For much of my life I’ve been told about the Seagle Music Festival and its unique cultural influence on this area. So it was with a definite “yes” that I said I would go with a friend on Sunday, Sept. 4 at the unusual time of 4 p.m. to view “Happily Ever After: The Music of Stephen Sondheim,” which was held at the Keene Valley Community Church in the center of this charming little town.

On the way down from Saranac Lake we ran into a fairly dense fog in the Cascades, after a few miles it soon dissipated and there was no fog in the valley where one would expect it. On arrival, we found that we were early and the only people arriving were the tech crew and one person who I thought was a performer, and she was. I wished a “good show” greeting to Lindsey Polcyn, mezzo soprano, who was given the musical assignment to sing “Send in the Clowns,” Sondheim’s most famous song from the ensemble featured.

We took a brief look inside and saw a sole piano and I wondered whether this was going to be the only musical accompaniment. As it turns out, it was, and music director Neill Campbell did an outstanding job of it. So what followed was a staccato rendition of 24 songs, plus an opening and a closing song in a dizzying sequence from 15 Sondheim shows. Every mood, every emotion and all of the vocal range of the performers was on display.

Of the quartet, the two male singers gave superb performances. The person I was with felt that Sergio Mandujano, tenor, had the deeper voice and greater range in in vocals. I thought it was Nicholas Fahrenkrug, baritone. So it was clear that they both were very close and their duet from the show, “Into the Woods,” entitled “No More,” showcased their voices well. The four singers all were in their late 20s to early 30s and I was taken with their confidence in performing in front of an audience of people significantly older.

Shannon Richards is very attractive woman with a beautiful rich soprano voice which she featured in her duet with Sergio singing “With So Little To Be Sure Of,” from “Anyone Can Whistle.” In researching some of these shows I discovered this show just mentioned was a big flop, lasting only nine shows. Now I also realized why this show didn’t contain “West Side Story” for example, Sondheim’s career is so much more diverse than the most recognizable of his works.

The concert was at mid-point when I realized there wasn’t going to be an intermission. As I saw one song after another take form; it was obvious that the singers could get into character of the people in the musicals portrayed very well. I found Shannon particularly adept at this, and in particular cite her duet with Sergio from “Company” and “Sweeney Todd,” “Pretty Women/Ladies Who Lunch.” This cast is as good as any now performing on Broadway. They had an excellent venue in this church. It is one thing to do a song, another to interpret it, a third to get into the character, and finally do all this with no break. Bravo!

Two other closing notes, Sondheim tributes included the rendition of “Sunday In the Park With George,” sung by my estimate by 1,500 to 2,000 people, there was some choral help up in front of the crowd but the cathedral like effect was from the whole throng assemble. What a powerful statement of honor for him.

Stephen Sondheim brought a realistic approach to real experience of people. This happened as Broadway was looking to redefine itself and searching for a new identity. They found a mentor in Mr. Sondheim.

— — —

David Ryan lives in Saranac Lake.