PassionStephen Sondheim (Music & Lyrics); James Lapine (Book)Custom Made Theatre CompanyJuliana Lustenader & John MelisTwo voices intertwine as their beautifully sung notes erotically embrace in an opening song that mirrors the locked eyes, the probing hands, and the lip-to-lip brushes of two lovers singing “Happiness” in duet:“I’ve never known what love was ...But now, … [Read more...] about “Passion”
Stephen Sondheim
“A Little Night Music”
A Little Night MusicStephen Sondheim (Music & Lyrics); Hugh Wheeler (Book)Lamplighters Music Theatre Amy Bouchard, Jonathan Smucker, Elana Cowen & Chris UzelacSwaying and circling, circling and swaying, a quintet sings in a lush blend of harmonies snippets of fuller songs soon to come while also providing us metaphors in movement and in words of the on-again, off-again … [Read more...] about “A Little Night Music”
“Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street”
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet StreetStephen Sondheim (Music & Lyrics); Hugh Wheeler (Book)Hillbarn TheatreHeather Orth & Keith PintoOne lone, frozen figure stares blankly forward, singing with almost no emotion those words so well-known to Sondheim lovers everywhere:“Attend the tale of Sweeney Todd.His skin was pale and his eye was odd.He shaved the faces of … [Read more...] about “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street”
“West Side Story”
West Side StoryArthur Laurents (Book); Leonard Bernstein (Music); Stephen Sondheim (Lyrics)Hillbarn TheatreJeffrey Brian Adams & Ana Paula Malagón With a cast of thirty and an orchestra of fourteen, Hillbarn Theatre kicks off its seventy-eighth consecutive season with a West Side Story that proves that the sixty-plus-year-old musical is as current, relevant, … [Read more...] about “West Side Story”
“Sunday in the Park with George”
Sunday in the Park with GeorgeStephen Sondheim (Music & Lyrics); James Lapine (Book)San Francisco PlayhouseJohn Bambery as George“Order.”“Design.”“Tension.”“Composition.”“Balance.”“Light.”As each word is announced by the artist whose science of painting is guided by these exacting principles, the members of his most famous composition move into place, aided by his … [Read more...] about “Sunday in the Park with George”
“Saturday Night”
Saturday NightJulius J. Epstein (Book); Stephen Sondheim (Music & Lyrics)42nd Street MoonThe Cast of Saturday NightWhile it is not that unusual to hear about a first-born baby arriving late, forty-three years is probably some kind of a Guinness world record. That is exactly how long it took Stephen Sondheim’s first musical, Saturday Night, to receive its first … [Read more...] about “Saturday Night”
“Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street”
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet StreetStephen Sondheim (Music & Lyrics); Hugh Wheeler (Book)The StageNoel Anthony The Stage takes the Sondheim favorite, Sweeney Todd, that has graced Broadway three times, the West End four, and grand opera stages in at least ten countries worldwide and strips the musical down to a bare minimum of cast, set, and orchestra, putting … [Read more...] about “Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street”
“Sondheim on Sondheim”
Sondheim on SondheimStephen Sondheim (Music & Lyrics); James Lapine (Conceiver)3 Below Theatres & Lounge Conceived by James Lapine and running in limited run on Broadway in 2010, Sondheim on Sondheim features not over fifty of the Great One’s songs from nineteen of his shows, but the musical review is also interspersed throughout with perfectly timed (to … [Read more...] about “Sondheim on Sondheim”
“Into the Woods”
Into the WoodsStephen Sondheim (Music & Lyrics); James Lapine (Book)SHN & Fiasco TheatreThe Cast of "Into the Woods"As the audience meander into their seats, actors in various smocks of muslin white wander about, too -- waving at arrivals, coming down to say hello, and generally chatting with themselves and whomever. In a cross between what could be a bunch of … [Read more...] about “Into the Woods”
“Assassins”
AssassinsStephen Sondheim (Music & Lyrics); John Weidman (Book)Bay Area MusicalsWith a white-painted face and its black-encircled eyes and lips blood-red, a big-smiling clown -- more demon than not -- steps forward, luring in one-by-one a bizarre collection of passers-by to his side. In an upbeat, tempting voice, this Proprietor cajoles, “Hey pal, I mean you ... You … [Read more...] about “Assassins”
“Assassins”
AssassinsStephen Sondheim (Music & Lyrics); John Weidman (Book)Los Altos Stage Company Todd Wright, Connor Smith, Anthony Stephens, Chase Campbell, Alea Selburn, Philomena Block, Andy Cooperfauss, and Drew Benjamin JonesOne of the more controversial musicals ever to be staged, one that companies prolific in producing Stephen Sondheim works often avoid producing, is … [Read more...] about “Assassins”
“Into the Woods”
Into the WoodsStephen Sondheim (Music & Lyrics); James Lapine (Book)Palo Alto PlayersAdrienne Walters, Timothy Sanders, Chris Janssen & Elizabeth SantanaContinuing its 85th Anniversary, touted the “Toniest Season Ever,” Palo Alto Players ventures into a forest previously much traveled by many of its sister Bay Area stages. What more can possibly be squeezed out of … [Read more...] about “Into the Woods”
“A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum” (Hillbarn Theatre)
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the ForumStephen Sondheim (Music & Lyrics); Burt Shevelove & Larry Gelbart (Book)Based on the Plays of PlautusHillbarn Theatre David Blackburn (Hero) & Dan Demers (Pseudolus) The cast and co-directors of the current Forum at Hillbarn Theatre clearly understand why they and we are there spending yet another evening with … [Read more...] about “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum” (Hillbarn Theatre)
“A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum”
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the ForumStephen Sondheim (Music & Lyrics); Burt Shevelove & Larry Gelbart (Book)Based on the Plays of PlautusFoothill Music Theatre Photo by David AllenFoothill Music Theatre has provided us with a pleasant venture into ancient Rome in its A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, but I fear the trip will be … [Read more...] about “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum”
“Company”
CompanyStephen Sondheim (Music & Lyrics) & George Furth (Book)San Francisco PlayhouseAll Photos by Jessica Palopoli Expectations for a great evening of musical theatre immediately rise to the top of the scale walking into San Francisco Playhouse’s auditorium with the Bill English and Jacqueline Scott sophisticated, New York, multi-apartment set … [Read more...] about “Company”
