Sondheim on Sondheim is a revue of Stephen Sondheim’s lifetime of musicals through his own words and experiences. “He would just work on those lyrics for so long and they were just right, and listening to them now, 30, 40, 50 years later, we're still shocked at the brilliance of them,” says Jeremy Koch, the artistic director at Farmers Alley Theatre and one of a cast of 8 in the upcoming production, which runs Apr 26 - May 19. This is the first Sondheim musical the theater has mounted since its founding 16 years ago, although for Koch, Sondheim’s words and music have been formative. When he was nine, he memorized every word of the cast album of “Sweeney Todd.” “It’s part of how I got bitten by the theater bug,” he says.
“What's also really interesting to me as a director is that not all the numbers in the show are specifically designed to be as done in the original production. So one song that was written for a man perhaps in this revue is sung by a woman,” says director Kathy Mulay. There are 34 songs in the show, combined and arranged in surprising ways. Even for Sondheim fans, there will be rarities.
The revue is staged to make the 7-piece orchestra visible, including pianist/music director Chris Grey, a nod to the theater’s longstanding collaboration with the Gilmore Piano Festival.
For tickets and more information, visit the Farmers Alley Theatre website.
