PUTTING IT TOGETHER review. Musical revue originally devised by Stephen Sondheim & Julia KcKenzie, with orchestration by Jonathan Tunick. Directed by Sheila McCormick with Barend van der Westhuizen, Simon Speck, Adri Louw, Lara Basson and Louis Fourie. Musical direction by Chris Cameron-Dow. Set by Fin McCormick. Lighting by Fin McCormick and Laura Singh. Presented at The Milnerton Playhouse
THERESA SMITH reviews
Approaching any Stephen Sondheim work is a difficult prospect because his music and lyrics are so complex. This is especially true of the work Putting It Together, since it melds works from 13 of his musicals into one offering.
Set during a cocktail party in a New York apartment, this musical revue is a test of any cast’s musical ability – which makes for a great evening out for fans of Sondheim’s work. It is not actually quite a revue, since there is a putative plot of an older couple hosting a younger couple at their swanky apartment, with both couples going through some relationship issues.
If you weren’t told this bit of info via the programme though, you would be hard pressed to guess, as the occasional cues from guy number three (Van der Westhuizen) provides clues as to the particular emotion about to be expressed (such as seduction).
This breaks the whole show into the stand-alone skits you expect from a straight revue of someone’s songbook.
If you don’t treat Putting It Together as a performance with a plot then some of the most effective delivery of the individual songs come about when Adri Louw and Lara Basson sing together.
Their duet Every Day a Little Death (from A Little Night Music) is poignant, while their sparring on There’s Always A Woman (from Anyone can Whistle) is deliciously poisonous.
While Simon Speck does have a habit of singing more loudly when he really wants to emote, again his duets with Louw work really well.
Louw and van der Westhuizen’s operatic training stand them in good stead as they embody characters, even though they technically only sing and never utter a line of dialogue. Their timing is impeccable, especially Louw when approaching that most tongue-tripping of songs, Getting Married Today (from Company).
Van der Westhuizen does a great job holding the whole thing together as observer/ commentator and his Buddy’s Blues (from Follies) is a surrealistic challenge that he overcomes with a smile as breaks down the fourth wall.
The music ensemble of Chris Cameron-Dow, Tersia Harley, Basil Heald and Schalk Wasserman are the standout performers though in this run, delivering the complex score with note-perfect flair.
What: Putting It Together
When: 6, 7, 13, 14 December 2019, 8pm. Matinees 7, 14 December, 2pm
Where: The Milnerton Playhouse Cape Town
Tickets: www.milnertonplayers.co.za, bookings@milnertonplayers.com
WS
