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This stellar revue, a hit in London, has moved into Manhattan Theatre Club’s Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, with Bernadette Peters and Lea Salonga heading a largely new cast of 19 superb performers. Unfortunately, Lea Salonga was out for the performance I attended, but her songs were ably performed by other cast members. To winnow the songs down to 40 must have been a challenging task for deviser/producer Cameron Mackintosh. He opted to include songs from West Side Story and Gypsy, shows for which Sondheim wrote just the lyrics, but it’s hard to fault him for that because they are such great numbers. The organizing principle was not one I could grasp; songs from some shows are scattered through the revue while songs from others, such as Sweeney Todd, are presented in a block. There were very few that were new to me.
Other than the amazing Bernadette Peters (Into the Woods, Sunday in the Park with George), who doesn’t seem to age, the only name I recognized was Beth Leavel (The Prom, The Drowsy Chaperone). Joanna Riding is a two-time Olivier winner for best actress in a musical. The other cast members are Jacob Dickey, Kevin Early, Jasmine Forsberg, Kate Jennings Grant, Bonnie Langford, Gavin Lee, Jason Pennycooke, Jeremy Secomb, Kyle Selig, Maria Wirries, Daniel Yearwood, Paige Faure, Alexa Lopez, Greg Mills and Peter Neureuther.
With so many excellent numbers, it’s hard to pick standouts, but I particularly enjoyed Riding’s “Getting Married Today,” Grant and Peters’ “Children Will Listen,” Secomb’s “The Ballad of Sweeney Todd,” Langford’s“ The Worst Pies in London” and “I’m Still Here” and Leavel’s “The Ladies Who Lunch.” I especially liked some of the ensemble numbers in Act II including “Tonight Quintet,” “Broadway Baby” and “Not a Day Goes By.”
The scenic design by Matt Kinley is simple with lights circling arches and edging stairs. There were two side structures that were rolled in for the numbers from “West Side Story” and “Sweeney Todd” that I assume were deliberately ugly to reflect the grimness of their settings. Large projected images of Sondheim surround the proscenium The costumes by Jill Parker featured lots of sequins, mostly in black with a few in color. The excellent orchestra of 17 sounded louder than its size. The choreography by Stephen Mear was smoothly integrated into the songs. Matthew Bourne, credited with direction and musical staging, held everything together to produce a satisfying whole.
My one complaint is an ongoing one about today’s Broadway musicals – overamplification. The loud decibel warning on my Apple watch went off at least once. Sondheim’s lyrics are such an important part of his appeal that one does not want to have them muddied by poor sound design. Fortunately, the problem was intermittent rather than constant and not enough to spoil the experience.
If you are a Sondheim fan, two and a half hours of pure pleasure awaits you on 47th Street.
