BBC Proms-Sondheim's 80th Birthday

I was hugely excited about this prom. The BBC Proms run every year in the Royal Albert Hall, and tend to be concerts of classical music and opera. There is occasionally a touch of musical theatre, but it would seem that that the Proms only feature a certain type of music.

Yet this year, David Charles Abell (who is the Musical Director of Love Never Dies, and apparently also conducted the tenth anniversary concert of Les Miserables) joined forces with the BBC and Stephen Sondheim (who claims to have little involvement in the concert) to celebrate Sondheim's 80th birthday.

Like the The Night of 1000 Voices, the programme featured segments for Sondheim's best-known works, including the best opening number ever-'Instruction & Inovcation to the Audience' from his 1974 work The Frogs. Performed with good humour by Simon Russell Beale and Daniel Evans .

Follies was the first musical represented. It is the story of a group of old people having a reunion, which brings back memories of their younger years. I don't really enjoy it on record (*hides from Sondheim obsessives*). That being said 'Too Many Mornings' performed by Julian Ovenden (*swoons*) and Maria Friedman was beautiful, even if the age gap between the two was a little jarring. Caroline O'Connor (who featured in Moulin Rouge!) belted out 'Broadway Baby' in one of the most Kander & Ebb-esque/Fosse-esque performances of a Sondheim song, which is not surpising considering she has spent the past few years playing Velma Kelly in Chicago.

We were then transported to the 2005 revival of Sunday in the Park with George, with Daniel Evans and Jenna Russell reprising their roles as Georges/George and Dot/Marie, performing the title song and 'Move On', which is a beautiful song. Russell (who will be playing The Baker's Wife in the revival of Into the Woods this summer) was perfectly in character.

Ovenden and Evans then performed 'Agony' from Into the Woods, in the show this is sung by Cinderella's Prince and Rapunzel's Prince as they discuss how hard it is to get hold of their respective princesses. Personally, my favourite version is the Reprise from Act 2, which ends with the line 'Oh well, back to my wife'. Friedman than sang a revised version of 'Children Will Listen', a far more out-of-show lyric. It was a moving performance, and it really suprises me that Friedman (who has performed in several Sondheim shows) has not yet played The Witch in Into the Woods.

It was then on to the most talked about section of the evening, the A Little Night Music part. Which featured Dame Judi Dench singing 'Send in the Clowns'. Dench played Desiree Armfeldt, who sings the song in the show, at the National in the 1990s. Whilst I love Catherine Zeta-Jones' performance on the most-recent Broadway cast album, this song is especially poignant when performed by a woman of Dench's age. She made me well-up from the very beginning-whilst she doesn't have a flawless voice, her acting carried the song perfectly. Yet, I particuarly enjoyed the soloist performance of 'A Weekend in the Country', featuring O'Connor as Petra, Russell as Anne Egerman (who manages to make her voice sound really young), Russell Beale as Fredrik Egerman, Maria Friedman as Countess Charlotte, Julian Ovenden as Carl-Magnus (again playing opposite Friedman) and Daniel Evans as Henrik Egerman. I adored it-it was a brilliant closer on Act One.

Act Two opens with a Sweeney Todd segment, featuring opera singer Bryn Terfel. Who was terrifying in 'Soliloquy'. Maria Friedman joined him as Mrs Lovett for 'A Little Priest' which was hilarious, and showed off Sondheim's clever humour.

Ovenden then knocked the ball out of the park with 'Being Alive' from Company. Although I still believe that Raul Esparza owns this song, Ovenden's much more operatic version was powerful, and carried wonderfully over the full BBC Orchestra.

Then came my favourite moment of the concert 'Everybody Ought to have a Maid', performed by Russell Beale, Evans, Ovenden and Terfel. The song is already amusing through its word play, but with these four men (one being a classical actor, and another being an opera singer) singing it, complete with dance moves, it was a highlight of the evening.

The show came to a close with 'Our Time', which is one of my favourite songs from Merrily We Roll Along, performed by students from the Children in Need Performing Arts Fund. It wasn't the *best* performance, but then, if I wear in my early twenties and performing at the Albert Hall in front of Stephen Sondheim, I'd be scared stiff.

Finally, came a choral 'Sunday' from Sunday in the Park... and finally a roof-raising rendition of 'Side by Side' from Company.

There will be numbers of people complaining that certain songs were left out (such as 'I'm Losing My Mind from Follies) yet I believe it was a wonderful tribute to Sondheim, for whom this was his first ever time at the Albert Hall. He is a true musical theatre legend and deserved this wonderful tribute.

Nine

I'd never pass up a chance to see a musical on film. Yet, I'd only heard bad things about Rob Marshall's star-studded adaptation of Nine, which had huge expectations due to its amazing cast and Marshall's previous success with Chicago in 2002.

A lot of reviewers cited problems with the plot which is somewhat confusing. Guido Contini (Daniel Day-Lewis) is a hugely popular Italian filmmaker, who seems to have hit a creative blockage when it comes to his latest film. Despite the constant questioning from his producer (Ricky Tognazzi) and his wardrobe designer confidante, Lilli (Judi Dench), Guido remains more distracted by his relationships than creating 'Italia', his new film. And boy, does his have women problems. He is married to the lovely and devoted Luisa (Marion Cottilard), but has a mistress in the form of the also married Carla (Penelope Cruz) and his muse is the beautiful Claudia (Nicole Kidman). He is also seduced by the American journalist, Stephanie (Kate Hudson) and clings to the memories of his mother (Sophia Loren) and the woman who provided his sexual awakening, Saraghina (Fergie).

Nine seems to be more about the creation of art, and the difficulty of creating it-when one is under huge pressure and when one's personal life is in a state of disarray. Guido is reliant on the support of his wife, despite his behaviour, and it is her leaving him that finally makes him break away from his film

So although the Arthur Kopit/Michael Tolkin/Anthony Minghella script may be a little confusing for those who like their musicals brass and bold, the performances are all pretty amazing. Daniel Day-Lewis may not be an amazing singer, but he has a nice enough voice, and enough charisma to make it understandable why he would attract so many women. He also makes Guido a sympathetic character, which is difficult considering his actions don't make him particuarly likeable.

Marion Cotillard is, as she was in La Vie en Rose, is brilliant as Luisa. She's sympathetic, sings beautifully, wears lovely clothes, and it seems impossible that Guido would want anyone else. Guido's 'anyone' else is mainly represented in Penelope Cruz as Carla, who has one of the most memorable performances with 'A Call from the Vatican'-whilst her voice isn't necessarily always strong, her dancing seems to come from nowhere and she brings a similar kookiness to her performance that she has in Vicky Cristina Barcelona.

Judi Dench is a suprise as Lilli, who sings a song lauding the follies, complete with brunette wig, making her look considerably younger than she is. Although he singing isn't entirely unexpected, as she played Sally Bowles in Cabaret in her youth, and also Desiree Armfeldt in A Little Night Music. Sophia Loren's cameo as Guido's mother shows her still to look great, at least on camera. Fergie shows off her huge voice, and her performance of 'Be Italian' made my Mum clap, despite it being on film! Even Kate Hudson, who people in musical theatre circles didn't seem to like was good in the new song 'Cinema Italiano'.

I really enjoyed Nine. Again, Marshall's use of staging musical numbers worked-as the stage became representative of Guido's mind, although I would love to see a musical that fully integrates songs into the action. It is Yeston's wonderful score that really makes the show.