Actor provides insight into ‘Side by Side by Sondheim’

The Forum Theatre’s Kathy Hauptman has been wanting to stage “Side by Side by Sondheim” since Ray Wills – Wichita native and Broadway veteran – moved back to town three years ago.

“It’s a show that’s been on my list for a while because Ray personally worked with Stephen Sondheim on three shows. He is a valuable resource for insight into Sondheim’s music,” says Page, co-founder and producing artistic director of the theater.

“‘Side by Side’ is a revue but it feels like something more. What’s great about his songs is that they are so character-driven. There is so much character development that each song feels like its own wonderful little show,” says Hauptman, who will direct as well as design costumes.

“Sondheim is funny, poignant and relatable. He has the ability to go from farce to deep emotions. He is the transition from old Broadway of Rodgers & Hammerstein to the modern era of Stephen Schwartz,” Hauptman says, contrasting the era of “Oklahoma!” and “The King and I” with the era of “Godspell” and “Wicked.” “I just knew Ray could help make the most of this show – especially since he’s done it before with Karla.”

Hauptman is referring to Karla Burns, another Wichitan who triumphed on Broadway and London’s West End – notably in “Show Boat” – before returning home. Wills and Burns are fellow Wichita State theater grads who performed “Side by Side by Sondheim” in 1980 at the now-defunct Marple Theatre downtown before both launched careers in New York.

Wills and Burns will reunite for this four-person revue and will be joined by Alison Bridget Chambers, adjunct professor of theater at Newman University making her Forum debut, and Chelsey Moore, a familiar face at the Forum in such shows as “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner,” “Route 66” and “Blues in the Night.”

The revue, which had the rare distinction of all four cast members being nominated for individual Tony Awards when it was on Broadway in 1977, features more than 30 Sondheim songs from a dozen shows, including “Follies,” “Company,” “A Little Night Music,” “Gypsy,” “West Side Story” and “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.” There are also selections from rarely seen shows, like “Pacific Overtures” and “The Seven Percent Solution.” There are even three songs that were dropped from original runs but have since become recognized in their own right.

Laced between the songs are amusing and sophisticated stories of their origins, led by Burns as the narrator for the evening. Music director Steve Rue will provide solo piano accompaniment. Meg Parsley is choreographer, with set by Aaron Profit and lights by Sean Roberson.

Following opening night and the first Saturday matinee performances, cast members will entertain questions from audience members about the show, particularly Wills because of his personal experiences with Sondheim.

“It’s crazy to think that it’s been 35 years since Karla and I did this show at the Marple,” says Wills, best known for a 2½-year Broadway run with Mel Brooks’ record-setting “The Producers” during a successful 25-year Broadway career. He took a sabbatical from performing in 2012 to recharge his batteries by becoming an adjunct professor of theater at Newman University.

“‘Side by Side’ was also my first off-Broadway show in New York in 1988. I got good notices in the New York Times, but Sondheim didn’t come to see it because of a copyright dispute. I felt mortified, so I wrote him a letter saying I was sorry that he didn’t see the show and hoped he wouldn’t hold it (legal problem) against me,” Wills says.

“A few days later, his assistant called to invite me to his home. I was shaking when I walked in, but Steve couldn’t have been nicer. He told me he just didn’t like to go to his shows because he draws too much attention if he’s in the audience. He’s really pretty shy.”

Wills later worked directly with Sondheim on three other shows.

“The first was ‘Wise Guys’ in 1999 with Victor Garber and Nathan Lane. Oddly, it was Steve’s only flop, despite being directed by Oscar-winning director Sam Mendes,” Wills says. “Then we did a pre-Broadway ‘Assassins,’ but it was postponed because of 9/11. When that happened, I was tapped to go into ‘The Producers,’ which turned out to be a really good gig. The third time was ‘Anyone Can Whistle’ with Patti LuPone in Chicago.”

Wills calls Sondheim, now 85, “our pre-eminent living Broadway composer,” and says it was a “dream come true” to work with such a legend.

“He never gave personal advice, only professional. All he cared about was if you could interpret his material. I remember singing a song in ‘Wise Guys’ that made him laugh. If he was pleased, he would tell you. He validated that I had made the right career choice,” Wills says.

Karla Burns also feels a personal connection with Sondheim’s music, although she never worked with him directly.

“In the show, I sing ‘I’m Still Here’ from ‘Follies.’ After my problems of the past few years, it’s very appropriate,” says Burns, who was nominated for a Tony Award as Queenie in the 1983 revival of “Show Boat” and won the 1991 Olivier Award when she reprised her role in London.

After a career that took her to opera houses and theaters all over the world, Burns returned to Wichita for family reasons and was diagnosed with a goiter on her vocal cords that threatened her voice. Following surgery and a year of rehabilitation, she returned to the stage over the past couple of years at the Forum, notably in “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum” and “Hello, Dolly!”

“To be able to come back is exhilarating,” Burns says. “And ‘I’m Still Here’ has personal resonance for me.”

This story was originally published July 10, 2015 at 3:33 PM with the headline "Actor provides insight into ‘Side by Side by Sondheim’."