Side By Side By Sondheim
Louise
Gold starred as "Millie" (in this production known as
"Lulu") at The Chelmsford Civic Theatre, on 22 - 30 October 1999
Cast:
"Julia" ("Lizzie") - Liz Robertson
"David" - Robert Meadmore
"Millie" ("Lulu") - Louise Gold
"Ned", The Narrator - David
Kernan
Production Team
Music and Lyrics - Stephen Sondheim
Additional Music - Leonard Bernstein, Mary Rodgers,
Richard Rodgers, and, Jule Styne
Narrators Script (original) - Ned Sherrin
Original Production – 15 October 1975, The Stables, Wavenden, with Millicent Martin as “Millie”
Director - David Kernan
Musical Director - David John Laugharne
Second Piano - Nathan Martin
Musical Staging - Irving Davis
Lighting Designer - Andy Chafer
Sound Designer - Geoff Wheatley
Deputy Stage Manager -
Setting by - Newpalm
Productions
For
a full Review/Account of the show, please click here.
It
is perhaps worth mentioning that at one point in the show Pianist Nathan
Martin had to play a piano with a six-months pregnant actress sitting on top
of it. He also had to help her off it.
All
four performers in this production subsequently contributed to Side By
Side's 25th Anniversary Gala in Wavenden,
and Side By Side By Sondheim 30th
Anniversary Gala in
The
show's Cack-handed trio, David Kernan, Liz
Robertson and Louise Gold had previously appeared together in Noel/Cole: Let’s Do It
and on the album Noel/Cole: Let’s Do It (Recording)
Louise
Gold and David Kernan had also appeared together in Broadway To Brighton (where Louise Gold
also sang If Momma Were Married) , Sondheim At The Barbican (where David
Kernan also sang: Anyone Can Whistle
and Buddy’s Blues, and Louise Gold sang on You Could
Drive A Person Crazy, only not in as Maxine), and possibly Comedy Tonight (where the
are billed as singing Comedy Tonight).
David
Kernan
had previously directed Liz Robertson and Louise Gold in Chicago & Company
Louise
Gold and Liz
Robertson may have previously appeared together, along with David Kernan, and, Robert Meadmore,
in Will-Aid, which was directed by David Kernan.
David Kernan, and, Robert Meadmore may have previously appeared in Kids At Heart.
Louise
Gold and Robert Meadmore had starred together some 14 years previously
in The Metropolitan Mikado , the following year they were in a
concert of highlights from it Ratepayers' Iolanthe
& Metropolitan Mikado; and the year after that they appeared in a one
night concert staging of a musical called The Soap
Opera. They have also appeared together in television in Julia And Company. They have since taken part
in Hubert Gregg’s Memorial Service.
Liz
Robertson, besides
being the female understudy in the original production of Side By Side By Sondheim, had sung April’s part, including the
Liz
Robertson had
previously appeared in The
Royal Variety Performance (1982), A
Time To Start Living, and, CLIC’s 18th Birthday
Celebration, she went on to appear in Regents
Park 70th Anniversary Gala, and, Happily
Ever After.
Liz
Robertson’s recording
credits include: Cole Porter - Night
And Day
Robert
Meadmore’s recording credits include Simply Musicals, The Great Musicals – Dashing Heroes,
Blushing Maidens, and, 100 Hits Musicals.
Louise
Gold went on to appear
in the Sondheim musical Follies
Nathan
Martin went on to
appear at Dress Circle Grand
Reopening.
Robert Meadmore
went on to appear in A Love Letter To Dan.
David Kernan, and, Liz Robertson’s
recording credits include The Great Musicals –
Laughter And Tears. Their radio credits include The Radio 2 Arts Programme
Chichester Festival 1994.
Louise
Gold has been involved
with various performances of the song Beautiful Girls in: Sondheim At The Barbican Side By Side By Side By Sondheim 25th Anniversary
Gala, and, of course, Follies .
Louise
Gold has gone on be
involved in performances of the song Comedy Tonight in The Regents Park 70th Gala, Curtain Up, and a very different version of the song
in The Company Of
Mary Poppins.
Louise
Gold has also subsequently had the
opportunity to sing some of the songs from this show that her character
“Millie” doesn’t sing in this show, for example in Follies
she sang Could I Leave You and in Curtain
Up she sang Broadway Baby.
Louise
Gold has also gone on to sing Mazeppa’s part in You Gotta Get A Gimmick properly in context (complete with playing
the trumpet properly) in Gypsy.
After
Ned Sherrin’s death The Company Of
Mary Poppins’s late night FUNdraising special was
dedicated to him.
Liz Robertson went on to get Robert Meadmore, and, Louise Gold to take part in Shopping With The
Stars 2008.
Louise Gold, and, Liz Robertson
went on to take part in A Celebration Of
The Life And Work Of Dick Vosburgh, and, Shopping With The Stars 2009.
David Kernan may have previously taken part in Thing A Thon. His
recording credits include The Great Musicals - From Broadway to
Hollywood.
Sondheim’s lyrics to Leonard Bernstein’s Music can also be found in Candide
In Concert.
Critics Comments
“Robert Meadmore,
Liz Robertson and Louise Gold sing a variety of songs with consummate ease and
successfully disguising all the hard work that went into obtaining such split
second timing” Peter Andrews, CHELMSFORD WEEKLEY NEWS, 28 October 1999
“There’s an all Essex born highly
experienced musical theatre cast clearly enjoying themselves, led by director
David Kernan - Liz Robertson, Louise Gold and Robert Meadmore create together a highly entertaining evening
ranging from West Side Story and A Funny Thing to Follies and A Little Night
Music” Mary Redman, ESSEX CHRONICLE, 29 October 1999.
“Then there is the ladylike Broadway Baby
Liz Robertson, and more earthy natural comedienne Louise Gold, doing her
Dietrich thing with I Never Do Anything Twice from Seven Per Cent Solution and
blowing a rude trumpet in Gypsy’s You Gotta Get A
Gimmick.” Mary Redman, THE STAGE, 28 October 1999
“Louise Gold was generally impressive, and particular high
spots of her performance were the pathos of Send In The Clowns, the bitchy
cynicism inherent in You Must Meet My Wife and the definite flavour of Marlene
Dietrich in her handling of Madam’s catalogue of sexual blunders I Never Do
Anything Twice. Despite the fact that she is expecting a baby in January, she
also coped well with the gymnastics necessary for You’ve Gotta
Get A Gimmick. Her only real difficulty was with the shows weak point, namely
Getting Married Today. In handling the ‘Amy’ role, she did not have the benefit
of Millicent Martin’s experience all those years ago in belting out fast tempo
numbers on TW3 and consequently had to take the piece at a slower tempo. That
said Getting Married today is a notoriously difficulty piece for any performer
of Sondheim.”
Links
about Side By Side By Sondheim
TheatreNow.Com interview: Gold On
Stage: Louise Gold In Follies: http://www.theatrenow.com/asp/link.htm?news.asp?art=3430&cat=1 This is an interview carried out
by Theatre.Com’s
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