Rating: 
Summary: Ditto
Review: The previous review is right on the mark. As one who used to go see tapings of the Carol Burnett Show at CBS Television City, this show took me back to Carol's comic timing and mugging (especially the blooper). I'm a Broadway fan who will watch this over and over.
Rating: 
Summary: more of a show than a play...
Review: The staging is forced and stiff and the plot barely existent -- I have to say I enjoy listening to the original cast recording more than watching this staged production, but it's never a waste of time to watch talented performers singing Sondheim's marvelous songs. George Hearn's energy can't match his costars', and, while Bronson Pinchot's singing is better than Christopher Durand's in the original, he can never match Durand's arch hilarity. Still, each singer gets to shine in individual moments, the greatest of which is Carol Burnett's "Ladies Who Lunch" -- a song I never cared for until I saw/heard her furious interpretation. Sondheim purists may object to the way the cast sometimes plays fast-and-loose with tempos, but there's not a bad voice in the bunch and the orchestration is elegant, allowing the singers to shine. Worth watching once, at least.
Rating: 
Summary: Great- but "Hello Little Girl"
Review: There are so many wonderful things about this show. I do dislike the fact that different names are used throughout the DVD for characters. My other criticism is the fact that "Hello Little Girl" should be cut. It is just weird. I understand its purpose, but it sounds weird. They could have found a better song.
My favorite songs are "Unworthy of Your Love", "More", "Marry Me A Little", and Ruthie's part in "Everday A Little Death".
Ruthie Henshall, Bronson Pinchot, and Carool Burnette really have awesome stage presence. John Barrowman's voice is just so darn good that anything he does is perfect. George Hearn has an okay voice and zero stage presence. His dancing in "Back In Business" is terrible. My only criticism for Ruthie Henshall is the fact that it looks as though she sings through her teeth.
"BANG!" IS AMAZING!
Songs I dislike: Putting It Together, Hello Little Girl, Waltz, Back In Business, and Like It Was.
Great DVD!
Rating:
Summary: The Very Best
Review: This is a wonderfull movie. I'm a huge fan of Sondhiem and this revue is the best way to showcase his musicals. I thought the set was amazing! I liked all the chairs and the part where Ruthie picks up the small chair, ruining the illusion of it being far away, was hilarious! "This chair is completely out of proportion!" Ruthie says in the tiny room. Some people are too critical with George Hearn's dancing. He himself said he was never a good dancer, but I think he was fine for a 70-some year old man who'se been working on Broadway for almost all his life. The Blooper with Carol Burnett was hilarious! They were doing the dance number "Back in Bussiness" and she looked a little uncomfortable. When they got to the kicks, she said "WooHoo! Stop!" they all got quiet, even the audience "Ya' know what's gonna happen?" and right infront of the audince, she let go of her unproperly hooked skirt and it fell to the floor! The only thing I didn't like about the blooper was John Barrowman. He acted like a monkey when her skirt fell. He seemed a little gay. Otherwise, this is the best movie-musical I've ever seen. Buy it and enjoy. Only thing I didn't like: They should have had more songs from SWEENEY TODD and ASSASSINS.
Rating:
Summary: Lovely, what it is is lovely
Review: This is my new favorite DVD. I was lucky enough to see Putting It Together on Broadway (although Pinchot was out that night) and have been waiting eagerly for this DVD ever since. One important note - if you don't like Sondheim, I could see this getting boring easily. However, if you consider Sondheim to be the greatest living writer for musical theater (and maybe even all time) then you can't miss this DVD. The performances are spectacular. Who cares if there's no plot really? When you've got Pinchot's "Buddy's Blues," Hearn's "Good Thing Going," Barrowman's "Marry Me A Little" and Burnett's "Getting Married Today" all in a row, who could be blue? Don't think I forgot about Henshall either - she, for some reason, isn't in that segment (couldn't she have sung "Miller's Son?") but shines earlier with "More" and in my favorite song in the show, "Unworthy of Your Love" with Barrowman. If nothing else, the DVD is worth buying for the blooper -- it is truly hilarious - I wish I was in the audience THAT night! What more can I say? Buy this DVD.
Rating:
Summary: Perfection
Review: This is simply the most elegant, sophisticated, witty collection of Sondheim I've ever seen. A combination of the well known and the more obscure, performed immaculately by a starry and talented cast. Carol Burnett is a revelation, George Hearn as good as he's ever been, Ruthie Henshall and John Barrowman are perfect and look wonderful and Bronson Pinchot (not the best known name this side of the Atlantic) is very funny. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Worth seeing
Review: This show is kind of boring. It has a plot but not a very strong one. The songs are not all that grabbing, all though there are a few show stoppers. If you're a big fan of Sondheim, you'll love it. If you're just a big fan of musicals, this might be worth seeing, but not really worth buying. It comes on HBO a lot so you might be able to catch it there. The performers are excellent though. Carol Burnett is funny in her role, but since there is no dialogue between the characters, there is not many oportunities for her to even try and make the audience laugh. Ruthie Henshall is excellent. Her voice is beautiful and her dancing is remarkable. She and John Barrymore make an excellent and attractive on-stage couple.
Rating:
Summary: OK, It's Sondheim (who rules) but...
Review: This show should be called "Pulling it Off." All the performers are fine, but I don't know if it was the direction or what but this show was flat 80% of the time for me. Awkward movement, bizarre blocking, semi-invested acting. Carol Burnette is a national treasure, but she seemed to be in a straitjacket for most of the show. It wasn't until "Getting Married Today" that she laid everybody flat doing what Carol does best. Next to that was her successfully weary duet with George Hearn (the one about distanced couples looking for something to reconnect them - in this instance it was about buying a country house). But the other obvious showstoppers ("Ladies who Lunch" et al) were just plain subpar. That alone merits a star and maybe a half. But now to accentuate the postive... Ruthie Henshall! Wow. Her two big numbers, "More" and "I Always Get My Man" were just plain flawless. The former was absolutely electrifying. The West End musical theatre tradition certainly shows here. What a joy it is to see a beautiful, talented woman thoroughly enjoying every dimension of her triple-threat gift. Fluid movement, spot-on acting and a killer voice. ... I guess I'll leave it at that. If you just dig Sondheim, try to see the original songs in their original context. This show is painful at times, slow during others, with just a handful (Henshall) of brilliant moments. Sorry if this sounds brutal, but I'm just a frickin' Sondheim snob...
Rating: 
Summary: Save your money
Review: This was not one of the best plays in the world and would be trash if it were not for Carol Burnett lending her name to it. The plot is flimsy and some of the songs painfull to get through. It would be better to watch all the plays the songs were collected from rather than see them in their butchered state.
Rating:
Summary: There I was....
Review: Yep, that's right, I was there the night they filmed this production, blooper and all. It was just as funny as it looks, if not more so. As a fan of the original, Julie Andrews version of this production, I was pleasantly surprised by some of the changes made to the song list and sequence. The stars did a bang-up job. If you've even HEARD of Stephen Sondheim, you should own this DVD.
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