you think you don’t like these songs, then you must go see this production. Your opinion will be changed.
WHEN: Through March 5
WHERE: Frisco Discovery Center, 8004 Dallas North Tollway
WEB: theatrefrisco.com
