Adrian Marchuck, Elodie Gillett (Photo by Cylla von Tiedemannn)
Ah, But Underneath . . .
Sondheim reviewsical plumbs the depths of relationships and love
by Stuart Munro
@StuartMunroTO
Sometimes even when everything is perfect in love, nothing is actually going right. Such is the case with our young couple in Tarragon’s Marry me a Little. This review musical, like Putting it Together and Side by Side by Sondheim before it, uses lesser known songs by master composer Stephen Sondheim (in this case, mostly songs that were cut from shows early in his career) to tell an original story – a young composer and a young performer meet, fall in love, and fall apart.
OK. So the plot may not be all that original, but in the hands of more-than-capable director, Adam Brazier, and performers Elodie Gillett and Adrian Marchuk, this piece soars off the stage. As the young writer, Mr. Marchuk is full of passion and life. His powerful voice easily fills the intimate Tarragon Mainspace, and his comic timing is absolutely to die for. But this is nothing compared to the raw emotion he exhibits at the show’s finale. As the young performer, Ms. Gillett is nearly as strong. While her voice is a tad too thin to hold its own against Marchuk’s, she more than makes up for this with her natural ease on stage – she’s funny, warm and charming, and it’s easy to see why these two would fall in love.
