Sharon Rietkerk stars as “Her” and A.J. Shively stars as “Him” in the intimate Sondheim
musical MARRY ME A LITTLE, playing June 4-29 at TheatreWorks at the Mountain View Center
for the Performing Arts. Photo credit: Tracy Martin
Marry Me a Little: Musical Revue. Music & Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
Conceived and developed by Craig Lucas & Norman René. Directed by Robert Kelley
Musical Director William Liberatore. TheatreWorks, Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts, 500 Castro Street, Mountain View. (650) 463-1960 or visit www.theatreworks.org.
June 4—June 29, 2014
Marry Me a Little is charming recycled Sondheim at TheatreWorks [rating:3]
On opening night there were maybe half a dozen audience members who gave standing ovations at the end of TheatreWorks’ production of Marry Me a Little. They were rewarded with an encore of the title song but that was not enough to stimulate more than appreciative applause from the rest of the audience. It is a show for Sondheim aficionados.
As usual the production values of TheatreWorks were superlative with a marvelous set (Bruce McLeod), musical accompaniment by the talented on stage William Liberatore and clever directorial conceits by Robert Kelley. Those conceits were perfected by the prolific multitalented Alan Ayckbourn in his 1969 How the Other Half Loves. In that play two separate families simultaneously perform on the same set with each story separate but related.
In the storyline of Marry Me a Little the only two characters Her (Sharon Rietkerk) and Him (A.J. Shively) live in separate walkup apartments, one above the other but do not know each other. Kelley has elected to have both characters share the same physical space being oblivious to the actions of the other even when they are singing duets. The conceit holds up very well for the entire show and allows the pair to share physical contact for two of the 19 songs without breaking the concept of two separate living spaces.
Six of the 19 songs were originally written for Follies, three for A Little Night Music and the others from lesser known shows. There is no spoken dialog but the story is embellished in the lyrics that mostly are extremely clever and typical of Sondheim’s signature style(s).
It is Saturday night and Him rides his bicycle down the right aisle and enters the set. Shortly thereafter Her walks down left aisle with an armful of packages entering the set. Their plaintive duet of “Saturday Night” sets the tone of two unattached young people lamenting being home alone and wishing for companionship. As they perform routine chores of preparing mundane food, he opening champagne and she a bottle of wine they contemplate a bit of fantasy with “Two Fairy Tales.” As they perform their routine activities Kelley moves them about adding some physicality to make the storyline flow and to keep audience interested.
Whereas the original story was set in New York City, Kelley has change the venue to the Bay Area with a silhouette of San Francisco under a full moon on the rear wall. This allows for local references that are really not necessary but do work. Pianist Liberatore has been placed in a separate apartment on stage left where he is visible behind a scrim. His presence is unobtrusive and his deft piano playing never overpowers the singing.
The limber and buff Shively is by far the better singer to handle Sondheim’s lyrics and phrasing. Attractive Sharon Rieterk has an excellent soprano voice but her enunciations of the tricky lyrics are difficult to decipher.
All in all, it is a charming 70 minute without intermission revue that is beautifully staged and a must see for Sondheim devotees.
Song list: “Saturday Night” (from Saturday Night), “Two Fairy Tales” (cut from A Little Night Music), “Can That Boy Foxtrot!” (cut from Follies), “All Things Bright and Beautiful” (cut from Follies), “Bang!” (cut from A Little Night Music), “All Things Bright and Beautiful (Part 2)” (cut from Follies), “The Girls of Summer” (from The Girls of Summer), “Uptown, Downtown” (cut from Follies), “So Many People” (from Saturday Night), “Your Eyes Are Blue” (cut from A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum), “A Moment With You” (from Saturday Night), “Marry Me a Little” (Company), “Happily Ever After” (cut from Company), “Pour Le Sport”, (from The Last Resorts, unproduced), “Silly People” (cut from A Little Night Music), “There Won’t Be Trumpets” (cut from Anyone Can Whistle), “It Wasn’t Meant to Happen” (cut from Follies), “Who Could Be Blue?” (cut from Follies) and “Little White House” (cut from Follies)
Cast: Sharon Rietkerk as Her and A.J. Shively as Him
Production Staff: Scenic Design by Bruce McLeod; Costume Design by Jill Bowers; Lighting Design by Steven B. Mannshardt; Sound Design by Brendan Aanes
Kedar K. Adour, MD
Courtesy of www.theatreworldinternetmagazine.com.
