On Friday in the Harkness Chapel, the student theater group Wig & Candle put on “Sondheim Ever After: A Musical Revue,” a collection of songs from Steven Sondheim’s illustrious career. The revue included samplings from some of his more popular shows, such as Into the Woods and Sweeney Todd, as well as smaller productions like The Frogs. Director Kristin Kerr ’11 listened to almost all of Sondheim’s body of work, and after whittling away dozens of potential choices, finally arrived at a list of about forty songs. After getting a sense of the vocal strengths and range of her cast, she narrowed the list again to a final fifteen songs.
The songs varied widely in terms of complexity and emotional effect, but they are organized in a coherent way as to retain energy and momentum. Each song selected was compelling and had a pleasing melody and cadence. The vocal strength and stage presence of the cast varied, but not along purely upperclassmen/freshman lines. There are some standout freshman, including Julian Gordon and Andy Savage, who both had solos. Seasoned performers included Kerr (as a soloist in one number), Susanna Kavee ’11 and Grant Jacoby ’13, who can really sell you a character in less than four minutes.
In speaking with Kerr, I got the sense that organizing the production was no easy task. In addition to her own hectic senior schedule, she had to corral a cast of twenty-two to find rehearsal times that would work for everyone. Further complicating matters was the timing of the major fall production of Our Town, which closed only one week prior and involved many members from this cast. However, because the show was just a revue and not a full production, the performers only needed to worry about their singing and minimal blocking. There weren’t any costumes, only a few props and no sound or lighting effects, so the company was able to work with scant rehearsal time.
The performance was a bit rough around the edges; it’s difficult to perfect things under such stressful conditions. I noticed that the actors lacked urgency in many of their movements and there was also weak chemistry in some of the group pieces. The combination of the chapel’s acoustics, a loud piano accompaniment and soft enunciation and projection made it very difficult to hear the words in most songs, even from a front row seat. This difficult listening experience was particularly frustrating, given that the nature of a musical revue is basically a group of songs linked together with little relationship to one another. Deciphering what each song was about was difficult and it detracted from the overall experience of the piece.
Still, this was an impressive feat for Kerr and Wig & Candle. Keeping twenty-two college students organized without faculty assistance is not easy. It is unreasonable to expect a perfect performance, and although the show wasn’t perfect, it retained its energy and spirit throughout.
