Updating my Sondheim spreadsheet this morning (because of course I have a Sondheim spreadsheet), I have now seen ten of the
17 musicals for which he wrote music and lyrics, in a total of 31 productions (
most of which you can read about here). Can you guess which theater company I've seen do Sondheim the most? Theater Latte Da of course, whom I've seen do seven different shows (they've done more, but a few were before I "discovered" them). I was able to check Sondheim show #10 off my list* this morning thanks to their new production of the rarely done
Passion, which Latte Da's Artistic Director and director of this piece Justin Lucero calls "one of the most divisive works in the American musical canon." I can see why it's not done as often as, say,
Into the Woods (the Sondheim musical I've seen the most productions of). It's a messy love triangle with not very likable or even at times understandable characters. As Justin notes, it's "not a traditional love story - it's a meditation on obsession, vulnerability, and the aching rawness of human need." It's not a pretty love story, but the score is very pretty, the characters are fascinating and compelling, and Latte Da's production is all-around gorgeous. It's an unusual musical for sure, but that's not a bad thing, in fact in this case it's a very good thing, and I'm grateful to Theater Latte Da for the chance to experience yet another intricate creation by arguably the best musical theater creator of the 20th Century.
The messy, tragic, gorgeous Passion continues through July 13 at the Ritz Theater.
