Now and Then

Well-known to musical theater fans in London's West End, Maria Friedman made her Broadway debut in Andrew Lloyd Webber's short-lived THE WOMAN IN WHITE. Deftly turning lemons into lemonade, Friedman then ensconced herself at New York's Cafe Carlyle with a well-received cabaret act devoted to the music of Stephen Sondheim, a composer whose work she has had some experience with both on stage (PASSION, SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE) and in the recording studio (A LITTLE NIGHT MUSIC). Now, Sony Classical has decided the time is right for Maria Friedman to become better-known stateside. NOW AND THEN, the singer's American solo debut, is largely made up of tracks recorded in 1995 for her first solo album in the U.K. Though only two of the tracks are newly recorded (including one with piano accompaniment by Sondheim himself), the whole CD invites the listener to give this talented Brit a long-overdue welcome. "Friedman . . . knows how to sing, she knows how to act, and she knows how to i