A tribute to Sondheim

It was an ideal opportunity to take advantage of the reduced hire charges by South Hill Park for the Wilde Theatre on a Monday night to stage a one-off Tribute to Stephen Sondheim, just a year after his death. His extraordinary distinctive musical style which can been seen evolving over his lifetime provides a perfect collection of songs to show off the Crowthorne Musical Players singing talents. His complex use of independent melodies, varied rhythms and keys and powerful emotional themes challenge the musicians and singers. Crowthorne Players pulled off a quite remarkable show after a short rehearsal period that did justice to the composer and showcased their own talents.

If anything, his repertoire is so deep they could have filled the whole show with his work and the second act inclusion of work influenced by Sondheim, whilst interesting, was less successful as the songs were not as well-known and often did not stand comparison with his work. To include something from A funny thing happened on the way to the forum, Anyone can whistle, Pacific Overtures or Sunday in the park with George would have been beneficial and shown the depth of his work.

The show was charmingly compered with reflections from the cast on when they had sung Sondheim or which parts they aspire to play, accompanied very well by the Musical Director on a grand piano and beautifully lit to create a very enjoyable reflection on his work and spark a desire to see the full shows again such as Sweeney Todd, Follies, West Side Story , Company, Assassins, Gypsy and Into the Woods

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