OBSERVER: Colour and Light
In what was a wonderful evening’s celebration of the work of renowned American composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim, Colour and Light: The Art of Sondheim met with a well-deserved rapturous reception on its opening night at Theatre Works.
Set in a sumptuous recreation of a cabaret venue circa Berlin of the decadent inter-war years, the revue was divided into two acts covering five different themes – order, design, tension, balance and harmony.
With a single piano for accompaniment played by Trevor Jones, a series of songs were performed by two female singers, Vidya Makan and Johanna Allen, and two males, Nick Simpson-Deeks and Jacob Rozario.
The songs, taken from a selection of Sondheim’s shows, were a mix of solos, duets and numbers when all four or five performers sang.
Produced by Watch This, Australia’s only Sondheim repertory company, this was a professional and polished show. The directing team consisted of co-artistic directors Melanie Hillman and Dean Drieberg with Trevor Jones as musical director and arranger.
The wealth and depth of their experience was clearly evident in the way the show was put together and realized. What was also evident, through the first-rate quality of the show, was their deep love of and respect for Sondheim and his work.
Their inspired direction was equally matched by the marvellous singing talents of Makan, Allen, Simpson-Deeks and Rozario (with Jones also singing occasionally).
These consummate professionals delighted the audience with their flair and technique when performing some of Sondheim’s most celebrated numbers and, interestingly, some of his lesser-known yet equally beautiful songs. Things were by no means flawless: the interpretation of a song might be overly sentimental or voices could strain when blasting out a showstopper of a tune.
However, such slight imperfections were rare. More importantly, what stays in the memory is how much Colour and Light was a magnificent paean to Sondheim’s genius, gifting its audience an evening to treasure.
Review by Peter Murphy
Pictured: Vidya Makan (centre) with Nick Simpson-Deeks and Jacob Rozario and Trevor Jones on piano. Photo: Ben Fon