BWW Reviews: Stephen Sondheim's PUTTING IT TOGETHER by the Saint Petersburg Opera Company

It's difficult to categorize PUTTING IT TOGETHER, this year's musical treat from the St. Petersburg Opera Company. Filled with Sondheim leftovers, throwaway songs as well as classics from his songbook, the show is a quasi-greatest hits package stringing together a basic, almost nonexistent plot. But what category do you put it in? Is it a musical revue in the same vein as Ain't Misbehavin'? But it has a loose plot, so could it be considered Sondheim's version of a Jukebox Musical? But there's not much dialogue, so it really can't be considered a jukebox musical either (at least not in the way All Shook Up or Mamma Mia are). It just seems more than a mere "revue." God Himself (Sondheim) even spoke on this in his book Look, I Made a Hat, calling the show "a pleasant but awkward revue...which made the mistake of trying to shoehorn songs of different styles and tone into a story line." As you see, he calls it a "revue," so that should settle it, right? But I'm not sold. I guess for the time being I'll categorize it somewhere in the middle, putting the two together to create something entirely different--is there such a thing as a "revue-box musical"?

Whatever you want to label it, PUTTING IT TOGETHER is a festive, underrated, underperformed gem, and the St. Petersburg Opera Company's production at the Palladium is first rate with an excellent cast. It may not pack the punch of last year's highly successful West Side Story, but it's tighter, breezier, and surprising at how much fun it is. Sure, some of the songs are Sondheim throwaways, but the show itself is kind of a throwaway. And Sondheim's certainly correct that it awkwardly mixes songs of different styles and tone for no apparent reason other than to fit as many Sondheim songs as possible in it. It's frivolous, more like a soup or salad instead of a main meal. But it's also a blast--a delightful throwaway, fantastic in its frivolity.

There's a little bit from every Sondheim show (except Pacific Overtures, Passion, Bounce and Saturday Night) included in PUTTING IT TOGETHER--one song from Sweeney Todd, Do I Hear a Waltz?, Anyone Can Whistle, The Frogs, and Assassins, while Company, Merrily We Roll Along, A Little Night Music, Follies and the movie Dick Tracy have three or more songs included. Most are rare (such as "Rich and Happy" which was later replaced by "That Frank" in Merrily), but the ones from Company are some of the most famous ("The Ladies Who Lunch," "Being Alive"), maybe too famous to be taken out of context. Also, when the songs are in a different setting, the meaning changes, not always for the better. "Unworthy of Your Love" from Assassins, beautifully sung in this production, loses its bizarre quirkiness because the singers of this stalkers' love song aren't would-be presidential assassins John Hinkley and Squeaky Fromme.

That said, I have a newfound appreciation of "Do I Hear a Waltz?" and "Bang!" after this show.

The cast of five is quite strong, though sometimes they understandably focus on their vocal chops far more than their acting chops. In the part of the Observer (really a narrator), Clayton Brown is a warm and likable guide. His early observations, including an Andrew Lloyd Webber versus Puccini joke, hit just the right note. His "Invocation and Instructions to the Audience" is a hoot, perfectly setting the stage for the lightweight charm of the show to come. Best of all is his "Buddy's Blues," a showstopper to end all showstoppers. Brown runs the gamut of emotions here, physically and vocally selling the song like no other. If his occupation turned out to be an athlete instead of a performer, then he would definitely put this number on his highlight reel.

There are two couples in PUTTING IT TOGETHER: a husband and wife (played by Peter Kendall Clark and Paula Broadwater, respectively) and a young couple (Tripp Fountain and Kaitlyn Costello). It's sort of like the characters from Company twenty-five years later, but without the depth. The characters and relationships to one another become an excuse to use whatever songs fit--the whole enterprise is song-driven, not character-driven. Sondheim is a master gamesman known for creating crossword puzzles, and it seems he (along with Julia McKenzie) are working on an elaborate musical puzzle here, finding a place to fit the songs with the characters; it's just that there are too many blank spaces without any answers at the end of the night. Still, with songs this glorious, who cares? And it's the songs and the performances that make this particular show come alive.

Both Clark and Broadwater have moments of brilliance. Her rendition of "Getting Married Today" (which is wrongly called "Not Getting Married Today" in the program) got the largest ovation of the night. I would like more of the smiley, eely gamesmanship in "Could I Leave You?"--she seems too forceful and aggressive for my tastes, a sledgehammer rather than a poisoned feather. Her "Ladies Who Lunch" was sung quite well and garnered an extended, enthusiastic ovation afterwards; but it's becoming too cliché these days, overplayed, and there's nothing really new any performer can do with it (though Broadwater tries with her variation of the call for the audience to "Rise!").

Clark is extremely forceful with a rafter-shaking voice; is it my imagination or does he sometimes even resemble Sondheim (during Sondheim's Merrily phase)? Clark's "Hello Little Girl" was extremely effective, even taken out of the Into the Woods context (he's a wolf of a different kind here), and it works beautifully. He also is marvelous in his wistful "Good Thing Going." Tripp Fountain has his moments as the Younger Man. His duet with Clark on "Pretty Women" was gorgeously rendered, and his "Marry Me a Little" sung well. But he seemed to miss several acting moments and character choices where he could have been even more committed to the moment.

As the Younger Woman, Kaitlyn Costello simply steals the show. As anyone who saw her sultry Anita in West Side Story last year can attest, she is a striking presence onstage, a dynamo of a performer. You can't take your eyes off her. She is able to blend her opera skills with her musical theatre skills brilliantly, and her songs here are some of the strongest of the show. Physically, her "Sooner or Later" is spellbinding, though vocally it seemed a little odd at times. But her "Lovely" (a duet along with Broadwater) hit the bull's eye and her "More" became one of the show's many stellar moments. Her physical work in "Bang!" and her scrumptious "Unworthy of Your Love" (with Fountain) should not be missed. Costello is a godsend to any audience. Dancing, singing, acting--she's always in the moment, always energetic and engaged, always brightening and galvanizing the stage. She's so good that you just hope that she's in every musical you get to see--because this performer is the real deal.

"Being Alive," Bobby's final solo from Company, has always been one of my favorite Sondheim songs. But the version in PUTTING IT TOGETHER is the most gorgeous vocally I have ever heard--a quintet as opposed to a solo, and the result is ethereal, heart-breaking, tender, and quite lovely.

The show is well-staged by director Crystal Manich, and the choreography by Zetta Alderman is darling and creative. Warren K. Sodt's clever set has a Company-esque feel to it--multi-tiered and bare-boned, with the orchestra smack dab in the middle. Keith Arsenault's lighting is quite strong, especially in the "Hello Little Girl" number where it strikingly helps us see both sides of the lecherous wolf.

But the biggest kudos need to go to conductor (and SPO's Executive Director) Mark Sforzini, whose orchestra is second to none: Lane Lederer, Nikolay Blagov, Maurizio Venturini, Robert Smith, Dee Moses, Brent Douglas, Kelsey Bannon, and Sforzini himself. The orchestra is the driving force of the show, so much so that sometimes it seemed to be leading the performers, not just following them. But it sounded exquisite, top-notched, and Sforzini gets a little moment of his own early in Act 2 ("It's Hot Up Here").

This SPO treasure has only two more performances--Sunday at 2:00 and Tuesday at 7:30. You owe it to yourself to see this incredible, rarely done musical. Fans of Sondheim of course need to hurry to experience this one. But even Sondheim detractors (who are you? why are you reading this?) or those poor unfortunate souls who don't quite know who he is need to see this hidden gem at the Palladium. It's a sheer delight.

SPO's production of PUTTING IT TOGETHER can be seen on Sunday, June 28th at 2:00 and Tuesday, June 30th at 7:30 at the Palladium in St. Petersburg. Please call (727) 823-2040 for tickets.

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