Sondheim on Sondheim

This year is Stephen Sondheim's 80th birthday. He is the genus behind shows like West Side Story, Assassins, Sunday in the Park with George, Anyone Can Whistle, Gypsy, Into the Woods, Company, and some not so good shows, like A Little Night Music (see post to come). To celebrate his birthday, Roundabout Theatre Company decided to create a show the featured pieces from many of Sondheim's works as well as video clips of him telling about his life, entitle Sondheim on Sondheim.

There description of the show:

It's a completely different kind of Sondheim evening: an intimate portrait of the famed composer in his own words...and music. An ensemble cast, led by Tony Award winner Barbara Cook, Vanessa Williams and Tom Wopat, will perform brand-new arrangements of over two dozen Sondheim tunes, ranging from the beloved to the obscure.

The show truly was an intimate look into the life of Sondheim. The video interviews of him introduced songs, explained changes to shows which included performances of songs that were dropped from the final versions and depth into his life that brought about a greater understanding and appreciation of his work. Probably the most interesting thing he said was that of all his shows, Assassins is the one show he sees and has nothing he wants to change about it.

His parents divorced and his mother did not like him or spend a lot of time with him, so he spent most of his time with what became his second family, the Hammersteins. It was there that he learned piano and to compose music. He joked that he became a composer because he wanted to do what Oscar Hammerstein did; jokingly he added that had he been an engineer, he himself would probably be one of those today instead.

What made all this come to life was the brilliant stage. It consisted of flat screen video boards that came together to make walls where video and graphics were show on. One set up had a huge wall but the set turned and their was a flight of stairs and then what looked like screens sprinkled about. It was unlike any set I had ever seen and the integration of the video along with the song choices and order was great.