Putting It Together on Broadway

By Elyse Trevers

If people go to see Putting It Together, the revival of the Stephen Sondheim review now showing at the Ethel Barrymore Theater, it will have to be to see Carol Burnette. The audience waits poised for her entrance and immediately breaks into applause at her familiar face. For years she was the darling of prime time television; with her rubbery face and piercing voice, she endeared herself to millions of viewers. As the wife in this thinly-drawn musical, Carol stops the show with her renditions of classic songs like "The Ladies Who Lunch" and "Not Getting Married Today." It's one of the show's few high points, though.

The revue opens with The Observer, Bronson Pinchot, (another face familiar mainly through television), whose main function is to "warm up" the audience. He mocks theater and sings a delightful comical number, "Invocation and Instructions to the Audience" from The Frogs, reminding the audience to mind theater etiquette. The number suggests a pleasant, lighthearted evening. But those familiar with the music should realize that Sondheim is not lighthearted.

One of the outstanding songwriters of the Broadway stage, Stephen Sondheim has an impressive body of work. He wrote the lyrics to "West Side Story" and "Gypsy," in conjunction with others. However, Sondheim's later work, writing both music and lyrics, is dark and introspective. Who else besides Sondheim could write a musical where the protagonist, Sweeney Todd, kills his enemies and cooks them to be sold in meat pies? What other composer could find music in the stories of famous assassins?

Putting it Together is a collection of songs that have appeared in several Sondheim works. Lightly tied together, the story opens at a party with two couples: the husband, George Hearn, and his wife, Burnette, a younger woman, Ruthie Henshall, and a younger man, David Engel (subbing for an ailing John Barrowman). The ensuing musical follows the ebbs and flows of their relationships. The marriage of the elders appears to be falling apart, while the young couple is beginning its relationship. Pinchot announces the theme of each piece with a single word, setting the tone. The other four never speak a word of dialogue, but instead sing throughout the entire show.

Although each performer is extremely talented, the four never gel as an ensemble. In fact, they appear at times to be hearing different music. Miss Henshall, who recently captivated Broadway in Chicago, is quite obviously a dancer and displays her talents well. However, she outperforms the other four in their ensemble numbers and thus is distracting. She is, however, terrific in solo numbers like "More" from Dick Tracy, and offers a few sparkling moments in a basically lackluster production.

Maybe the basic mistake was trying to string these songs together with a story. The evening would have been more enjoyable simply as a Sondheim concert with comic numbers interspersed with the more somber ones. Instead, the show seemed to be one brooding musical number after another. Except for a few brief highlights, the songs blurred and so did the show.

Putting It Together has a lot of what a show needs to be an exciting theatrical experience--talented performers and wonderful music. Audiences love Carol Burnette for her warmth and talent. They worship Stephen Sondheim, one of the musical geniuses of the theater, for his brooding, intelligent lyrics and commentary on relationships. But unfortunately, they just aren't going to love this show.

Elyse Trevers is a theater critic from Lawwwng Island, NY.