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 - Ian Mason
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), and, A Time To
Start Living, 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.
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.
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.
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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