Ogden venue is miscast as Sondheim revue site

SIDE BY SIDE BY SONDHEIM, Peery's Egyptian Theater, 2415 Washington Blvd., Ogden, closes July 9 (395-3227, 626-8500 or 1-800-978-8457). Running time: 2 hours, 10 minutes (one intermission).

OGDEN — I've harped about this before (and this may not be the last time). Peery's Egyptian Theater is a beautifully restored "movie palace," but it doesn't work that well for live theater.

Two of this summer's Utah Musical Theatre productions are playing in repertory at the venue through July 9. "Kiss Me, Kate," a full-blown Broadway musical, makes good use of the space, but the latest offering in the series — an intimate, off-Broadway-style revue paying tribute to the clever lyrics and music of Stephen Sondheim — is out of place.

"Side by Side by Sondheim" is a tune-filled revue that is a throwback to the kind of shows UMT used to stage in the black-box theater in the basement of Weber State University's Browning Center. (Does anyone remember "Red, Hot and Cole"?)

Unfortunately — despite an ensemble with some sharp, mostly professional talent — the cast is never able to penetrate that invisible wall between the footlights and the audience. (And, on opening night, the size of the audience was fewer than 100, spread over a space that normally seats nearly 800.) Ogden, like Salt Lake City, is attempting to draw people downtown, but Utahns don't seem to flock to Sondheim like they do to Lloyd Webber, Lerner & Loewe or Rodgers & Hammerstein.

Except for "West Side Story," "Gypsy" and "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum" — all represented in this revue — most of the tunes are either from shows few local audiences are acquainted with or they were cut from shows and rarely, if ever, heard again.

The men in the cast — native Utahn Justin Ivie, Robert Anthony Jones and Whit Baldwin — fare considerably better than most of the five women. The latter, especially in their ensemble numbers, sounded artificial and shrill, probably due to microphone and sound problems.

One of the solo disappointments was Polly Seale's rendition of "I Never Do Anything Twice" (also known as "The Madam's Song" from the 1976 film "The Seven Percent Solution"). She doesn't have near the comedy flair of Millicent Martin or Judy Kaye, two of the London and Broadway performers who've recorded it.

And there was an odd bit of casting in "You Gotta Have a Gimmick" by the three strippers in "Gypsy." Seale and Ginger Simons were OK (but, again, a little shrill), but Whit Baldwin — not in drag — came in bumping and grinding around the stage with a huge boa. This segment was more vulgar than clever.

UMT would be better off moving all of its shows back to the WSU campus. I was told last year that the sound problems ensued because UMT handled its own sound and did not work with the theater's in-house sound crew. That may be the problem again this year.

Sensitivity rating: Younger children may be bored. Most songs are geared to older audiences.

---

E-mail: ivan@desnews.com