Putting It Together

In its first incarnation, this revue, mounted off-Broadway in 1993, suffered from comparison with its predecessor, the plotless Side by Side by Sondheim, which was a joyful feast of the composer's best songs. The successor (with Julie Andrews and a mismatched company of four) seemed to consist of leftovers garnished with Sondheim's less nourishing material and served up thematically as an odd sort of cocktail party. This Broadway revise finds the party device strengthened, but still forced, and the selection of songs improved. The new cast, led by Carol Burnett with great warmth and good humor, is creamy. Yet this remains a chilly pudding of a show that leaves one admiring Sondheim's artistry and the performers' panache, but still hungry.