When thinking about musical theatre greats, Stephen Sondheim will always come top of my list. The late composer’s works defined a new era of musical theatre.
Sondheim wrote some of the most enduring pieces – from working with composers such as Leonard Bernstein on West Side Story to writing his own epic musicals. From Sweeney Todd to Into The Woods, the depth and range of Sondheim’s writing is vast and immense. His recent passing left such an impact and, frankly, a gaping hole in the musical theatre world.
Enter Grace O’Keefe and Jordana Belaiche: two musical theatre witches with the aim of reviving the spirit of our musical theatre king / god / saviour in order to write a new, brilliant musical. Thus is the set up for what the audience and I had gathered into the upstairs space at Bar Broadway to witness – a seance in tribute to Stephen Sondheim.
It’s a great premise. And for the next hour, we were entertained tirelessly by incredible character acting, hilarious Sondheim parodies and just enough heart on the side.
O’Keefe has a personal connection to our titular ghost – a letter from Sondheim himself. With the help of a whacky medium (Belaiche, showing immense comedy chops), she attempts to connect to the composer.
The performances were quite something to behold. Grace O’Keefe acts as a reliable storyteller, transitioning from belting beautifully crafted Sondheim send ups to delivering heartfelt monologues about what one composer can mean to a person. Jordana Belaiche absolutely eats up the multi-rolling silliness, serving lip-sync for your life realness as well as a wonderful singing voice to boot.
There is so much joy in this piece. It’s quite easy to forget we’re gathered for a seance. The original lyrics, written by both of our on-stage (living) hosts, are witty as you’d expect from two Sondheim die-hards, and there are various Sondheim references for all the fans in the crowd to pick out and laugh about. And laugh they did!
Alongside the hilarious SNL-style comedy, awesome belting and even a cameo from the one and only Lin-Manuel Miranda, the show also has a healthy dose of audience participation. We chanted, rapped like the Witch from Into The Woods and I even got brought on stage for a special rendition of Being Alive from Company. This is all volunteer based, so for those with stage fright among us, don’t worry, the spotlight won’t be forced down on to you!
This piece should be looked at by aspiring musical theatre writers for its incredibly creative flair. A musical about trying to contact a late musical theatre titan could be gimmicky and could definitely teeter on being poor taste, but this does the opposite. This honours the legacy of Stephen Sondheim. This seance-musical soars.
There’s something in this show for everyone. Whether you’re a die-hard Sondheim fan or just looking for a proper good belly laugh, Summoning Sondheim has it all.
Summoning Sondheim runs at Bar Broadway until Friday 24 May. Tickets and more information below.
Real-life witches and co-creators of the new musical Grace O’Keefe and Jordana Belaiche have written this new comedy musical, with original book and music (and, of course, the odd Sondheim parody) which they describe as a love-letter to Sondheim.
Join them as they try to write the perfect musical via the help of the spirit of Stephen Sondheim. The show is a vehicle for elevating new voices in musical theatre while venerating Sondheim’s legacy.
Friday 17 May – 10:30pm
Saturday 18 May – 10:30pm
Friday 24 May – 8pm
