Side By Side by Sondheim Reviews
Los Angeles Times- Recommended
"...The singers are accompanied by cascading, swirling flows of notes emerging from electric keyboards manned by Richard Berent, the music director, and Cheryl Gaul. Mark D. Kaufmann narrates in a rich, engaging voice, sounding like your favorite college professor. He and Fishbach updated and localized portions of the patter."
LA Daily News- Not Recommended
"...And, yes, it would be ideal if the singers here had flawless voices. They don't. They're performers who sing, and the tricky Sondheim melodies seem to exhaust more than enlighten them, leading to sour notes and ragged vocal production."
Broadway World- Recommended
"...Kudos to musical director Richard Berent on piano and Cheryl Gauly, also on piano, for their complementary musical accompaniment, never overpowering the unmiked voices of the singers. Their piano virtuosity's quite evident in their simplistic fingering back-up of "Send in the Clowns" from A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC."
Stage and Cinema- Recommended
"...I do wish the singers' gestures were a trifle less literal. Mimed sipping from a cup isn't required every time there's a line about drinking; and one should wait until the word "eunuch" is actually sung before cupping one's crotch in a defensive crouch. Budget limitations notwithstanding, scenic designer Alex Kolmanovsky's set seems a tad shoddy. Everything is shiny, which only serves to highlight the rough nature of its construction. And whoever had the idea to hang the hats and canes on the upstage wall should reconsider. It is a pedestrian touch in an evening of music that is anything but."
LA Splash- Recommended
"...Director Dan Fishbach and musical director Richard Berent obviously have a keen appreciation of Sondheim's songs, sometimes guileless but compelling and sometimes shrewdly oblique. Alex Kolmanovsky's scenic design is simple yet effective – a set of boxes which can be built up, deconstructed, and simply moved as needed. William Adashek's lighting, Imani G. Alexander's choreography, and Kim DeShazo's costumes keep the action moving. And let's not forget the two keyboard virtuosi (Richard Berent and Cheryl Gaul) whose nimble fingers set the musical mood."
Culver City News- Recommended
"...The sophistication, wit, insight, heart, and genius of Broadway's most innovative and influential composer-lyricist are at the center of SIDE BY SIDE BY SONDHEIM, a true musical treat directed by Dan Fishbach, musical direction by Richard Berent, and choreography by Imani G. Alexander. This entertaining show at the Odyssey Theatre features a dazzling array of songs from landmark shows that revolutionized the art of musical theater with their masterful craft and astounding creativity, including Company, Follies, A Little Night Music, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Anyone Can Whistle and Pacific Overtures - as well as songs from the classics Sondheim wrote with musical theater giants Leonard Bernstein, Mary Rodgers, Richard Rodgers and Jule Styne, such as West Side Story, Gypsy and Do I Hear a Waltz?"
Stage Raw- Somewhat Recommended
"...That said, the point of the show sometimes seems elusive: It's a good, workmanlike production, but the renditions are mostly straightforward. They're pleasantly sung, but at no point is there anything special about the interpretations. The performers inevitably find themselves forced to compete against our recollections of better performances, either on YouTube or maybe even at some Karaoke bar. Perhaps best suited for folks who have no familiarity with Sondheim's music, the show works as a decent introduction to it. A far better inaugural, however, would be to attend productions of any of the shows the individual songs are part of."
USTheatre- Highly Recommended
"...I'd go back to this musical revue any day, except I can't bear to think about hearing their wonderful singing all night long, as I did last night. I need my sleep. But you should go-and often. I will probably return as well, as soon as I can once again "lose my mind.""