‘Side by Side by Sondheim’ at Colony; ‘Seven Sundays’ at Carpet Company; ‘Effigies’ by ANTA West; ‘Lion and Jewel’ at Theatre of Arts

The Colony’s “Side by Side by Sondheim” is a bountiful entertainment with hardly an ounce of fat. Director Bob Ari and his co-choreographer Todd Nielsen staged nearly three dozen of Stephen Sondheim’s increasingly familiar songs with a fresh eye.

The performances aren’t perfect, but the point of the songs is never in doubt. Except for a flurry of hyperactivity in the opening number, the staging is concise and clear.

Eileen T’Kaye offers impeccable phrasing in the up-tempo numbers (every word understood in the manic “Getting Married Today”) and deliciously cutting interpretations of such songs as “Could I Leave You.” But her intonation at the end of slower phrases is, well, peccable.

Stephanie Truitt starts the show with a strained sound but then she surprises us with terrific solos in two of the novelty numbers, “Broadway Baby” “The Boy From,” and with a blistering “Losing My Mind.”

Narrator Sandra Kinder stumbles occasionally over the recitation of facts but wisecracks with flair. She deprecated her own voice last Friday, then socked out the older woman numbers, “I Never Do Anything Twice” and “I’m Still Here,” with tremendous verve.

Todd Nielsen’s voice carries beautifully. He’s ideal as a wistful loner, in “I Remember” (sensitively lit by Jamie McAllister) and “Being Alive,” but his skills as a romantic lead are limited. However, most of the would-be romantic male parts went to Scott Stevensen, whose voice creates magic only once (at the end of “Anyone Can Whistle”) but who conveys the right mixture of male vanity and vulnerability.

Musical director Marjorie Poe and Jan Powell provide expert accompaniment on two pianos.

Performances are at the Studio Theatre Playhouse, 1944 Riverside Drive, indefinitely. The show is in repertory with “Holy Ghosts” ; call (213) 665-3011 for show days and times. Tickets: $12-$15.

Seven Sundays

The situation is trite: A party boy is dying of AIDS, and the only person who comes to call is a lonely hospital volunteer, a gay man whose circumscribed life style is the opposite of the patient’s.

Yes, they find a common bond; in fact, they learn to love each other. The volunteer crochets an afghan for the patient, who responds with a gift of a black leather jacket.

Michael Scott Read’s “Seven Sundays,” at Carpet Company Stage, would be more provocative if the two men didn’t learn to love each other, if they really thrashed out their differences or if those differences were less predictable. It might not be as socially redeeming, though, or even as realistic; it’s easy to see how the specter of AIDS could create an impulse for human contact that would overlook lesser matters.

Despite the soft edges, Read wrote engaging dialogue, and director Lisa Mount adroitly cast Joe Dahman and Michael Tulin as the volunteer and patient, respectively. Dahman makes sure that his reedy voice doesn’t conceal his character’s stubborn streak, and Tulin maneuvers skillfully through his role’s ups and downs.

Performances are at 5262 W. Pico Blvd., Fridays through Mondays at 8 p.m., through March 28. Tickets: $10; (213) 466-1767. Effigies

At first “Effigies” looks like a standard-issue drama about a handicapped young man (Damon Jones) who’s too dependent on his parents (Bibi Besch and Edward Power). He’s almost completely paralyzed below the neck, a result of his collision with his father’s car four years earlier, so his reliance on the kindness of parents isn’t surprising. Still, he’s quite the tyrant in this household, or so it seems as he and his parents celebrate his 17th birthday.

Not everything is as it seems, though. Writer Bea Silvern has come up with a very interesting twist. I won’t reveal it; it isn’t all that believable on reflection, and there isn’t much of anything else in the script worth savoring.

The dialogue tends to be overwritten and mired in sweaty, humorless psychologizing. Nevertheless, for this one narrative development, we give thanks.

Besch is very good as the brooding mother hen. Power is a tad colorless as the more detached father. Jones seems older than 17--a problem with the script that’s reinforced by Jones’ looks--but he handles his too-precocious lines as well as anyone could expect. Lilyan Chauvin directed.

This ANTA West production plays the Chamber Theatre, 3759 Cahuenga Blvd. West , Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m., Sundays at 7 p.m., through March 27. Tickets: $10-$12; (213) 466-1767. Lion and the Jewel

First-time director Badewa Adejugbe isn’t up to the demands of “The Lion and the Jewel,” an early (1959) play by Nigerian Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka. The blocking is wooden, the accents are erratic, the pacing is halting.

It’s a shame, for this tale about a town beauty (the “jewel” of the title), who’s torn between a Westernized schoolteacher and the shrewd old village chief (the “lion”), has a jaunty wisdom that might prove charming in a more accomplished production.

Saky and the African Connection contribute spirited drumming.

Performances are at Theatre of Arts, 4128 Wilshire Blvd., Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m., Sundays at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. Tickets: $10; (213) 388-4225.