As a brand new off-west end theatre in the heart of Covent Garden, the Stage Door Theatre has a lot riding on its opening production, Stephen Sondheim’s one act musical Marry Me A Little, which was last seen in London in a sell-out run at the St James Theatre (now The Other Palace).
In Marry Me A Little, the two central characters are separated and alone, each in their own New York apartment, they never actually ‘meet’, instead imagining what they would say to each other, and the secrets they would share if they ever were to cross paths.
The plot itself is fairly fluid. Previous productions have imagined them as going through a break-up, others see them as potential lovers. There have been same sex versions, and the song list of entirely sung through numbers also seems to be at the director’s discretion.
What allows this flexibility is the fact that the musical is comprised of a collection of ‘trunk’ songs; numbers which were cut from the final productions of other Sondheim musicals, there are several from Follies, as well as A Little Night Music and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, and the title number comes from Company.
In Robert McWhir’s production the songs are given prominence, under the musical direction of Aaron Clingham, and the audience are allowed to create their own story around them. The female character shows signs of optimism, while the male character is all but defeated, packing his belongings into a cardboard box with an eviction notice lying on the coffee table.
In the fairly intimate space of this new theatre, it’s not possible for the two leads to be separated in a physical sense, which somewhat takes away that element of the musical, however, it’s been cleverly done so that both occupy the same space, while (comically at times) never coming face to face.
The cast of two are fantastic, and apart from a sense they were holding back a little, Shelley Rivers and Markus Sodergren deliver those complex Sondheim numbers as if they’ve been doing it for years. Rivers performs an astonishing version of ‘There Won’t Be Trumpets’ and Sodergren’s ‘Bring on the Girls’ is a delight.
Running at just over an hour this is Sondheim up close and personal. Marry Me A Little, has a wealth of fantastic tunes, and at the new Stage Door Theatre, we get to see them performed in a much more raw and intimate way. The future looks bright for this new space in the heart of the theatre district.
Marry Me A Little is at the Stage Door Theatre until 13th April 2024
