‘Putting It Together’: A Pitch-Perfect Way To ‘Revue’ The Music Of Sondheim

Putting It Together follows a pleasingly simple formula for success: take a pentuplet of extraordinarily talented performers, give them material by one of the greatest musical theatre composers to ever do it, and reap the benefits.

I don’t say that to at all discredit substantial work that’s gone into putting together Putting It Together… in fact, this show is really quite remarkable. As it strings together the various eras and tones of Sondheim’s work into a show with a light narrative, this is a relentlessly smile-inducing way to experience the greatest hits of a musical theatre giant.

Set at a cocktail party with two couples – one older, one younger – and a noticeably non-silent witness, there is a story in Putting It Together; but as the delightfully observant Bert LaBonté points out in the opening Invocation and Instructions from The Frogs, there’s not an awful lot of plot to behold. Rather, the show is far more focused on capturing the emotional truths of each song – and if they flow into each other well, all the better for it.

And capture those truths it does: it can’t possibly be understated how absurdly talented the cast and accompanying musicians are. As they step onto the stage, designed as an estimation of a high-end but somewhat dull New York apartment, their skill is immediately apparent from the very first moment.

Putting It Together has a truly sensation

Under the musical direction of Kevin Wang, who leads a small ensemble of three fantastic musicians, the cast leads a celebration of some of Sondheim’s best work and musical theatre in general. Consisting of the aforementioned LaBonté, Caroline O’Connor and Michael Cormick as the older couple and Nigel Huckle and Stefanie Caccamo as the young lovebirds, the cast are relentless in their sheer ability.

Once Putting It Together gets in motion, it’s home to some of the most sensationally performed musical theatre pieces I’ve heard in recent memory. Each cast member has their own chance to shine – Michael Cormick’s sorrowful solos, Nigel Huckle’s ballads of deep yearning and Bert LaBonté’s consistently cheeky pieces – but it’s fair to say that the show’s women totally steal it.

Stage veteran Caroline O’Connor is simply transcendent as the ‘Wife’ character, embodying a range of varying and complex feelings across the show’s runtime, all while being absurdly charming and genuinely hysterical in her performance. Her energy is matched by the brilliant Stefanie Caccamo, who turns in an equally effervescent performance as the younger of the two women with some genuinely jaw-dropping vocals throughout.

In all, it means that this show is a terrific honouring of Stephen Sondheim’s work and a delightful show that manages to stand on its own two feet. A meaningful, supremely fun exploration of musical theatre history, it’s remarkably simple to get on board with the sheer joy on display in Putting It Together.