Sondheim’s magic close-up

You could say that Putting It Together is one of Stephen Sondheim’s most playful creations. A glittering revue stitched from some of his most beloved songs.

More than three decades after it first dazzled audiences, this celebration of Sondheim’s genius is returning to Sydney, taking over the intimate Foundry Theatre from January in a production anchored by a truly heavyweight Australian cast.

Set at an all-night, black-tie cocktail party, the show moves with the effortless wit and emotional sharpness that made Sondheim one of musical theatre’s most beloved voices. It toys with the messy intersections of love, ambition and desire, threading together songs from across his wide-ranging canon.

As Producer Craig Donnell said, this season brings together “the finest Australian talent”, a rare convergence of stars whose collective credits stretch from Broadway to the West End and the world’s major stages.

Among them is Michael Cormick, one of Australia’s most recognisable leading men, who returns to Sondheim after roles in The Phantom of the Opera, Beauty and the Beast, Sunset Boulevard and dozens more.

Speaking about the emotional weight of performing Sondheim’s music, he Cormick told The AJN it has been a lifelong dream.

“I think really it’s every actor singer’s dream to perform Sondheim, because his writing is so complex and in a way, I felt so difficult to learn and to get inside,” Cormick said. “But the payoff is there within the storytelling. Technically, it’s difficult, but then the way he writes the melodies and marries them with the clever lyrics, it’s actually such a joy, once you get it right, and such a great observation of life and relationships. There’s something really fulfilling about it.”

The production’s narrative is anchored in its characters. Audiences meet a wealthy couple, their younger counterparts and a narrator, all navigating the shifting tensions of an evening that grows more revealing as the night goes on.

Cormick explained that the show’s structure, a curated thread of songs spanning multiple musicals, works in surprisingly cohesive and often emotionally piercing ways.

“It’s so many musicals, for lack of a better word, mashed together,” he laughed.

Cormick will perform opposite Caroline O’Connor, with whom he shares a long professional history stretching across Sydney and London. The ensemble, rounded out by Bert LaBonté, Nigel Huckle and Stefanie Caccamo, represents the kind of lineup that seldom appears together on one stage.

“It really is sort of the crème de la crème,” Cormick said.

Though Sondheim’s score is expansive, the performance space at the Foundry Theatre is small, which Cormick explained works in the production’s favour, bringing the audience much further into the show.

Cormick believes this is exactly where Putting It Together belongs.

“I think it’ll work so beautifully in that way, because you can get involved in the characters, rather than it be a big style musical that’s always fabulous, but further away,” he said. “This is really quite intimate, and therefore, people can really feel that personal space.”

For Cormick, this means reigning in the performance a little bit. He referred to it as “micro performing”.

“[In] theatre, you’ve often got to be a lot bigger. You know that we say you’ve got to hit the back wall,” he explained. “This being such an intimate piece, and storytelling being quite personal, I think that’s where it translates. And it’s a different way of working. We can afford to be a little more internal with this, and that’s a really lovely thing to be able to do, rather than whack it out to the back”

For audiences, Cormick hopes the show reminds audiences just how wonderfully talented Sondheim is, and also that they feel seen through the characters.

“For those who don’t know Sondheim, I hope they get an appreciation for his incredible writing. And also I just hope that they feel the characters,” he said. “And I think within this story too, it’s really relatable. It’s really human. And like I said before, he writes so beautifully about relationships with yourself and with others. But because of the relationships in here, there’s a very new relationship and a very old relationship, I think everybody will be able to somehow resonate”

Putting It Together is at the Foundry Theatre, Pyrmont from January 6-15. For tickets, visit foundrytheatre.com.au/putting-it-together