“Sondheim Tribute Revue” TWO looks- Reviewed by Al Bresloff and Paul Lisnek

***** For several years, we have been covering the “showcases” that 4 Chairs Theatre Company has been presenting. While, founder Lauren Berman, has done some productions, most of her shows have been more cabaret style in places like Hey Nonny in Arlington Heights, where the audience sits more like a nightclub rather than a theater. Most of those shows have also been “one-nighters”. I will say that I have been witness to some wonderful talent and have even seen a few of these performers take the next step and take on roles with other theater companies.

All my readers and listeners know of my love for the work of Stephen Sondheim, probably our greatest composer /lyricist, ever! 4 Chairs, under the direction of Ms Berman is doing what I would have to call a wonderful evening at the theater at the Skokie Theatre. This is a special revue that is presented under special arrangement with MTI on behalf of the estate of Stephen Sondheim, and it is a captivating two hours of amazing music and lyrics as presented by  six young, talented performers, all accompanied by Tysee Braslavsky on the grand piano.

For those of you who know the works of Sondheim, you will find yourself in heaven. For those of you who are not aware of his music and lyrics, I can only ask “where have you been?”. The show opens with a number from “Frogs” called “Invocation and Instructions”, a very fitting way to start a Sondheim Revue. For those who have never seen a “Frogs” production, I have seen two , each done in a swimming pool with the actors spending a great deal of time in water. Believe it or not, it worked! This is followed up by a song that many will recognize from “Sunday In The Park With George”, “Finishing The Hat” as performed by Brian Pember. I have never seen him before and was quite impressed with his vocal range and his stage presence. Often, singers sound good, but do not “play the audience”. Pember does it all!

In the first act, Pember also does a “Sunday” song, “We Do Not Belong Together” with Kaitlin Feely ( who we have seen in previous 4 Chairs shows and recently saw her do a major role in Citadel Theatre Company’s “She Loves Me”). This is followed by an powerful “Send In The Clowns” from “A Little Night Music” as performed by Denise Tamburrino, who is also quite a comedienne. Another hysterical song in the first act is “Getting Married Today” as handled by the very funny Lyndsey Minerva. Speaking of comic touches to end the first act, Ms Tamburrino and  Michelle Tibble do a cleverly directed rendition of  “The Ladies Who Lunch” from “Company”.

After a 10 minute intermission, we hear a number from “Merrily We Roll Along” called “Old Friends” that is done in pieces so that we get to see all 6 of our cast members take part. FYI-Gender is not a major part of the music and the performances as the cast is lopsided with two men and four women, so it was not a major shock when they did “Everybody Ought To Have A Maid” from “A Funny Thing Happened On The way To The Forum” with all women declaring the need for a maid and David Geinosky being the maid. FYI Geinosky is quite a talent himself, and truly shows his talent in “Children Will Listen” from “Into The Woods” as he does a duet with Ms. Feely.

The estate dictated the number of songs from any given show, but I was impressed with the talent, the selection and of course the presentation.  I loved “Joanna” from “Sweeny Todd and the way it was performed by Ms. Minerva, who showed more range to go with her comic touch earlier in the evening. The choreography by Kristine Burdi-Stickney worked well in keeping the flow of the evening working. Pat Henderson’s lighting and Camryn Maloni’s sound were perfect and the set ( David Geinosky) was simple ,but worked.

4 Chairs motto says “pull up a chair. You can sit with us” I think that you should so so as it is worth the trip to Skokie for this powerful evening of Sondheim.

The “Sondheim Tribute Revue” will continue at The Skokie Theatre located at 7924 N. Lincoln Avenue, in Skokie thru August 18th with performances as follows:

Thursdays     7:30 p.m.

Fridays           7:3o p.m.

Saturdays       7:30 p.m.

Sundays          3 p.m.

To purchase tickets  www.4chairstheatre.org

To see what others are saying, visit www.theatreinchicago.com, go to Review Round-Up and click at “Sondheim Tribute Revue

photos by Jennifer Heim

“Sondheim Tribute Review” Presented by 4 Chairs Theatre

At the Skokie Theater thru August 18^th

Review by Paul Lisnek, “Behind the Curtain,” WGNRadio.com

****/4 VERY highly Recommended

It’s a beautiful thing that the Stephen Sondheim estate has allowed local theater companies around the country to present tributes to the great master of American theater who left us too soon. Sure there are restrictions like no costumes, only 3 songs used per any one Sondheim show, and a requirement that Sondheim had written both the music and lyrics…fair enough.

The beauty of the resulting structure is that it allows each theater company the freedom to fill the presented framework with their own carefully and creatively designed production. And 4 Chairs Theatre Company has crafted that freedom into a beautiful, elegant and quite intimate production that highlights Sondheim’s most popular works, performed by six perfectly suited performers.

I have seen a few such estate permitted tributes and they are wonderful…often they are a combination of songs that everyone knows, and some that perhaps only Sondheim aficionados will recognize and there’s great value in keeping his entire catalogue alive.  But in this 4 Chairs production, nearly every song is a well known classic meaning this show will be loved not just by Sondheim fans, but by every theater lover who will rejoice in each number, sometimes saying, “oh, I didn’t’ know he wrote that one!”

The fabulous performers are given freedom, with some fine direction by 4 Chairs Founder and production director Lauren Berman, to make each song a play in its own right. The emotion, the interaction among cast members…. All serve to make every song a powerful experience on its own and as a collaboration.

From “Invocation and Instructions” (from the Frogs) setting out the “ground rules” for the audience in grand Sondheim style, to the complex and tough to perform “Getting Married Today,” and the elegant “Send in the Clowns,” and “Not a Day Goes By” makes you want to look up the backstory for each number… (which you should do because every song indeed has its own motivation from Sondheim’s life. And when you know that the backstory to “Children Will Listen,” is the fact that Sondheim’s own mother told him that her biggest regret in life was giving birth to him, it makes the duet performance by Michelle Tibble and David Geinosky ever the more powerful). And it’s why many if not most Sondheim songs stand on their own; yes, part of a production but also a story in and of themselves. It’s perfect for a tribute review show.

The entire cast is perfect…and you will be moved by Geinosky’s “Losing My Mind,” Brian Pember’s “Being Alive,” and the entire cast of 6 whose combined voices fill the theater with “Sunday,” from Sunday in the Park with George…

Brava Lauren Berman for undertaking the challenge of a Sondheim tribute that would have made him proud. The show closes with the audience being reminded that in an interview over a decade ago, Sondheim himself said he wanted his legacy to be that his shows continue on…get performed over and over again….and that is exactly the message of this tribute…that Sondheim deserves to be ever-present on theater stages for the rest of time…..

As Sondheim himself wrote: “Look, I made a hat…where there never was a hat…” Think about it, because that is the art of making art….

Paul M. Lisnek, J.D., Ph.D.