You can never get enough Stephen Sondheim in your diet. That's reason enough to welcome the revival of "Side by Side by Sondheim" from Vagabond Players.
This venerable 1976 revue covers Sondheim's career up from his lyricist-only days ("West Side Story," "Gypsy,") to "Pacific Overtures." Some 30 songs are packed in, most of them now classics; there's room for fun rarities, too, notably "The Boy From...," a parody of "The Girl from Ipanema." All of this material is connected by little bits of narrative tissue.
It's risky enough business when a professional company tackles "Side by Side" (the version four years ago at the ever-Sondheim-friendly Signature Theatre was a great example of how to do it right).
A community theater can face extra challenges finding performers who can dig into the score with the necessary stylistic flair and feel thoroughly comfortable in Sondheim Land. On balance, the Vagabond venture meets those challenges quite well.
To begin with, there's a solid musical director/pianist to give the production the necessary foundation. Douglas Lawler demonstrates technical polish and a keen sense of expressive nuance at the keyboard (well, maybe just a few too many glissandos), and also lends a very respectable singing voice to the proceedings at a couple points along the way.
The ensemble, directed by Shannon Wollman, carries out assorted, showbiz-y routines in spirited fashion. Timing and ease of delivery, especially of the dialogue, will likely get tighter as the run continues.
It's great to be able to attend a musical show that uses no amplification, so I hesitate to note that the women on the team -- Alyson Shirk and Jennifer Viets -- have trouble projecting, despite the intimate size of the theater. Nonetheless, they offer a good deal of spirit in the comic numbers, sensitivity in the ballads.
Same for Steve Antonsen and Gary Hiel; the latter is especially effective with a subtly phrased account of "I Remember," an eloquent gem from one of Sondheim's least successful works, "Evening Primrose."
This "Side by Side" provides a breezy, engaging reminder of Sondheim's genius not just for rhyme and melody, but also his uncanny ability to capture the frailty, beauty, craziness and magic of humans and their relationships.