Posted: 11/13/24 at 3:08pm
Had the opportunity to see this excellent production at East West Players last week, and hey, Sondheim lovers, this production contains a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
While there were some rough-around-the-edges line stumbles at the second preview, the production is beautifully thought out and the cast is really solid, including an understudy (Jordan Fan) who never missed a beat with presumedly way less rehearsal time than everyone else. A really solid presentation of an underperformed show would have been worth the drive from San Francisco for me, but the riveting performance of Jon Jon Briones as the Reciter made it a can't miss; he was searingly intense and magnetic.
But an excellent production of a rarely performed Sondheim show is one thing; a production that manages to change the nature of one of the songs through casting is another. Gedde Wantanabe's performance is delightful for the length of the evening; his performance of "Chrysanthemum tea" is a highlight of the evening and he provides able support in a small supporting role elsewhere. But then he comes out for "Someone in a Tree", playing the Old man, the older version of the character he created in 1976. "If it happened, I was there," he sings, and the philosophical nature of the song became something more. Suddenly, the song was about about the history of the show, the history of theater, the history of this theater company, the history of this community. A beloved member of the Asian American arts community is both in character looking back at his life and out of character looking at his career. I'm not a member of the AAPI community, but I felt the weight and wonder of this moment so strongly. It was something I'll never forget.
