Stephen Sondheim is the Babe Ruth of musical theater, and even that analogy might be an understatement.
Ruth could only wish to equal the prodigious output of the legendary theater giant.
Sondheim has won eight Tony Awards, more than any other composer in history.
If that was not enough, his trophy shelf also boasts an Academy Award, eight Grammy Awards, a Pulitzer Prize and a Laurence Olivier Award.
Sondheim made critical contributions to the classic “West Side Story” and “Gypsy,” and his best-known works list reads like a greatest hits of modern musical theater, including “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum,” “Sweeney Todd,” “Sunday in the Park With George” and “Into the Woods.”
Master theatrical producer Sir Cameron Mackintosh called Sondheim, “possibly the greatest lyricist ever.”
The best and most beloved tunes of the master’s repertoire are the subject of the latest production of Bainbridge Performing Arts, “Side by Side By Sondheim,” which opens at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 13.
All of the trademark sophistication, wit, insight, heart and genius of Broadway’s most innovative and influential artist are at the center of this tribute to the great composer/lyricist — deftly explored through the story of a young couple’s engagement party — which is directed by BPA’s own resident musical master Josh Anderson.
“Sondheim regularly wrestles with the ideas of love, marriage and aging, and in this new context his brilliance shines,” Anderson said. “Die-hard fans and novices alike will find a new understanding of this classic material.”
The Sondheim mash-up marks Anderson’s BPA directorial debut, and his first directorial effort at all in some time, though he has often shared the helm of many local productions as musical director.
This time around, he’s both.
“We haven’t done a main stage Sondheim show here since ‘Into the Woods,’ 15 or 18 years ago, and ‘Sweeney Todd’ with the high school kids,” Anderson explained. “I think because Sondheim is no longer experimental or avant-garde, he’s the standard, it’s really important to me that we start to reintroduce this material to the audiences.”
The show is a perfect sampling of Sondheim works for both the Broadway expert and those looking to learn more about the evolution of modern musical theater, Anderson explained, and the composer’s early works are nothing short of a master class tutorial.
“The impact that he’s had on musical theater is revolutionary, but with modern shows it’s hard to tell because what he does, what he did when he did it as a revolutionary choice, is now de rigueur,” Anderson said.
The Tony Award-nominated show was originally designed as a pared-down concert for three performers. BPA’s cast totals nine — including Kylee Gano, Jasmine Joshua, Emily Kight, Barbara Hume, Paula Elliot, Dan Engelhard, Mike Loudon, James Sgambati and Brian Pucheu — and adds the raucous engagement party plot twist.
“With the songs taken so far out of context, it allows us to provide new context to clarify the intention and the meaning, and to foster a deeper understanding of the material itself,” Anderson said. “Our focus really is getting as much out of the material as possible.”
The show’s manager, longtime BPA contributor and a recent Cornish College of the Arts graduate, Eugie Price, agreed that the production’s primary difficulty was striking the proper balance between a homage to the original works and originality.
“His revolution is now the standard so we don’t necessarily recognize it,” Price said of Sondheim.
This show marks the first solo stage management effort by Price, who said that working together with Anderson on such mutually-loved material has been an amazing experience.
“When we both knew for sure that we were going to work on the show, there was this feeling of, ‘Oh, this is going to be so fun to sink our teeth into!’” Price said.
The entire show takes place on a static unit set, and the characters move through it and around each other continuously with no set changes, which Price said results in some unique logistical challenges.
“I like unit sets and I think they’re, especially in situations like this, they’re fun to sort of watch devolve over the course of the evening,” Price explained. “It takes place almost entirely in real time, so there’s not a ton of trouble in terms of having to create different times of day or different settings in this space.”
The production officially opens at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 13, with shows scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 3 p.m. Sundays, through Sunday, Feb. 22.
A special Pay-What-You-Can Preview event will be held at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 12.
Tickets are on sale now. The cost is $27 for adults, $22 for seniors, and $19 for students, youth, military and teachers. They may be purchased online at www.bainbridgeperformingarts.org, by phone at 206-842-8569 and in person at BPA.
‘Side by Side’
What: BPA’s production of “Side by Side By Sondheim.”
When: Shows begin at 7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays and 3 p.m. Sundays, Friday, Feb. 13 to Sunday, Feb. 22.
Where: Bainbridge Performing Arts (200 Madison Ave. North)
Admission: Tickets ($27 for adults, $22 for seniors,$19 for students, youth, military, and teachers) may be purchased at www.bainbridgeperformingarts.org, by phone at 206-842-8569 or at BPA.
