Sondheim Tonight: Live From The Barbican Centre, London (1998 Concert Cast)
As Stephen Sondheim's new shows become fewer and further between, tribute concerts have become a popular way to fill the gaps. Among others, there wasSondheim: A Celebration at Carnegie Hallin 1993. There wasSondheim: A Celebrationin 1997. Now there'sSondheim: Tonight's Celebration--err, make thatSondheim Tonight, a live London concert, and a mixed bag it is. Longtime Sondheim followers will enjoy Len Cariou's brief return asSweeney Todd, the reunion of the cast ofSide by Side by Sondheim, and the appearance of British singers Cleo Laine, Maria Friedman, and Michael Ball. On the other hand, Dame Edna Everage (a.k.a. Barry Humphries) provides a revised "Ladies Who Lunch" that is best skipped. Most notable are the recorded premieres of two instrumental works Sondheim wrote as a student,A Very Short Violin Pieceand the more interestingVariations on a Theme (Katie Malone)for solo piano. This two-CD set clocks in at a generous 139 minutes, but over a half-hour is monologues and reminiscences (all separately tracked, thankfully), and another 16 minutes is pleasant but undistinguished orchestral arrangements. No doubt the concert was more entertaining to attend than to listen to on CD, but the Sondheim completist should find something of interest here--or at least get a fix while waiting forWise Guys.--David Horiuchi