Well, I was just complaining the other week about the plethora of Sondheim revues, events, benefits, concerts, etc. and here I am Thinking about one again. My bad. I saw Putting it Together on the musical DVD shelf at the library and was curious.
And by curious, I mean about the performances of some notables in the cast. Actually this cast of five is all notable, I was Thinking specifically about the performances of Carol Burnett and John Barrowman.
Mr. Barrowman is now best known for his roles in Dr. Who and Torchwood, but he has a musical theater past, and I hope, a musical theater future. I own a couple of solo cds of Mr. Barrowman singing show tunes, but I've never seen him on stage in a musical, so I was curious. He's very good, if a bit showy. He is the strongest singer presented here, and that's saying something given the strengths of this cast. He has an ease into his upper register that I envy more than I even envy his physique and good looks.
I was also curious of Ms. Burnett's return to Broadway after an absence of 30 years or so. She sings two of the most difficult songs in the Sondheim songbook--"Ladies who Lunch" and the wedding patter song (does it have a name? Hixx, you're my Sondheim go-to gal). Ms. Burnett delivers on both solo songs. Her duets with George Hearn left me wanting a little, though.
Bronson Pinchot is surprisingly delightful in this production, which was his Broadway musical debut. While he is a rather weak singer, his charm and acting abilities make up for much of his vocal shortcomings. I got tired of the convention of Mr. Pinchot introducing each segment, but his solo numbers were well-done.
A little googling of the history of this review (they use this spelling, which to me is what a critic does) tells me it was revived from a 1993 production that starred Julie Andrews; a version which was released on CD.
So maybe I have some Sondheim Thinking left to do.
Putting it Together
A Musical Review
And by curious, I mean about the performances of some notables in the cast. Actually this cast of five is all notable, I was Thinking specifically about the performances of Carol Burnett and John Barrowman.
Mr. Barrowman is now best known for his roles in Dr. Who and Torchwood, but he has a musical theater past, and I hope, a musical theater future. I own a couple of solo cds of Mr. Barrowman singing show tunes, but I've never seen him on stage in a musical, so I was curious. He's very good, if a bit showy. He is the strongest singer presented here, and that's saying something given the strengths of this cast. He has an ease into his upper register that I envy more than I even envy his physique and good looks.
I was also curious of Ms. Burnett's return to Broadway after an absence of 30 years or so. She sings two of the most difficult songs in the Sondheim songbook--"Ladies who Lunch" and the wedding patter song (does it have a name? Hixx, you're my Sondheim go-to gal). Ms. Burnett delivers on both solo songs. Her duets with George Hearn left me wanting a little, though.
Bronson Pinchot is surprisingly delightful in this production, which was his Broadway musical debut. While he is a rather weak singer, his charm and acting abilities make up for much of his vocal shortcomings. I got tired of the convention of Mr. Pinchot introducing each segment, but his solo numbers were well-done.
A little googling of the history of this review (they use this spelling, which to me is what a critic does) tells me it was revived from a 1993 production that starred Julie Andrews; a version which was released on CD.
So maybe I have some Sondheim Thinking left to do.
Putting it Together
A Musical Review
Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
Cast: Carol Burnett, John Barrowman, Ruthie Hensell, Bronson Pinchot, George Hearn
Cast: Carol Burnett, John Barrowman, Ruthie Hensell, Bronson Pinchot, George Hearn
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