Stage Door Theatre – until 13th April 2024
Reviewed by Phil Brown
4****
This interesting and slightly unconventional show also launches the Stage Door Theatre as a new and intimate venue for live performance in Covent Garden.
Located above the Prince of Wales pub on Drury Lane and self described as the first (and only) pop up pub theatre in the West End, it’s a functioning bar and dining area that generates a cosy and buzzy atmosphere without any of the odd spatial quirks often encountered in such “upstairs” spaces.
‘Marry Me a Little’ is not new, just not well known. The inaugural show was conceived and developed by Craig Lucas and Norman Rene and first performed off-Broadway in 1980. It’s essentially an anthology of some 20 Stephen Sondheim songs – mainly rejects from several hit shows – cleverly sequenced to create a somewhat bittersweet 60 minute narrative about love and relationships. Aside from the limited programme notes which I’m pleased to say contain a comprehensive song list and the associated shows, there is no real explanation of what you are about to see. As the performance is entirely song based, without any spoken word at all, a brief scene setting in the programme would probably help prime audiences on what to expect. Supposedly set in New York, the song cycle aims to examine the feelings and reflections of two newly single and lonely people on the look out for love.
This is clearly a well rehearsed performance that flows seamlessly, feels intense and works smoothly on stage (Director – Robert McWhir). The casting and acting – Shelley Rivers and Markus Sodergren is excellent. The song selection works well although Sondheim can be pretty wordy and his lyrics difficult to pick out during up-tempo numbers. The simple yet convincing stage set (Designer – David Shields) resembles a typical singleton’s studio apartment. In fact, the one set represents two separate apartments – one for the apparently newly single women (Shelley Rivers) and one for the newly single, world weary man (Markus Sodergren). The physical action, as both inhabit and drift around the same constrained set, is thoughtfully imagined and nicely choreographed, conveying each of their shifting moods and physical separation well, although both join in on most songs. Maybe a little too much pouring of drinks, although that’s credible given the context.
Musically, accompaniment on electric keyboard was executed impeccably (Musical director – Aaron Clingham), although the same instrumentation does feel a touch relentless across the whole show. Given they appear to be non amplified, the vocals were well controlled, skilfully rendered and blended sweetly. The American accents seemed to tail off during the performance and there were some very minor inconsistencies – the odd wordy phrase got lost and vocal light and shade was slightly overdone on occasion. Possibly a function of singing complex material unmiked.
For all the sterling work done by the performance team, the appeal of this show is fundamentally determined by the song content. Sondheim may be a successful and highly revered songwriter, but for me, despite being superbly crafted, these songs simply don’t sizzle brightly or often enough to elevate this to a five star event. And they certainly don’t ignite instantly – they need time to fully appreciate. Yes, they’re lyrically very clever, sharply observed, and melodically tasteful, but there is a lack of obvious hooks. Some of the more memorable songs of the evening are “That Boy can Foxtrot” (brilliantly performed by Shelley Rivers), “Bring on the Girls”, “Ah but Underneath” (wonderfully performed by Markus Sodergren), “Marry Me a Little”, “There won’t be Trumpets”, “Rainbows”, and “Take me to the World”
Congratulations to the Stage Door Theatre for opening their doors to the public with such a polished and sophisticated production. “Marry Me a Little“ is a brave but exciting choice, well suited to the intimate nature of the venue. It kick starts the Stage Door Theatre’s new venture with a stylish flourish.