Sondheim on Sondheim – Squabbalogic

Overview

Indie musical theatre became a thing people talked about because of local production company Squabbalogic. Previous productions — Carrie: The Musical, The Drowsy Chaperone and Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson — pulled crowds and injected the often naff theatrical genre with a bit of cool factor. Their current effort, Sondheim on Sondheim, is the first production of their 2014/15 season, and it’s a different kind of beast.

The production is a revue-style homage to Stephen Sondheim, ‘father of the modern musical’. (Think music and lyrics for Sweeney Todd and Into The Woods, and lyrics for West Side Story.) The show is made up of musical pieces from 18 Sondheim shows and interview footage of Sondheim himself projected onto a screen which hangs above the stage, giving the show a necessary (if tenuous at times) narrative thread.

The performances are tight, which, with the constant character changes, is impressive. Monique Salle is the stand-out among the cast of eight — her energy and physical humour infect every scene she’s in. A lot of the laughs come from this exaggerated movement bordering on slapstick, but it’s genuinely funny, and there are plenty of poignant moments too.

The humour is also partly due to Sondheim’s on-screen charisma. From his lofty position he comments on, interrupts and interacts with the performers. The melding is almost seamless. Perhaps the best example of this integration is in ‘God‘ — the only song written specifically for Sondheim on Sondheim. His inane chatter about the pencils he uses (very soft, so that he can spend maximum time sharpening them and minimum time writing) is interrupted by loud proclamations of his divinity and the genius of his lyrics. It’s all charmingly irreverent, and the performers handle it with ease.

Ultimately, Sondheim’s conviction that in musical theatre, with all its lights and costumes, “the lyric must be simple”, is probably what makes this show work. It’s a series of brief glimpses into different Sondheim universes, a formula which could have resulted in a messy hodgepodge of barely delineated beginnings. But because each song tells its own story so well — a credit to the lyricist, of course — the show leaves you feeling satisfied, entertained and not really missing a plot.

As a review of Sondheim’s work, in that sense, it works. For Sondheim fans, there’s probably not much new to learn from Sondheim on Sondheim, but as a sentimental, celebratory romp it will please. For the passing admirer, it’s surprisingly good fun, even at two and a half hours. Most of the time, the tricky revue style is held up by the quality of performance. Squabbalogic have done well. Bring on the rest of the season.