We’ve come a long way
We’ve been through a lot
We’ve learned how to bounce
Those words, from the 2003 musical Road Show, were clearly not meant to apply to our current united state. But they might as well. You can hear them, just now, in the opening number of Simply Sondheim, the enjoyable new revue being streamed from Arlington, Va., by Signature Theatre.
That opening makes an auspicious start to the entertainment, preceded as it is by a miniature overture brim-filled with familiar Sondheiminian snatches played by a high-octane band. This courtesy of custom-made orchestrations by Jonathan Tunick that liberally quote orchestrations he originally created for so many of these songs. The overture is sparked by riffs from the overture to Merrily We Roll Along; the opening number combines the Merrily title song with “Bounce,” a combo that works out quite well.
A fine way to salute these unsettled times, yes? Although let it be stated that while Simply Sondheim was newly staged and filmed following safety protocols at Signature’s MAX Theatre, the revue is not exactly new: It was first produced in April 2015, with a mostly different cast, as part of Signature’s 25th anniversary season.
The show was originally conceived by David Loud (who is also responsible for the just-right vocal arrangements) and Signature co-founder and longtime artistic director Eric Schaeffer (who resigned amid scandal last June). Both versions were staged and choreographed by Matthew Gardiner, who is presently the Associate Artistic Director of Signature. Gardiner does a fine job here, although the intercutting by the camera interferes with the staging and does him no favors.
The eight-person opening is followed by a trio of actors singing the title song from Sondheim’s early, pre-West Side Story effort, Saturday Night. A wise choice, this. The song handily demonstrates the author’s skill with comedic lyrics (with a rhyme for Francis X. Bushman, you can look him up) set to sprightfully breezy music that points us forward. At this point one might stop to think: How refreshing; they’re not just going to hit us on the head with the obvious songs we hear in all those Sondheim revues. (There have been three on Broadway thus far, plus other variations scattered around.)
Then comes “You Could Drive a Person Crazy,” which is precisely what we’d expect and which—as staged and filmed over the wide stage—lacks the compression which makes this close-harmony trio close. We then go into “Now/Later/Soon,” that artfully wrought tripart dramatic scene from A Little Night Music, which is always pleasing to immerse yourself in. But the three singers are clearly performing the roles as if in a full production of that musical; the meticulous acting is out of context fifteen minutes into a revue. These three—Bobby Smith, Katie Mariko Murray, and Nicholas McDonough—are likely capable of playing Fredrik, Henrik, and Anne; as presented, though, it does seem like we’re watching scene class at the conservatory. What’s more, the filming—which keeps intercutting Anne at her makeup table while Fredrik is singing his solo—continually distracts from the composer’s lyric.
The revue, which is generally delightful though awkwardly constructed, gives viewers the opportunity to hear Sondheim song after Sondheim song well performed by the tip-top, 16-piece band led by musical director Jon Kalbfleisch. The disjointedness can be explained by conflicting concepts.
The 2015 version utilized a cast of six; four bright young performers plus two “mature” adults, including Signature favorite and co-founder Donna Migliaccio. Thus, there was presumably a method in the song selection and assignment. The new version features a cast of 12: four more-or-less “stars” plus an ensemble of eight talented locals. Simply Sondheim is headlined—their words, not mine—by Norm Lewis, who at this point needs no introduction; Solea Pfeiffer, who played Evita at City Center and Eliza in the West Coast Hamilton; Conrad Ricamora, a stunning Aquino in Here Lies Love and a familiar television face; and Emily Skinner, who also needs no introduction.
What happens, in effect, doesn’t quite track. The first act is almost wholly performed by the ensemble, with the so-called headliners stopping in for one number each. These include three of the highlights of the evening: “Poems,” from Pacific Overtures, performed by Ricamora and Christopher Mueller and here more powerful than I’ve ever heard it; plus two from Passion, Skinner’s “Loving You” and especially Lewis on “Is This What You Call Love?”
The stars are equally scarce in act two, with Skinner getting two songs (a stunning “Losing My Mind” and a what-you’d-expect rendition of “The Ladies Who Lunch”) and the others with one each, including Ricamora’s powerful “Finishing the Hat.” Based on his only two numbers of the evening, Ricamora—whom you might remember not only from Here Lies Love but as Lun Tha in the Kelli O’Hara King and I—clearly belongs in the Broadway spotlight, and soon please.
But these limited appearances of the big city stars—none of whom appear in the ensemble numbers, or even the finale/curtain call—give the revue a haphazard edge, as if the producers felt the need to fly in reinforcements for a quick day of shooting.
Standing out—even amidst those Broadway ringers—is Migliaccio. A significant portion of her 2015 show has apparently been handed over to Skinner; but she is still very much present, and demonstrates with “Best Pies in London” and “Could I Leave You?” why she is a mainstay at Signature. Also of note are Smith, opposite Migliaccio in “Country House” (from the London Follies); Awa Sal Secka leading Loud’s stunning arrangement of “I Wish I Could Forget You (from Passion); Tracy Lynn Olivera in “Goodbye for Now” (from the motion picture Reds); and Katie Mariko Murray and Nicholas McDonough, singing Anne and Henrik in various selections from A Little Night Music.
Simply Sondheim is somewhat awkward as a revue, yes; but abounding with well-performed, well-played Sondheim, and thus welcome in this vanished though not vanquished theatrical season.
Simply Sondheim was streamed beginning February 2, 2021 and will remain online through March 26. Information and tickets: sigtheatre.org
