Douglas Morrisson Theatre Season 2016-2017 Concludes With Musical Revue: SIDE BY SIDE BY SONDHEIM

The Douglas Morrisson Theatre 2016-2017 37th Season concludes with a musical revue featuring songs of the incomparable Stephen Sondheim: SIDE BY SIDE BY SONDHEIM: A Musical Entertainment, with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and music by Leonard Bernstein, Mary Rodgers, Richard Rodgers and Jule Styne.

SIDE BY SIDE BY SONDHEIM will have 10 performances, April 7 through April 23, 2017, at the Douglas Morrisson Theatre, 22311 N. Third St. in Hayward, CA. Tickets are $10-$29, and are available through the Box Office at (510) 881-6777 or online at www.dmtonline.org.

DMT's production of SIDE BY SIDE BY SONDHEIM is directed by Michael Ryken, with music direction by Dean Starnes, and features a talented ensemble of Bay Area performers: Tielle Baker, Brian Couch, Christine Macomber and Jenny Matteucci.

A musical retrospective by undeniably one of Broadway's all-time most celebrated composers, SIDE BY SIDE BY SONDHEIM features songs from shows as diverse as Follies, Company, (a song from which gives the revue its title), A Little Night Music, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Pacific Overtures and Sweeney Todd. Small gems from these Sondheim musicals, including the work of Leonard Bernstein, Mary Rodgers, Richard Rodgers and Jule Styne, with whom the composer collaborated on various shows, are seamlessly tied together by a narrator in this intimate show showcasing some of the best known works from his early career.

The sparkling sophistication and elegance of Mr. Sondheim's work is brightly presented in this well-thought-out and cleverly executed production. ' - NY Times

Sondheim's songs often deal with the trials and tribulations of relationships, in and out of marriage, whether the setting is ancient Rome, 19th c. Japan, or 1970 Manhattan. The revue's Narrator leads us through a mix of well-known and more obscure Sondheim songs, interspersing stories about Sondheim's life and career, or the shows themselves, or setting up the mood and context of particular numbers.

SIDE BY SIDE BY SONDHEIM originated as a revue put together to benefit a theatre in the English village of Wavendon. Cameron Mackintosh saw the benefit and agreed to produce the show. In May 1976, the show premiered at London's Mermaid Theatre, transferring to the West End for a total of 806 performances. Ned Sherrin directed, assisted by Sondheim himself. SIDE BY SIDE BY SONDHEIM was first produced on Broadway by Harold Prince in association with Ruth Mitchell, again directed by Sherrin, opening on April 18, 1977, at the Music Box Theatre, and later transferring to the Morosco Theatre, for a total of 384 performances. In that first Broadway incarnation, SIDE BY SONDHEIM was nominated for five Tony Awards. The revue has since been revived twice in London, in 2007 and 2015. Through the last four decades, the show has enjoyed tremendous success regionally throughout the U.S., and arguably has played a big part in Sondheim's ever-growing popularity.

ABOUT COMPOSER AND LYRICIST Stephen Sondheim

Stephen Sondheim is an American composer and lyricist described in a NY Times interview from 2000 as "now the greatest and perhaps best-known artist in the American musical theater." Musicals for which he wrote both the music and lyrics include A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum (1962), Anyone Can Whistle (1964), Company (1970), Follies (1971), A Little Night Music (1973), Pacific Overtures (1976), Sweeney Todd (1979), Merrily We Roll Along (1981), Sunday In The Park With George (1984), Assassins (1991), Passion (1994) and Road Show (2008). Sondheim's work as a lyricist includes West Side Story (1957), Gypsy (1959) and Do I Hear A Waltz? (1965) and additional lyrics for Candide (1973). In addition to Side By Side By Sondheim, Sondheim has had several other musical anthologies: Marry Me A Little, Putting It Together and Sondheim On Sondheim. His collected lyrics and accompanying essays are published in two volumes: "Finishing the Hat" and "Look, I Made A Hat". Sondheim has received an Academy Award, eight Tony Awards (more than any other composer, including a Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre), eight Grammy Awards, a Pulitzer Prize, the Laurence Olivier Award, and a 2015 Presidential Medal of Freedom. Most recently, in February 2017, Sondheim was awarded the 2017 PEN/Allen Foundation Literary Service Award, the first composer-lyricist to win the award, which is given annually to a "critically acclaimed writer whose body of work help us understand and interpret the human condition."

ABOUT THE DIRECTOR s

Michael Ryken has been directing theatre around the Bay Area for many years. He has worked at the Douglas Morrisson Theatre numerous times, most recently having directed the musical Grey Gardens. He has also helmed productions at CCMT in Walnut Creek (Sunset Boulevard and The Sound of Music), Los Altos Stage Company (Avenue Q and Urinetown), Broadway by the Bay (Anything Goes), and many more. He was The Managing Artistic Director at the California Conservatory Theatre for several seasons and received his BA in Theatre Arts from Cal. State East Bay.

ABOUT THE MUSIC DIRECTOR

Dean Starnes has been a musician, conductor, director, and actor since 1979 with nearly 140 shows to his credit. A Shellie Award winner with a B.A. in Theatre, Dean works all over the East Bay. He has also taught auditioning seminars and is an experienced audition pianist. He currently works for the Educational Theatre program at Kaiser Permanente. His previous involvement at the Douglas Morrisson Theatre was onstage in 1997 as "Sipos" in She Loves Me.

About The Douglas Morrisson Theatre

The Douglas Morrisson Theatre is a program and facility of the Hayward Area Recreation and Park District, enjoying its 72nd year. The Douglas Morrisson Theatre is located at 22311 N. Third St. in Hayward, next to the Senior Center and the Japanese Gardens. The Box Office is open Tuesday through Friday, 1 to 5:00pm and can be reached at (510) 881-6777. Information is also available at www.dmtonline.org.

To post a comment, you must register and login.