Watching archived interviews with Stephen Sondheim lends itself to a faulty conclusion — he’s just an ordinary, regular guy. There he is, lying down on the couch in a faded blue polo, his favorite pencil matching his shirt color. On the coffee table beside him is an electric sharpener which he keeps terribly busy.
The whole approach just feels so nonchalant and ironic. To think this might have been how he was chillin’ when he penned “Follies,” “Merrily We Roll Along,” “Assassins,” or “Sweeney Todd” is astounding. In these moments, Sondheim comes across as a really cool uncle who just happens to be changing the course of theater history with every new composition, all while properly resting.
Yeah, no big whoop.
The strength of San Jose Playhouse’s production of “Sondheim on Sondheim” is how it exudes the tenderness that surrounds the late composer and lyricist, a giant in the field who was never really known for hummable, commercial hits. Originally conceived and directed by collaborator James Lapine (“Into the Woods,” “Sunday in the Park with George”), “Sondheim” offers much insight into the masterful works and life of the great composer, including how his most famous tunes came to be, along with the life-changing mentorship he received from master lyricist and librettist Oscar Hammerstein II.
The eight cast members, at their best when delivering warm, collective harmonies, take turns interacting with Sondheim’s images in freshly ingenious ways. In a few humorous moments, a song begins with staggering energy, only to have Sondheim’s video voice comment on what trash that tune was, killing the song faster than Benjamin Barker offs a customer.
So much of the show is about enlightenment through entertainment. Songs are not presented on individual islands, but with transcendent insight. How did the seemingly simplistic ditty of “Comedy Tonight” with its cheerful bounce come from the same mind that cultivated tunes such as “Send in the Clowns” or “Losing My Mind,” songs that showcase such emotional complexity? As with any transcendent artist, Sondheim’s evolution from young composer to mature, intricate craftsman is breathtaking to behold.
The show’s non-plot, revue-style narrative presents very nice avenues for each member of the company to showcase their talents. That cast is a collection of San Jose Playhouse regulars offering their own takes on Sondheim’s many feats. Plenty of songs are recognizable to musical theater lovers and Sondheim aficionados, while other compositions live within some of the more obscure sections of his vast catalogue.
The company’s collective work often translates well, especially in gorgeous versions of “Sunday,” “Waiting for the Girls Upstairs” and the mesmerizingly poignant “Children Will Listen,” the backstory of that particular number offering the most heartbreaking of Sondheim’s complicated childhood history.
“Opening Doors,” from “Merrily We Roll Along” (which is getting a consequential revival on Broadway), is impeccably handled and wittily synched by F. James Raasch, Nicholas Tabora, Osher Fine, Stephen Guggenheim and Juanita Harris. Susan Gundunas and company bring home a fine version of “Send in the Clowns,” and Harris delivers a poignant version of “In Buddy’s Eyes,” a complicated and stirring Sondheim composition from “Follies.”
Krista Wigle offers a sweet rendition of the viscerally charged “Loving You” from
“Passion,” a lush and luminous score that is quite underrated. Another of Sondheim’s instantly recognizable tunes, “Being Alive,” from “Company,” is presented with delicacy from Ric Iverson.
If the collective voices offer the universe-revealing works of a masterful giant, it’s video designer Peter Flaherty, synching his work within the respective direction and choreography of Scott Evan Guggenheim and Shannon Guggenheim, serving as the production’s hero. The implementation of Sondheim’s speaking voice, which often comes across incredibly common as he explains craft, is the spine of the piece, an intricate blending of live action and archival footage pulled from many sources.
As the fascination of Sondheim has only grown stronger since his death the day after Thanksgiving in 2021, the videos offer the greatest insight of a true American master and his process, a verbal genius whose felicity was unmatched. But that genius must have been exhausting to behold.
David John Chávez is chair of the American Theatre Critics Association and a two-time juror for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama (‘22-‘23); @davidjchavez.
‘SONDHEIM ON SONDHEIM’
Conceived by James Lapine, presented by San Jose Playhouse
Through: Dec. 17
Where: 3Below Theaters, 288 S. Second St., San Jose
Running time: Two hours with an intermission
Tickets: $25-$55; sanjoseplayhouse.org
