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‘Side by Side’ is more than just a musical review��

BOULDER, Colo. — Imagine hanging out with legendary composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim and a few of his closest friends—Bernadette Peters, Leonard Bernstein, Mandy Patinkin and others—as they chat and swing into some of his greatest works.��

That’s what you’ll experience onstage when CU Opera performs “Side by Side by Sondheim” April 24-27.

“This show was originally put together as a review with narration,” says Director Leigh Holman. “We’ve taken it a bit further and set it at a party in Sondheim’s 1976 New York apartment, surrounded by his friends.”��

A cast of nine will perform as the characters and sing a selection of the composer’s works from the 1950s to the mid-‘70s, featuring both well-known hits like “Send in the Clowns” and songs from “West Side Story,” and lesser-known songs.��

“There are some tunes that people may never have heard before, but they’re all Sondheim—witty lyrics, funny, some big and brash, some intimate,” Holman says.��

The show features period costumes, a two-level set and as much authenticity as possible. The performers were assigned to research their characters and more to get into their roles.��

“They’ve had a good time learning how to make cocktails from the ‘70s, Harvey Wallbangers and the like,” Holman says, laughing.

Thomas Riis, professor of musicology and director of the��American Music Research Center��at CU-�Ǹ�Թ�, will give a half-hour pre-curtain talk beginning one hour before each performance. Riis is an expert in musical theater and has published “Just Before Jazz,” about African-American Broadway shows, and “Frank Loesser,” a biography of the composer of “Guys and Dolls” and such hits as “Baby It’s Cold Outside.”��

“This program is a wonderful opportunity to learn about how he developed as a musician. I know audiences are going to love it,” Holman says.

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Side by Side by Sondheim

WHEN: 7:30 p.m. April 24-26; 2 p.m. April 27

WHERE: Music Theatre, Imig Music building, �Ǹ�Թ�

TICKETS: $16 and up

INFO:����or 303-492-8008