It has now been seven years since a new Stephen Sondheim show (Road Show) has opened in New York and 21 years since one premiered on Broadway (Passion). So fans of the challenging, resolutely unconventional composer-lyricist have had to settle for the frequent revivals of his past musicals and the occasional retrospective revue of his work.
In South Florida, theater companies shy away from producing all but Sondheim’s most accessible shows, yet this summer has seen two exemplary mountings of his heady material. First, there was Palm Beach Dramaworks’ crisp concert of A Little Night Music and currently a sublime collection of his early songs, Side by Side by Sondheim, from MNM Productions.
Created in England and first exported to the United States in 1977, Side by Side covers Sondheim’s prolific years from 1957 (West Side Story) to 1973’s Night Music. The original revue also included a number from one of his most idiosyncratic musicals, Pacific Overtures (1976), but director Bruce Linser has inexplicably cut the selection from this MNM show.
There are nits like that to be picked, but overall this is a fine evening of theater, consisting of 32 songs, each a self-contained, character-rich playlet. Originally, each number was divorced from the context it was specifically written for, but Linser prefers to invoke the stage shows, television programs and movies that are their genesis. This approach both makes Side by Side a terrific introduction to the Sondheim canon for the uninitiated and a welcome reminder of his intricate way with a song for Sondheim-philes.
Sondheim made his Broadway debut with West Side Story, one of only three shows — along with Gypsy and Do I Hear a Waltz? — for which he only wrote the lyrics. Audiences first heard his offbeat approach to composing on A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, his take on Roman farce, and he really came into his own with a trio of back-to-back musicals — Company, Follies and A Little Night Music — three Tony-winning scores in three successive Broadway seasons.
All of this is vocally challenging material, but you would never know that from the quartet of popular South Florida performers that Linser has enlisted. Each is well showcased, in solos and ensemble numbers, with Alix Paige a standout, demonstrating a facility for accents — French (“Ah, Paree!”), Hispanic (“A Boy Like That”) and Brooklynese (“You Gotta Get a Gimmick”). Shelley Keelor puts an affecting, histrionic spin on “Send in the Clowns,” Leah Sessa is diction-perfect and amusing with the bridal lament patter song, “Getting Married Today,” and Wayne LeGette handles all the male assignments, notably “You Must Meet My Wife” and “Buddy’s Blues.” The ubiquitous Paul Reekie ably handles the musical direction, accompanying on piano with an assist from Dave Wilkinson on bass.
“Side by Side by Sondheim” continues at the Delray Center for the Arts through Sunday only, but you have five more opportunities to catch the show, when it moves north to the Kravis Center’s Rinker Playhouse from Aug. 13-16.
SIDE BY SIDE BY SONDHEIM, Where: Delray Center for the Arts, 51 N. Swinton Ave., Delray Beach. Through Sunday. $40. 561-243-7922.