Review: Elegies: A Song Cycle at Little Theatre

William Finn’s Elegies: A Song Cycle is a tender, funny, and deeply human reflection on love, loss, and memory, and in what is possibly the first performance of this work since Finn’s passing, the 2nd Year Music Theatre students of the Elder Conservatorium (ECMT) honour his legacy with grace, intelligence, and heart. Under the thoughtful direction and choreography of Joseph Simons, and with musical direction by Nick Hedger, this production radiates authenticity and emotional maturity well beyond the students’ years.

Housed in the Little Theatre, this intimate venue feels tailor-made for Finn’s song cycle – close enough for the audience to see every flicker of emotion, every breath between notes. The space itself becomes part of the storytelling, allowing the music and memories to wash over the audience with gentle immediacy.

From the opening number, ‘Looking Up Quintet’, the company establishes a tone of candid joy and bittersweet nostalgia. Finn’s music is famously intricate, full of unexpected harmonies, complex transitions, and emotional turns, but under Hedger’s expert guidance, the ensemble moves through it with clarity and poise. Each voice blends beautifully in ensemble moments like ‘Mark’s All-Male Thanksgiving’, with Teagan Garvey in the lead, and ‘Looking In’.

Individual performances shine with honesty and restraint especially Michael Jones in ‘When the Earth Stopped Turning’ and Amelia Beveridge in ‘Anytime (I am There)’.

Tackling Finn’s music is no easy feat; his compositions demand sharp musicianship, emotional intelligence, and vocal dexterity, yet this ensemble rises to every challenge.

Simons’ direction is fluid and instinctive, with choreography that feels organic and movement that grows from emotion rather than decoration. There’s an intuitive rhythm to his staging; moments of stillness where silence speaks, and bursts of movement that mirror the chaos of grief. His work in ‘Passover’ featuring the soaring vocals of Neve Sargeant and ‘Only One’ with Marley Banham’s emotionally rich tones, balances simplicity with power, creating imagery that lingers long after the final note fades.

The performances across this ensemble are exceptional. The humour and emotional nuance of Grace Cher in ‘14 Dwight Ave., Natick, Massachusetts’ is handled with comic precision, balancing eccentricity with vulnerability.

The hilarious Sahana-Rose Hoare with ‘My Dogs’, who erupted through a trap door in the floor, Issy Coomber’s ‘Joe Papp’ bursts with playful admiration, while Gabriella Fernandez captures both absurdity and truth in equal measure  in ‘Mister Choi and Madame G’.

Samuel Cannizzaro and Josh McDonald in ‘Venice’ drift melodically like a tender memory, wistful and shimmering, while Laura Henderson’s effortless delivery of ‘Boom Boom’ erupts, showcasing the students’ versatility across the cycle.

Every performer deserves to be mentioned; Eligh Dungey’s rendition of ‘Peggy Hewitt & Mysty Del Giorno’ was charming and enthralling, Lorenzo Ravida displayed vocal prowess with ‘The Ballad of Jack Eric Williams’, the compassion and sympathy in William Lydement’s voice during ‘Monica & Mark’ was breathtaking, Natalia Sóares beautiful delivery of ‘Infinite Joy’ and Denver Hovercraft carefully rippling through ‘Saying My Goodbyes’

Then, in contrast, ‘Looking Up/Goodbye’ is delivered with breathtaking stillness.

Moments where grief meets gratitude, and the entire audience seems to exhale together.

Mark Oakley’s lighting design beautifully sculpts the mood, shifting effortlessly between gentle warmth and reflective melancholy, while Jamie Mensforth’s sound design ensures every lyric and layered harmony rings true. Together, their work supports the intimacy of Simons’ vision, nothing feels overproduced or overstated; it’s theatre at its most sincere.

This Elegies feels like both tribute and renewal; a passing of the torch from one generation of storytellers to the next. It’s a reminder that musical theatre, at its core, is about connection -between performer and audience, past and present, love and loss.

In the hands of these young artists, Finn’s music sings on – tenderly, courageously, and with heart.

4.5 stars

Lia Loves.