'Sondheim!' presents delicious taste of things to come

Three words describe "Sondheim!," the song and dance revue opening tonight at the Rose Theatre: Oo la la

From the finger-snapping choreography of "Cool" and the campy showgirl trio singing "You Could Drive a Person Crazy" to Erin Darter's evocative reading of "I Remember" and the gross-out humor of Laura Huusko's "The Worst Pies in London," "Sondheim!" is much more than a music appreciation class dedicated to the American stage's greatest living composer. It's a very good time.

Directors Dr. Kenn Stilson and Dr. Christopher Goeke started with 50 Stephen Sondheim songs and winnowed those to 16. The result is a mix of the familiar -- Beth Roethemeyer's dignified "Send in the Clowns" -- and the obscure -- the giddy "Everybody Ought to Have a Maid" from "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum" -- that seems to have its own rhythm.

Quirky lyrics

Sondheim sets his often quirky, witty and arch lyrics to tunes that are just as often difficult to sing and play. The deft musicianship of the small orchestra conducted by Goeke is an important factor in the success of "Sondheim!" Keyboardists Jeff Overby and Tim DePriest and percussionists Dana Johnson and Amy Vrbosky are first-rate.

"Sondheim!" warms up with a lively rendition of "America" from "West Side Story" and moves into serious territory with the sensuous rendering by Gina Cutelli and Dan Graul of "Happiness" from the musical "Passion."

Janel Mason is all hip-turning attitude in the hilarious "More" from "Dick Tracy," a song about the joys of acquisition. "I'm no mathematician," she sings. "All I know is addition." Mason saucily returns awhile later to put the "hhhrrrr" in "Ah, Paris" from "Follies."

Huusko, who in 1999 sashayed across the stage as Sugar in the musical of the same name, this time provokes unstoppable laughter in the "The Worst Pies in London" from "Sweeney Todd."

Todd Masterson as the Wolf and Roanne Lane as Little Red Riding Hood charm in two tunes from "Into the Woods." Lane demonstrates an especially fine vocal ability.

The high quality of the voices music directors Goeke and Dr. Leslie Jones have assembled is striking, especially the female voices. They are consistently strong throughout the show. Brian Privett's high vibrato stands out among the men.

What's new and unusual on the University Theatre stage is that many of the performers can both sing and dance quite well.

The revue was choreographed by Dr. Marc Strauss with assistance on certain songs from Mandy Brooks and Jessica Carter.

Dennis Seyer's set is a simple series of platforms and stairs reminiscent of the paths Fred and Ginger used to get from one side of the room to the other. Lighting designer Dr. C. Kenneth Cole effectively uses silhouettes to fill the stage with striking images. The final number, "Sunday" from "Sunday in the Park with George," faithfully recreates an effect in the painterly musical.

Rhonda Weller-Stilson's top-notch costumes range from the black modern dance street uniform of "America" to the wonderfully showy outfits worn by Meagan Edmonds, Huusko and Darter in "You Could Drive a Person Crazy" from "Company" to a jaunty facsimile of a wolf.

The other members of the talented cast are Jennifer Brandt, Casey Ann Burman and Natasha Toro.

A faculty member also makes a surprise appearance.

Almost everything in "Sondheim!" works beautifully. "Sondheim!" seems to be a taste of what Southeast's new Department of Theatre and Dance and the School of the Visual and Performing Arts are capable of.

sblackwell@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 182