In his remembrance of Stephen Sondheim, Stage and Cinema‘s Jason Mannino wrote, “Sondheim delved fearlessly into the human psyche and condition, creating rich, complex worlds and characters that grapple with life’s intricacies and love’s complexities. His narratives weren’t always happy; early on, he was among the few in musical theater who dared to bring shadows into the light, giving audiences permission to look at their own shadows, and, perhaps even heal them a little.”
That’s why Sondheim’s songs are eternal.
Bernardo Bermudez, Angelina Réaux, and Michael Sokol (Anastasya Korol)
Opening September 6, 2024 (with one preview on Sept. 5), Odyssey Theatre Ensemble presents a song compendium that spans the breadth of Stephen Sondheim’s oeuvre, directed by soprano Angelina Réaux, who personally knew and worked closely with Sondheim, including in the role of the Beggarwoman in Sweeney Todd. Featuring music direction by William Ah Sing on piano, 3 world class singers, including Réaux, baritone Michael Sokol and bari-tenor Bernardo Bermudez, will sing solos, duets and trios from 14 of Sondheim’s classic stage works. Not “just another” Sondheim song-to-song revue, 3 Faces of Steve: Sondheim in Concert places dazzling songs from shows like Follies, Company, Sweeney Todd, Into the Woods, A Little Night Music and Merrily We Roll Along alongside Réaux’s personal and professional remembrances of the master. Audiences will hear favorites like “Send in the Clowns,” “Being Alive” and “I’m Still Here,” but also lesser-known masterworks like “Finishing the Hat,” “Me and My Town” and the hilarious “The Boy From…”
Soprano Angelina Réaux (photo courtesy of Odyssey Theatre Ensemble)
Réaux, perhaps best known for her collaborations with Leonard Bernstein and her association with the music of Kurt Weill, has performed Sondheim’s music on concert stages and in theaters worldwide, from Washington’s Kennedy Center to the Boston Pops to the Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal. Writing in The Boston Globe, Richard Dyer called her “America’s most dramatic singer. She can sing with a disarming sweetness, gentle longing, passionate regret, deep anguish, white-hot rage, engaging wit, high hopes and worldly-wise cynicism — often in the course of a single song.”
Bernardo Bermudez, Angelina Réaux, and Michael Sokol (Anastasya Korol)
Sokol is an opera singer and actor who has appeared on the stages of both the Metropolitan Opera in New York and Steppenwolf Theatre in Chicago. He created the role of Frank Lloyd Wright in Stephen Wadsworth’s production of Darren Hagen’s Shining Brow. Bermudez has performed leading roles in new operas throughout the U.S., playing roles such as Diego Rivera in Frida and Pleasure in The Romance of the Rose at Long Beach Opera. He has appeared with both Los Angeles Opera and San Diego Opera.
graphic design by Peter Simpson Cook
3 Faces of Steve: Sondheim in Concert
Odyssey Theatre Ensemble, 2055 S. Sepulveda Blvd
Thurs-Sat at 8; Sun at 2; Sun at 5 (Sept. 29 only) at 7:30; Sun at 3
ends on September 29, 2024
for tickets ($25-$45, +$3 for credit card), call 310.477.2055 ext. 2 or visit Odyssey Theatre
*Wine Night Fridays: Enjoy complimentary wine and snacks
after the show on the third Friday of every month.
