Putting it Together--staged review on DVD

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

Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
Cast: Carol Burnett, John Barrowman, Ruthie Hensell, Bronson Pinchot, George Hearn

Richard Rodgers: Some Enchanted Evening stage concert on DVD

There is no other musical theater composer whose music I fantasize singing while standing in the bright spotlight of a packed Broadway house more than I do the music of Richard Rodgers. Perhaps that is because the first musical I was in was The Sound of Music ("I'm Friedrich. I'm 14. I'm a boy"). I've also been in Oklahoma!, and Carousel (twice). So Rodgers' tunes are what I most often hear in my head--and they often leak out.

So I was excited to watch this 2002 centenary celebration Richard Rodgers: Some Enchanted Evening. And there is much to like in this revue of Rodgers' music from his work with both Lorenz Hart and Oscar Hammerstein, filmed in a London performance for PBS broadcast. The enjoyment starts with listening to the on-stage orchestra play the overture. It is more and more rare that full string sections are used to play Broadway scores, and it is always a treat to hear them, along with winds, brass, and anything other than a synthesizer.

The line-up of performers is also first rate, although many names were new to me since they are London-based. Kim Criswell seems to be channelling Julie Andrews in her performance of "I Have Confidence in Me" from the film version of The Sound of Music. Dave Willets (do I have that name right?) sings the Carousel "Soliloquy" admirably. Along with the "usual" Rodgers fare--"Some Enchanted Evening" (sung by a woman?), "Getting to Know You", "Oklahoma", "If I Loved You" (sung as a solo--boo), and "You'll Never Walk Alone"--it's nice to hear at least a couple of songs Rodgers wrote with Hart-- "My Funny Valentine", and "Johnny One-Note".

I suspect that this broadcast is greatly edited from its stage version. Apart from truncated spoken introductions, some numbers must have been cut also. I can't believe that Judy Dench only performed her one comic number. On the DVD, Gillian Anderson only appears in the opening spoken introduction; she must have reappeared at some point in the stage version.

It was nice to see the "Kansas City" song and dance from the cast of the London Oklahoma! In her introduction to it, Maureen Lipman (Aunt Eller) makes some funny jokes about the full London cast not being invited along with Hugh Jackman to be in the New York production.

While the television direction is good and offers a balance between close-ups and full stage shots, I suspect the staging viewed in the theater was very static. It seems hardly anyone moves, which was particularly noticeable in the duets. Why were duet partners on opposite sides of the stage so often? They weren't doing the twin soliloquies from South Pacific.

Richard Rodgers: Some Enchanted Evening
Music by Richard Rodgers
Lyrics by Lorenz Hart, Oscar Hammerstein, and Richard Rodgers
Presented in London in 2002
Filmed for broadcast on PBS
Cast: Kim Criswell, Ruthie Henshall, Judy Dench, Lesley Garrett, Maureen Lipman, Claire Moore, Brendan O'Hea, Graham Bickley, Jimmy Johnston, Sally Burgess, Dave Willets