Side by Side by Sondheim

Reviewed by Paul Birchall
Cameron Mackintosh, Hal Prince and David Kernan
Through September 16

This musical revue of some of composer Stephen Sondheim’s early showtunes offers some moments of delight. The performances are engaging and crisp, and the four-person ensemble not only manage to navigate Sondheim’s often complex and evocative melodies but do so without any artificial amplification. Those often irritating wraparound microphones that seem to exist only so that actors can sing without projecting are not present.

That said, the point of the show sometimes seems elusive: It’s a good, workmanlike production, but the renditions are mostly straightforward. They’re pleasantly sung, but at no point is there anything special about the interpretations. The performers inevitably find themselves forced to compete against our recollections of better performances, either on YouTube or maybe even at some Karaoke bar. Perhaps best suited for folks who have no familiarity with Sondheim’s music, the show works as a decent introduction to it. A far better inaugural, however, would be to attend productions of any of the shows the individual songs are part of.

Encompassing hits from Sondheim’s early years, Side by Side was compiled by original producers Cameron Mackintosh, Hal Prince and David Kernan as a jukebox musical in 1976. It’s amazing to realize just how many showtune classics make up this collection, which offers nothing from Sondheim’s later hits like Sweeney Todd, Sunday in the Park with George, or Into the Woods. Mind you, there’s quite enough to enjoy anyway, what with selections from A Little Night Music, Company, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, and ephemera works like The Mad Show and Seven Percent Solution.

The four-person ensemble is certainly game, but director Dan Fishbach’s direction so limits the choreography that the production comes across as a slightly animated concert performance. The best interpretations are those in which the performers add personality to the numbers. The less successful ones are competently sung, but forgettable the moment they’re over —dismaying when you’re talking about Sondheim’s best.

Given to artful expressions that powerfully register intensity and irony, Rachel McLaughlan sings the “character” songs, which she assays with skill, humor and depth. She delivers a terrifically sardonic rendition of “Send in the Clowns,” which crackles with a mix of bittersweet humor and sadness. She’s also tremendous as a jaded, somewhat villainous madame, wallowing in libertinism; in “I Never Do Anything Twice,” from the movie The Seven-Percent-Solution; and as a saucy French chanteuse in “Ah Paree!” from Follies.

The other performers invest somewhat less personality into their songs.  Chris Kerrigan is a jovial bon vivant in numbers from Follies, finding goofy humor as the ditched husband in “Buddies Blues” and as the happy go-lucky version of the same in “Marry Me A Little” — but his more standard interpretations lack freshness. Sarah Busic undeniably charms in the beautiful Follies ballad “Losing My Mind,” but she has fewer standout moments elsewhere.

Costume designer Kim DeShozo decks the cast in lovely evening outfits for Act 1 and appealing summer Mediterranean colors for Act 2. Otherwise, production values are unobtrusive at best — and that goes for the performances as well. This seems a shame with such glittering prizes as are offered in this Stephen Sondheim collection of showtunes.

Odyssey Theatre, 2055 S. Sepulveda Blvd., Los Angeles; Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 2 p.m.; through Sept 12. (310) 477-2055 or www.odysseytheatre.com. Running time: two hours and 15 minutes with an intermission.