Lapine-directed Sondheim revue coming to the Alliance Theatre this Spring

Prepare to squeal, Atlanta musical theater lovers: The Alliance Theatre is closing out its 40th anniversary season with a world-premiere Stephen Sondheim revue. There's good news and bad news here, though. I will assume you want the bad news first.

The bad news is, the title is incredibly lame: iSondheim: aMusical Revue. Because it's hip to throw spelling and capitalization to the wind! And really, isn't a techier Sondheim what the masses are clamoring for anyway? I say bring on "Merrily We LOL Along"!

The good-- dare I say great?-- news is that longtime Sondheim collaborator James Lapine will helm the production. iSondheim will integrate mixed media, as well as commentary by Sondheim himself.

Title aside, this show is going to get national attention from theater types, and if previous joint efforts are any indication, it will be worthy of the buzz. Lapine and Sondheim are each powerhouses in their own right. Sondheim is the man behind over half a century's worth of smart, wordy, ground-breaking American musicals, including Sweeney Todd, which saw a theatrical release last winter. Lapine has directed several of Sondheim's best-received works, including Into the Woods and Sunday in the Park with George. He also directed The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, which debuted at the Alliance for its national tour. So yeah, massive musical theater street cred on both counts. (Don't believe me? They both have several friends named Tony.)

iSondheim opens April 15, 2009. For more information, check out AllianceTheatre.org.

Related links:
iSondheim at AllianceTheatre.org
Sondheim.com
YouTube.com: Charlie Rose - Stephen Sondheim / James Lapine