Sondheim Saturday - Send in the Clowns

This is from A Little Night Music and has become a very popular standard. I thought since Philomena is opening soon we sould celebrate Dame Judi Dench. This live performance is from the BBC celebration of Sondheim's 80th birthday and Judi aces it. She of course famously played the part of Desiree in a celebrated 1995 revival in London for which she won the Olivier. 

Sondheim fans is this one of your fave songs? It is absolutely a fave of mine.

Sondheim Saturday - Losing My Mind from Follies

Follies is my favorite of all Sondheim's plays. I consider seeing the 2011 Broadway revival with Bernadette Peters and Jan Maxwell one of the best , if not outright best, theatrical experiences I've had.

It's such a beautiful, sad, haunting piece. Who else but the genius Sondheim could write such an exquisite and poignant piece about disappointment. His characters are all haunted by their past, mired in memories and in an emotional free fall. Yet they are transfixing and above all distinctly human.

The play has so many songs that became standards from "Broadway Baby" to "Too Many Mornings" to "I'm Still Here". Yet the one I feel deep in my heart is "Losing My Mind'. Someone's whole life story is told beautifully and emphatically in a few minutes. Here's Peters' haunting version from that revival I witnessed.

Sondheim Saturday : Side by Side from Company

The Master himself

Every Saturday I'll feature the genius of musical heater Steven Sondheim. For our first edition here is "Side by Side" the opening song from the 2nd act from 1971 masterpiece "Company". It won the Tony for Best Musical and was revived several times including most recently an acclaimed production in 2006.

Adrian Lester as Bobby

This version of the song is from 1996 Donmar Theater production in London staged by Sam Mendes. It features the first Bobby of color, Adrian Lester. At the time it was both hailed and reviled as a "modern" interpretation. Not for casting a black man but for the other florishes that Mendes added. It doesn't look so revolutionary 17 years later but still works. Unfortunately I could not embed so head over to youtube to watch. It's very good.

What is your favorite production of Company? Tell all in the comments.