I adore musical theatre. I know it’s not everyone’s cup of tea but I love it. Stephen Sondheim changed musical theatre, and that’s no exaggeration, but there are those who think he didn’t change it for the better. I’m not one of those people.
Sondheim isn’t always easy stuff to digest though. The music is complex, the lyrics challenging and the subject matter often uncomfortable. Some critics have even said that he didn’t write a hummable tune! That I would dispute. Especially as I left The Gallery Studio on Friday evening humming several of his tunes.
The Gallery Players have built a reputation for doing challenging work and they never shy away from plays, musicals and entertainment that is intelligent, thought provoking and unusual; they are also massive fans of Sondheim.
This was Volume 2 of their tribute to the man who is often referred to as ‘God’ – well he called himself that, as the opening number of the second half revealed, with a song called God that he wrote!
Compere Phil Cory was on hand to give us explainers like this, between sections of songs, combined with some jokes old and… even older… but delivered with aplomb; and Phil’s easy, confident manner with the audience broke both the ice, and the evening up nicely.
The whole cast had the most tremendous voices, as I said Sondheim isn’t easy, but they made it sound effortless. It was all so incredibly polished, both with the vocals and harmonies but with movement and styling too. It not only sounded Sondheim but it looked Sondheim, transporting us to a sophisticated New York apartment on the Upper East Side, where the vodka slingers and cutting comments just keep coming.
There were songs from the great man’s most famous scores like Company, Sweeney Todd, West Side Story, Gypsy, Follies and Into The Woods and some numbers from lesser known shows such as The Frogs, Saturday Night and Anyone Can Whistle. Plus some quirky highlights, like a rousing version of More from the Madonna album I’m Breathless, which has music from and inspired by the film Dick Tracy.
Wade Ablitt came up with the concept, musical staging and directed the show and it was an absolute triumph. I really wished I’d seen Vol 1 now and as I left The Gallery Studio humming those apparently un-hummable tunes I hoped for Vol 3 soon.
If you’d like to find out more about The Gallery Players and see what else they have in store for their 2024 season then visit their website .
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