"...witty and stylish, clownish and jaunty, yearning and moving"

June 24, 2005 performance, by Frances Benn Hall

Side by Side By Sondheim, now playing in a debonaire (black and white costuming for the three singers and robin-egg blue for the narrator) production at the Berkshire Theatre Festival under Gary M. English's direction is a song cycle or simple revue in which all the lyrics and most of the music are by Steven Sondheim.

There is no plot beyond the idea that the songs are love songs, but being Sondheim's they embrace all levels of romance, cynical as well as romantic, and clowningly comic as well as nostalgically yearning.

They are woven into sequence by the charming and competent narrator, Jessica Walter, who profiles Sondheim (and the shows) with witty anecdotes and insightful comments. Drawn from the best of such an array, SIDE BY SIDE is witty and stylish, clownish and jaunty, yearning and moving.

The three singers, Allison Briner, Marcus Neville, and Michele Ragusa, are in top form and appear in solos, duos, and trios that move the evening along at rapid pace.

The 26 songs, all from pre-1976 Sondheim shows, are the memorable ones from:

• COMPANY,
• FOLLIES,
• A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC,
• A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM,
• ANYONE CAN WHISTLE,
• WEST SIDE STORY,
• GYPSY,
• PACIFIC OVERTONES;

All prove capable of a wide range - Brinner poignant in "Send in the Clowns" and wonderful, with accent, in "I Never Do Anything Right;" Neville especially appealing in his solos "I Remembr Sky" and "Anyone Can Whistle;" and Ragusa's soaring voice providing comedy in "I'm Not Geting Married Today" and pathos in the duo from West Side Story.

All this is livened by some wild dancing in the comic numbers, the musical support of two pianos, and a versatile set that changes dramatically under the lights. There is even a bonus in the program, a saver, that includes "a short, melodious history of the American musical theatre." Enjoy.

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