Swingin’ With performed 54 Below on March 10 with their tribute to the late Stephen Sondheim. Led by bandleader Pablo Rossil, the Swingin’ With shows take famous music and put a jazzy new spin on it, and on this occasion Mr. Rossil has organized a four-actor band strongly associated with Mr. Sondheim, a singer with a new Sondheim, and a band hotter than fire and featured a song from each musical that Mr. Sondheim did the lyrics and music for, beginning with A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum and ending with the 2004 production of The Grenouilles.
The band even took center stage for two numbers, one from Pacific Overtures and one from Road Show. Mr. Rossil gave each guest some time to discuss their experience working with Mr. Sondheim on their particular show – Patrick Cassidy originated a role in the original Assassins, Ann Morrison was the very first Mary Flynn in Merrily We Roll Along, Sarah Rice was LA Joanna in Sweeney Todd and Ramona Mallory didn’t just play Ann Egerman in the revival of A Little Night Music, her parents were Victoria Mallory and Mark Lambert, early Ann Egerman and Henrik Egerman when Night Music opened on Broadway in 1973.
For her part, Eleri Ward spoke about the resounding success of her Sondheim acoustic album A Perfect Little Death. The cast of six was charming, engaging, professional and perfectly off-book (a growing rarity in band shows) and the band, made up of Nick Petrillo (piano), Dan Finn (bass), Chris Latona (drums), Summer Camargo (trumpet), Chris Lewis (reeds) and Ilai Macaggi (trombone), were sensational.
Find other shows to see on the 54 Below website HERE.
Visit the “Swingin’ With” site HERE.
Photos by Stephen Mosher
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