TV REVIEW : Celebration of the Sounds of Sondheim

It’s not just that it’s the music of Stephen Sondheim or that the glittering company is composed of such heavy-hitters as Glenn Close, Liza Minnelli and Bernadette Peters. “Sondheim: A Celebration at Carnegie Hall” (at 9:30 tonight on KCET-TV Channel 28) is truly celebratory: a compendium of the best of the Sondheim canon, staged with style and unexpected high humor by the up-and-coming Scott Ellis.

The show is a taping of last June’s benefit for (and at) Carnegie Hall. As anyone can attest who witnessed the Long Beach Civic Light Opera’s smash reunion of the original cast of “Company” Jan. 23, Sondheim gives good benefit. But Ellis, with a large assist from that classy choreographer Susan Stroman and scriptwriter David Thompson, gets a lot of credit for the smooth surprises of this Sondheim “Celebration.”

Would anyone else have had Bill Irwin introduce the program? A clown to send in the clowns?

Irwin is his usual sensational man-of-few-words, but his spoofy mid-show number--”Sooner or Later” from the film “Dick Tracy”--with a vampy Karen Ziemba, owes as much to Stroman’s sizzling choreography as to the performers’ own heat. And Dorothy Loudon’s terrific version of “Losing My Mind,” from “Follies,” finds itself unceremoniously commingled with “You Could Drive a Person Crazy,” from “Company.” You have to admire that gutsy, nutty logic, to say nothing of the hilarious results!

And that’s only a teaser.

Nobody falls apart better than Madeline Kahn in “Not Getting Married.” Listen to the power of Patrick Cassidy and Victor Garber’s “Ballad of Booth,” the Tonics’ idiosyncratic “Good Thing Going,” the glory of “A Weekend in the Country’s” pas-de-six.

Minnelli’s happy to be “Back in Business,” and Close to “Send in the Clowns.” And Broadway’s baby Daisy Eagan trots out a tongue-in-cheek “Broadway Baby.” Natch.

Just one memorable darn thing after another. And in case you’re wondering, the producers have thought of everything: Each song, show and performer is identified on screen. All you have to do press the record button on the VCR. (The program also airs Friday at 8 p.m. on KVCR-TV Channel 24 and March 10 at 9:15 p.m. on KOCE-TV Channel 50.)