Cast: Mike Dalager (Man) & Jennifer Hubilla (Woman)
I'm reviewing Marry Me a Little & The Last Five Years separately, since they're definitely not the same show.
The cast of Marry Me a Little is wonderful and I will definitely attend other shows by this company at the David Henry Hwang Theatre in LA. Unfortunately, there's a reason Marry Me a Little was one of the only Sondheim shows I hadn't seen yet (and why very few companies perform it). The little I'd heard about Marry Me a Little really does perfectly describe it. Sondheim tossed a bunch of songs that didn't get used in other musicals together and made them a show with no plot and with songs that don't really fit together well. Some of the songs are very good. Some of them are okay. None of them necessarily make sense together.
That being said, the cast is good and the choreographed movements in the apartment are well done, so it's worth seeing - especially since The Last Five Years is shown after intermission.
Grade: C
Labels: 2009, comedy, musical, Stephen Sondheim, theatre
Reviewed by Kat at the 2:00 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Judy Kaye (Mrs. Lovett), David Hess (Sweeney Todd), Edmund Bagnell (Tobias), Benjamin Magnuson (Anthony), Lauren Molina (Johanna), Keith Buterbaugh (Judge Turpin)
For complete info on the great touring cast, see the official Sweeney Todd on tour site.
I had forgotten (until the show started) that they had set this revival of Sweeney Todd in an asylum. It definitely makes for an interesting backdrop for the show. The characters playing their own instruments was a bit more distracting for Sweeney Todd than it was for Company (which I missed on Broadway, but caught on PBS and will definitely own on Blu-ray DVD at some point) for some reason - perhaps that's because there are actual sets in a typical production of Sweeney Todd or because the set of this production kept being rearranged to make the different locations of the musical. Either way, I still really enjoyed the show. The cast of the tour of Sweeney Todd is great! It was really nice to finally get to see Judy Kaye perform in person.
The way everything worked out so well with the right cast members being available to play the right instruments (and having them delivered to them or getting to the right place on stage) was really impressive. The way the show was choreographed & organized was just as impressive as the show itself.
I definitely recommend catching the tour of Sweeney Todd, while it's still at the Ahmanson Theatre in LA, or as it makes the rounds throughout the country.
Grade: B+
Labels: 2008, crime, drama, musical, Stephen Sondheim, thriller, tour
Reviewed by Kat at the 11:58 AM show | 0 screams
Cast: Johnny Depp (Sweeney Todd), Helena Bonham Carter (Mrs. Lovett), Alan Rickman (Judge Turpin), Jamie Campbell Bower (Anthony Hope), Jayne Wisener (Johanna), Laura Michelle Kelly (Beggar Woman), Ed Sanders (Toby)
For complete info on this great cast, see IMDb's Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street page.
As a huge fan of musical theatre, any time they're making a great musical into a movie (even if it's one that was already a movie, like The Producers), I worry that they might not do a good job. I go into them with open minds and have really loved what they've done with Rent, Hairspry, and many others. Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street is Sondheim, though... this raises the bar some, since I think Sondheim is probably the best musical theatre composer ever. His scores are always complex and many of the parts in his shows are challenging, which makes it more difficult to find a good cast for any production of one of his shows. I've always loved Sweeney Todd, though I've never been able to see a live production. I've seen the Original Broadway Cast on video (thank goodness they recorded it!) and that's it. I was very excited about the concept of Sweeney Todd as a movie.
I think they did an amazing job with Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street! I think that even those who don't generally enjoy musical theatre can appreciate the movie, but those who love musical theatre will really like this movie. I'll definitely purchase this one on DVD as soon as it comes out and I'm going to buy the CD, too. The cast is wonderful, the make-up, costumes, and sets were all very well done... Sure, a lot of stuff had to be cut out musically. That's always the case with a musical made into a movie, since they don't want to alienate the non-musical theatre lovers. The only song that I really missed in the movie version of Sweeney Todd was The Ballad of Sweeney Todd. They played the music from it at times, but never actually played the song. I expected them to use it in the credits (as they did with my favorite song from Hairspray, which they skipped in the movie), but they just played orchestral music, nothing with lyrics. Oh well, since that's the only thing I truly missed in the movie and I understand why it wasn't there, they did a great job. I'm glad that Johnny Depp got best actor for a musical or comedy in the Golden Globe Awards and that the movie won the best musical or comedy. The movie is wonderful and they deserve to be recognized.
If you haven't seen this, try to catch it on the big screen. It's still playing here at almost all theatres. Check it out before it goes away!
Grade: A
Labels: 2007, Alan Rickman, crime, drama, Helena Bonham Carter, Johnny Depp, movie, musical, Stephen Sondheim, thriller
Reviewed by Kat at the 5:33 PM show | 0 screams
This is a very interesting documentary about a group of children in Washington, D. C. preparing to perform Stephen Sondheim's Into the Woods at the Kennedy Center. Every step is shown, from the auditions to parts of the performances. Not nearly as good as Mad Hot Ballroom, but definitely worth watching for those who love Sondheim and musical theatre.
Grade: C+
Labels: 2004, documentary, movie, musical, Stephen Sondheim
Reviewed by Kat at the 8:00 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Bernadette Peters, Audra McDonald, Vanessa Williams, Carol Burnett, Eric McCormack, Anne Hathaway, Angela Lansbury, Warren Beatty, Barbara Streisand
For a complete cast list, see the Hollywood Bowl Sonheim's 75th: The Concert page.
I'm so happy that they did a west coast concert for Stephen Sondheim's 75th birthday. It's amazing how good he looks! He hasn't really changed a bit. Sondheim has done so much in his career in musical theatre and some of my favorite musicals were written by him, so this show was very exciting for me.
Unfortunately, some people originally announced (Nathan Lane, Emmy Rossum, etc.) did not make it for whatever reason.
The cast was really amazing, with a couple minor exceptions.
Before the show started, I heard that Barbara Streisand was there. This really bothered me, since I figured she would sing and I can't stand hearing her sing. She's butchered so many wonderful songs and I didn't want to have to experience her destroying a Sondheim song when I was there in person.
Fortunately, the girl in front of me (whose boyfriend was in the choir that sang in the last number) said her boyfriend had told her that Barbara Streisand was supposed to sing "Children will Listen" and at the last minute she pulled a diva bit and decided not to sing it when they wouldn't make the change she demanded. THANK GOODNESS! I can't even imagine having to hear her sing that when ,Bernadette Peters (the original Witch in Into the Woods) was there. It would have broken my heart (and my ear drums)! Thank goodness Streisand is too much of a diva. Apparently, sometimes that comes in handy. I actually did a little "I didn't have to hear Barbara sing" dance and bounced up and down after she left the stage without singing. Yippee!
Carol Burnett messed up a few times while singing "Loveland/Getting Married Today," but that is such a fast song and her comedic ability just enhanced the performance. It really was wonderful. I don't know how Eric McCormack & Marin Mazzie managed to keep a straight faces - especially Marin Mazzie, since Carol Burnett was in her face making faces at her and trying to mess her up.
It was great to see so many wonderful stars performing Sondheim's work in one night. We had really good seats and I'm so glad we were able to catch this performance.
If you're interested in pictures from this performance, see the Broadway.com Photo page.
Grade: B+
Labels: 2005, Anne Hathaway, Bernadette Peters, musical, Stephen Sondheim
Reviewed by Kat at the 8:00 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Nathan Lane (Dionysos), Roger Bart (Xanthias)
For complete cast information, see IBDb's The Frogs page.
I had heard a lot about The Frogs before seeing it and none of it was good. Perhaps this is why I thought the show was okay. Not great, but Nathan Lane and Roger Bart worked so well together and they were hilarious. "Invocation and Instructions to the Audience" is one of the funniest songs Stephen Sondheim has ever written and he's written a lot of hilarious songs. "Invocation and Instructions to the Audience" has been used in quite a few Sondheim reviews and there is a reason for this. "I Love to Travel" is also a very funny song.
Although this is far from being one of Sondheim's best shows, I'm glad I got to see The Frogs with this amazing cast.
Grade: C+
Labels: 2004, Broadway, comedy, musical, Nathan Lane, original, Stephen Sondheim
Reviewed by Kat at the 2:00 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Victor Garber (Fredrik Egerman), Marc Kudisch (Count Carl-Magnus Malcolm), Laura Benanti (Anne Egerman), and many other talented performers
I had never seen A Little Night Music and was really looking forward to finally seeing it. As a big fan of Stephen Sondheim, I had (of course) heard a lot of the music already, but never in context of the show.
The show is very amusing and fits with all the wonderful Sondheim music. It was wonderful to see where everything fit in the story and how well it worked, since I didn't know the story of A Little Night Music at all before seeing it.
The cast they've put together for this LA performance is wonderful. They do a great job bringing this Sondheim work to life.
Grade: B
Labels: 2004, Best Musical, comedy, musical, romance, Stephen Sondheim
Reviewed by Kat at the 2:00 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Vanessa Williams (Witch), Adam Wylie (Jack), Stephen DeRosa (Baker), Kerry O'Malley (Baker's Wife), Laura Benanti (Cinderella), Chad Kimball (Milky White)
For complete cast information, see IBDb's Into the Woods revival page.
If you've seen the original version of Into the Woods stay far away from this revival. Otherwise, I'm sure it would be a great show. I actually had to see it twice, since I bought tickets with two different groups of people before seeing it. I thought I was safe, since Into the Woods is such a great show.
I saw the OBC of the original Into the Woods on Broadway, but was still very excited about the Into the Woods revival. Into the Woods is one of my favorite shows of all time and I couldn't wait to take friends to see the show I love so much in person. I own the performance I was at on DVD, but seeing shows live is always so much better.
Unfortunately, they made a lot of really bad choices when re-vamping Into the Woods. They took out the intimate moments between Little Red Ridinghood and the Wolf, since they added another wolf. That's right - in this one, both princes are wolves. They also tossed the three pigs in the background for whatever reason during one of the trips through the woods. It made it pathetic and beyond funny.
There were a couple good changes to Into the Woods, though. They made Milky White (brilliantly played by Chad Kimball, who wasn't the original, but did take it to Broadway) a dancing character in the play with an amazing costume. Rather than dragging Milky White from place to place as they did in the first Into the Woods, Milky White is simply led and can run away on his own. The best part of this is that Milky White actually dances with the rest of the cast during the Into the Woods song numbers. The other good change was in the set design. Rather than having just the inside of three houses with nothing really special, the sets were opened up books and Rapunzel's tower is her book, the spine even reads Rapunzel. These changes were great.
The cast, for the most part, is amazing. Vanessa Williams does a great job, even though no one could compare with Bernadette Peters as the Witch. The only person who was disappointing was John McMartin (Narrator & Mysterious Man). I can't explain how upset I was by his nomination for best actor. At least he didn't win the award. That would have been much worse. Stephen DeRosa (Baker) & Adam Wylie (Jack) deserved the nomination a lot more, though.
Basically, if you haven't seen Into the Woods at all, go see this, since any version is better than none and Into the Woods is one of Sondheim's best. If you've already seen Into the Woods, wait till the next revival or a local production to see it again, since what they did to the show might make you sad.
Grade: C+
Labels: 2002, comedy, drama, musical, original, revival, Stephen Sondheim, tour
Reviewed by Kat at the 8:00 PM show | 0 screams
Cast: Bernadette Peters (Witch), Kim Crosby (Cinderella), Ben Wright (Jack), Chip Zien (Baker), Joanna Gleason (Baker's Wife)
The rest of the amazing original Broadway cast info can be found on IBDb's Into the Woods page.
WOW! What a show! We got so lucky! My high school thespians group went to see Into the Woods not knowing that they were recording for PBS that night and the entire original Broadway cast was back for one night only. Since I went to high school in Pittsburgh, PA, this was amazing luck for us. I now own the performance I saw of Into the Woods on DVD, which is wonderful, though I wish there was a commentary track like there is for Sunday in the Park with George.
Everyone in the original Broadway cast of Into the Woods was totally amazing! Not only were they wonderful on stage, but they were very friendly off stage, as well. I am so thankful that I got to see the original Broadway cast of this wonderful Stephen Sondheim musical. It is one of my favorite musicals of all time and probably will be for years to come. The music is so wonderful and the lyrics are perfect.
Obviously, I highly recommend Into the Woods to anyone. It's a great show for those who aren't as into musicals, too.
What Sondheim does is combine a bunch of fairy tales we all know (Cinderella, Jack and the Beanstalk, Rapunzel, Little Red Ridinghood, etc.) with one he created (The Baker & his Wife) to tie them all together in the woods. This is such a great story with some of Sondheim's best music and lyrics.
Grade: A
Labels: Bernadette Peters, Broadway, Joanna Gleason, musical, original, Stephen Sondheim
Reviewed by Kat at the 8:00 PM show | 0 screams