Review: 3 FACES OF STEVE: SONDHEIM IN CONCERT at Odyssey Theatre

3 Faces of Steve: Sondheim in Concert is an intimate new song compendium celebrating Stephen Sondheim at the Odyssey Theatre on Sepulveda in West Los Angeles, through September 29th.  This is an elegant, stunning night of exquisite storytelling, music and song.  I absolutely loved it.  Memorable, entertaining and show-stopping, 3 Faces of Steve is a special treat to be savored.  The lavish, luxurious operatic voices and powerhouse emotive performances of Angelina Réaux, Michael Sokol and Bernardo Bermudez shine in the intimate, warm space of the Odyssey.

There is something insightful about stripping away all the spectacle, noise, and razzle dazzle of Broadway.  In 3 Faces of Steve: Sondheim in Concert, director and star Angelina Réaux introduces these Stephen Sondheim songs simply and elegantly, cabaret style, with exquisite skill and real heart.  The gorgeous piano accompaniment by virtuoso music director William Ah Sing is so tender, resonant, and complex that you do not miss any other kind of orchestration.

Both as a composer and a lyricist, Stephen Sondheim was always on the hunt for more flavorful, piquant notes than the usual epic chorus line loves, dreams, and sentimentality of Broadway.  Sondheim looked for odd little human moments that defy easy categorization, transfixing stories with a deep vein of irreverence, darkness, and mordant, peppery humor.  The kaleidoscopic tonal palette in the 3 Faces of Steve is a testament to Sondheim’s imagination and the gorgeous, genius work of Angelina Réaux, Michael Sokol and Bernardo Bermudez.

If Sondheim did not originate the modern Broadway sound, he certainly popularized it — the slightly acidic, quippy, sing-song-y, tuneless songs that are always talk-singing, the contemporary-pop-jazz crossover musical sound that I personally loathe.  When I listen to some of Sondheim’s musicals recorded, they can feel grating to me.  Yet, I consider Sondheim's Gypsy to be one of the greatest musicals of all time.   

I recently attended a transcendent, truly joyous production of Sondheim’s Merrily We Roll Along by the Inland Valley Repertory Theatre.  And I learned something.  Even Sondheim’s offbeat songs can sound incredible and sweetly sonorous when they are live, with great performers and musicians.  And there is a bittersweet texture and human profundity in his work that is truly unmatched.

In his lyrics, at his worst, Stephen Sondheim can feel a little brittle, cranky, and misanthropic, slyly pleased with his own wit and rather fed up with the whole human experiment.  But at his best?  In those moments Sondheim’s laser-beam perceptiveness and unparalleled subtle texturing create something staggeringly original, that hits you hard and beautifully, like a punch.  At 3 Faces of Steve, I laughed out loud until I almost fell out of my chair and I cried until my mascara ran.

Consider the enticing smorgasbord of human stories on display in 3 Faces of Steve, songs brilliantly chosen by Angelina Réaux.

Angelina Réaux and Michael Sokol are two 19th century Londoners discovering the sly and varied delights of cannibalism in “A Little Priest”:

“Try the priest / Mm, heavenly / Ah / Not as hearty as bishop, perhaps, but then not as bland as curate, either.”

After an impulsive tryst, Angelina Réaux and Bernardo Bermudez wrestle with awkwardness, boredom, longing, and suffocation in “Barcelona”:

“Oh well, I guess okay / What? / I’ll stay / What? / Oh God!”

In the sublime “Can That Boy Foxtrot”, Michael Sokol and Bernardo Bermudez hilariously sing the praises of a rather odious man whose redeeming charm lies in one single department:

“As dumbbells go / He's rather slow / And as for being saintly, even faintly, no / But who needs Albert Schweitzer when the lights are low? / And oh boy, oh boy / Can that boy f…..oxtrot!”

In the defiant, gutsy, heartrending, show-stopping ode to survival (Sondheim was inspired by Joan Crawford) “I’m Still Here”, Angelina Réaux sings her heart out as an actress meditating on the vagaries of life:

“First you're another / Sloe-eyed vamp, / Then someone's mother, / Then you're camp.”

Bernardo Bermudez is a bachelor facing his 35th birthday, wondering if he should really stay alone in the profound “Being Alive”:

“Let me be used / Vary my days / But alone is alone / Not alive / Somebody crowd me with love / Somebody force me to care / Somebody let come through / I’ll always be there / As frightened as you, / to help us survive / Being alive.”

Adam Driver sung “Being Alive” hauntingly in the Noah Baumbach 2019 film Marriage Story, but hearing it live from Bernardo Bermudez gave me chills and a whole new resonance.

There is an absolute embarrassment of riches on display at the Odyssey in 3 Faces of Steve, strikingly memorable song after strikingly memorable song.   Each song is like the best part and the finale of any other show.  Angelina Réaux, Michael Sokol, and Bernardo Bermudez prove that not only do they have world-class, exceptional and dazzling voices, but they are also deeply gifted actors who can work magic.  3 Faces of Steve: Sondheim in Concert is bewitching.

The staging and lighting at the Odyssey Theatre is elegant, simple, and moody, all lush tones of sapphire, midnight blue, and velvety crimson, with superb work from Leigh Allen and Chris Bell.  3 Faces of Steve is beautifully executed by director Angelina Réaux, musical director William Ah Sing, and producer Beth Hogan.

I have seen so many great productions at the Odyssey recently, including the haunting Stalin’s Master Class directed by Ron Sossi, which remains powerfully with me.  As I mentioned in my review for Stalin’s Master Class, the Odyssey Theatre is absolutely a cultural treasure, distinguishing itself in the Los Angeles theatre scene with provocative, avant garde, untamed, wildly entertaining new and classic productions, with matchless artistic direction from Ron Sossi.  Powerhouse producer Beth Hogan brings an exquisite, elevated sense of tone and texture and detail to everything she touches, a great intelligence and artistic aliveness infusing her work.

3 Faces of Steve: Sondheim in Concert is a true and rare pleasure not to be missed.

Photos by Cooper Bates

3 Faces of Steve: Sondheim in Concert runs at the Odyssey Theatre through September 29th.  The Odyssey Theatre is located at 2055 S. Sepulveda Blvd., West Los Angeles, 90025.  There is free parking on site at the theatre, and abundant street parking.  To get tickets, call (310) 477-2055 or click on the button below:

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