PUTTING IT TOGETHER

BY STEPHEN SONDHEIM

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SOUTH COAST REPERTORY

 

 

Putting It Together' is nicely put together

SCR finally scores a musical success with a Sondheim revue.

The secret to its success? Simple: get the right performers, director and musical team for the job and everything pulls into place. This staging employs a combination of impressive talent that's new to SCR.  Besides the solid casting, the key to this production is DeGruccio. SCR wisely hired a director with a musical-theater specialty and a solid track record. His experience shows in group numbers: the blocking seems effortless and natural as songs morph from solo interludes to group choruses. 

 - PAUL HODGINS, THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

 

...director Nick DeGruccio's facility for choreographed staging and his innate sense of theater help these actors elevate the work from clichéd to memorable. 

Singers can often deliver music in a pleasant manner, but it takes fine direction and acting chops to elicit an emotional response from the audience. This show succeeds in all areas. - BackStage West, Critic’s Pick

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One thing DeGruccio gets right, aided by musical director Dennis Castellano and his out-of-sight fellow musicians, is the way the music bubbles up in the penthouse with dramatic credibility, never overpowering the scene. The effect can be heartbreaking...  

- Charles McNulty, LA Times