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Regional Reviews: Washington, D.C. Simply Sondheim Also see Susan's review of The Island
Signature has built its reputation on its productions of Sondheim's works, beginning with a 1991 production of Sweeney Todd that received five Helen Hayes Awards including Outstanding Resident Musical and encompassing productions of Road Show and West Side Story planned for next season. David Loud and Eric Schaeffer created the current show as a way to thank Sondheim for his support of the theater throughout its 25-year history. The creators and director-choreographer Matthew Gardiner have found some interesting links between songs from different shows and eras, such as a counterpoint setting of "Merrily We Roll Along" and "Bounce" and a segue from the sorrowful "Something Just Broke" into the brisk, cynical "Now You Know," not to mention the voice-by-voice construction of a sextet with songs from Passion. Donna Migliaccio and Bobby Smith lead the cast in all-around polish. Migliaccio's brassiness ranges from a riotous "Worst Pies in London," well sung as she pounds, rolls, and otherwise manhandles a lump of dough, to a clarion "Ladies Who Lunch." Smith's song-and-dance showpiece is "The Right Girl," but he also brings gravitas to "Impossible" (with Austin Colby), "Poems" (with Paul Scanlan), and "Sorry-Grateful" (with both men). Kellee Knighten Hough goes to town with "Getting Married Today," crawling on the floor and attempting to stop the church singer (Stephanie Waters) while not missing a word; she also performs a lovely, straightforward "Another Hundred People" and joins Waters on a medley of "Losing My Mind" and "Not a Day Goes By." Scanlan shines on "Finishing the Hat" and Colby gives an emotional rendition of "Is This What You Call Love?" Kalbfleisch and his musicians fill the stage as the singers enter and exit around them, working with new orchestrations by longtime Sondheim collaborator Jonathan Tunick. Signature Theatre
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