Celebrating a Talent | "Sondheim's Old Friends" @ CTGLA/Ahmanson

[cahwyguy]

It’s been a while, hasn’t it. I’ve missed being in a large dark space in a central part of town, putting my cares away for 2-3 hours of entertainment. Our last theatre was back in December. We saw one concern in January that wasn’t worth writing up (Suzie Hansen Latin Jazz Band), and the other show was cancelled due to the Eaton Fire. But the drought has ended and we’ve got theatre or other activities pretty steady into mid-to-late April. One of those activities is worth mentioning before I get into this: The California Science and Engineering Fair.  It is now independent from the California Science Center, and the plans are to return to an in-person fair at Cal Lutheran University in Thousand Oaks on Sunday, April 13 (yes, the first day of Passover). We need judges. If you might be qualified, you can either sign up or add yourself to the list to be notified at the Judges page. If you’re not local, I might be able to find sleeping space, and you’ll be invited to our seder).

Back to the theatre: Our first show of 2025 was a delight: A concertish lightly staged presentation of the music of Stephen Sondheim that opened in London shortly after his passing (he was involved in its creation), with a spectacular assemblage of talent. Music was drawn from many of Sondheim’s shows (but not all), and most of the songs were some of the better known ones from his catalog. I do applaud the inclusion of a bit of one song from Roadshow (Bounce), but it was a bit disappointing that some elements of the catalog were omitted in favor of the popular. If this was to have been the final compilation show of Sondheim, remembering the shining bits of the less successful shows would have been good. The shows represented in this included: Company, Funny Thing…Forum, A Little Night Music, Passion, Roadshow, Dick Tracy, Into the Woods, Sweeney Todd, Sunday in the Park with George, West Side Story, Gypsy, Follies, The Mad Show, Merrily We Roll Along.

Most of the pieces worked well. There were a few very minor disappointments. I think the choreography wasn’t the most spectacular—I don’t like choreography that is too specific in mirroring the lyrics. It seems lazy to me. I can tolerate a little, but here it became noticeable, and that’s distracting. I didn’t like the presentation of “Buddy’s Blues” with only Jason playing both parts. It hurt the humor of that piece, and one of the other co-starts could easily have been added to the number. I also didn’t like the pastiche at the start of “Broadway Baby”, although it was toned down from the version on the London recording. It just didn’t land right.

Other numbers were spectacular. Beth’s “The Ladies Who Lunch” was spectacular. Bonnie’s “I’m Still Here” was wonderful. The interplay between Kyle and Kevin in “Agony” was a lot of fun. Bernadette’s take on “I Know Things Now/Bound” was quite a bit of fun. Lea did a powerful take on “Everything’s Coming Up Roses”. Beth and Gavin were great in “The Little Things You Do Together”.

I’m using first names above, because that’s how they are referring to folks in the program. The main “stars” of the show were Bernadette Peters and Lea Salonga. They were in and out of numbers in both acts, and generally they were strong (although at points Bernadette’s voice was showing its age, especially at the end of “Losing My Mind”). You should know that Bernadette’s take on “You Gotta Get a Gimmick” (she was Miss Mazeppa) was great: she’s at the age where the portrayal of a tired burlesque artist, dependent on a gimmick, fits well. I’ve seen her throughout her career: My first exposure to her was in Mack & Mabel at the LACLO at the Dorothy Chandler in the mid 1970s; she’s now in the Liza-era: a true American artist icon. Salonga, who we last saw in a concert at the Soraya a few years ago, was wonderful as always.

The supporting co-stars were no slouches. I’ve already highlighted some, such as Bonnie Langford, Beth Leavel, Gavin Lee, and Kevin Earley. There were also some who are lesser known, but were equally special. Notable here were Jasmine Forsberg and Maria Wirries. Jasmine’s voice was great, and her face was just fun to watch (and she was great in “On The Steps to the Palace”). Maria had a powerhouse voice that was featured in a number of the songs. It looks like we might have seen Jasmine before: She was in the First National Tour of Six.

The production was lightly staged. There were a few props to suggest the scenes, and a few additional to the costumes to suggest the characters, but it wasn’t extensive. It was sufficient.

This was a wonderful show, and a great way to get back to the theatre. Strong performances. Great songs. Go see it.

Sondheim’s Old Friends continues at the Ahmanson Theatre through March 9, 2025. Tickets are available through the CTG website. Discount tickets may be avalable through TodayTix.

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Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends. Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim^*. Devised by Cameron Mackintosh. Choreography by Stephen Mear. Direction and Musical Staging by Matthew Bourne. Side by Side with Julia McKenzie.

Cast: Starring Bernadette Peters and Lea Salonga. Co-starring: Jacob Dickey, Kevin Earley, Jasmine Forsberg, Kate Jennings Grant, Bonnie Langford, Beth Leavel, Gavin Lee, Jason Pennycooke, Joanna Riding, Jeremy Secomb, Kyle Selig, Maria Wirries, and Daniel Yearwood. Co-star alternates: Paige Faure, Alexa Lopez, Greg Mills, Peter Neureuther. Mr. Producer voiced by Cameron Mackintosh.

Music Department: Jonathan Tunick Original Orchestrations^*; Stephen Metcalfe Musical Arrangements; Alfonso Casado Trigo, Stephen Brooker Musical Supervision; Annbritt duChateau Music Director; Danny Percefull Assoc. Music Director/Keyboard 1; Brett Rowe Keyboard 2; Tristan Cappel Woodwind 1; Joe Stone Woodwind 2; Rusty Higgins Woodwind 3; Danielle Ondarza Horn; Dan Fornero Trumpet 1; James Ford Trumpet 2; Alan Kaplan Trombone; Alex Bailey Drums/Percussion; Jen Choi Fischer Violin; David Mergen Cello; Kevin Axt Bass; Robert Payne Contractor; Brad Gardner Keyboard 2 Sub.
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^*: Sunday in the Park with George: Michael Starobin Orchestrations; A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum: Sid Ramin & Irwin Kostal Orchestrations; West Side Story: Sid Ramin & Irwin Kostal Orchestrations, Leonard Bernstein Music; Gypsy: Sid Ramin & Robert Ginzler Orchestrations, Jule Styne Music; The Mad Show: Mary Rogers Music.

Production and Creatives: Matt Kinley Scenic Design; Jill Parker Costume Design; Warren Letton Lighting Design; Mick Potter Sound Design; George Reeve Projection Design; Stefan Musch Wig, Hair, and Makeup Design; Jo Morris Assoc. Choreographer; Nikki Woollaston Assoc. Director; Paige Faure Dance Captain; David Lober Production Stage Manager; Michelle Blair Stage Manager; Anna Belle Gilbert Stage Manager; The TRC Company Casting; Edward Nelson Company Manager; What if We Productions Production Management.

Favorite Minor Credit: Viva la Visa Visa Services. This has no relationship to credit cards, but to coordinating international travel for creatives. This is likely to become more of an issue thanks to the new administration’s focus on immigration and isolationism.

♦ ♦ ♦

Administrivia: I am not a professional critic. I’m a cybersecurity professional, a roadgeek who does a highway site and a podcast about California Highways, and someone who loves live performance. I buy all my own tickets, unless explicitly noted otherwise. I do these writeups to share my thoughts on shows with my friends and the community. I encourage you to go to your local theatres and support them (ideally, by purchasing full price tickets, if you can afford to do so). We currently subscribe or have memberships at: Center Theatre Group/Ahmanson Theatre; Broadway in Hollywood/Pantages Theatre; Pasadena Playhouse; and 5-Star Theatricals. We’re looking for the right intimate theatre to subscribe at — it hasn’t been the same since Rep East died (it’s now The Main, and although it does a lot of theatre, it doesn’t have seasons or a resident company), and post-COVID, most 99-seaters aren’t back to doing seasons (or seasons we like). I used to do more detailed writeups; here’s my current approach.

Upcoming ♦ Theatre / ♣ Music / ◊ Other Live Performance – Next 90ish Days (⊕ indicates ticketing is pending).

• February: ♦ Harry Potter and the Cursed Child at BIH/Pantages; ♦ Desperate Measures at ICT Long Beach
• March: ♦ Top Dog/Underdog at Pasadena Playhouse; ♣ Nefesh Mountain at McCabes; ♦ Fake It Until You Make It at CTG/Taper; ✡ MRJ Man of the Year Dinner at Temple Beth Tikvah (Fullerton); ✡ MOTAS Poker Tournament at TAS; ♦ Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812 at UCLA TFT; ♦ 44 at CTG/Kirk Douglas; ♣ Musique/Ray Charles at CTG/Taper; ♦ Cabaret at 5-Star Theatricals; ♦ Drat the Cat at Group Rep; ✡ MoTAS/MoTBH Mens Seder at TAS
• April:  ◊ Ren Faire (Southern); ✡ First Night of Passover; ⌬ California Science and Engineering Fair; ♦ All The Devils Are Here at the Broad;
• May: ♦ Life of Pi at CTG/Ahmanson; ⊕ ♦ Spitfire Grill at Actors Co-Op.

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