Russell Miller Theater will soon be filled with the sound of music with the Western Kentucky University Department of Theater and Dance’s presentation, “Putting it Together.”

The musical revue tells several stories through song and dance, said Tracey Moore, an assistant professor at WKU. The revue was written by Stephen Sondheim.

“A lot of his shows are grappling with adult themes of fulfillment and relationship satisfaction,” she said. “So this was created to be an exploration of marriage - what leads up to marriage and how it falls apart.”

Shows will be at 8 p.m. Nov. 12-14 and at 3 p.m. Nov. 15. Tickets are $10.

Moore said there is some adult language, and the show isn’t for children.

“If it was a movie, it would probably be rated PG-13,” she said.

Conceived first as a star vehicle for Julie Andrews and then later for Carol Burnett, “Putting it Together” opened in London in 1992 and then on Broadway in 1999.

Now a cast of 12 WKU musical theater majors will present Sondheim’s complex lyrics and melodies.

“It was small enough in scale that we’re able to have full production value in terms of set and costumes,” Moore said.

Moore will provide musical and stage direction, while co-assistant choreographers and musical theater students Wesley Drummond and Charity Gardner will provide the dance steps. Accompanying at the piano will be Charlotte Smith.

The musical revue will feature pieces from other Sondheim shows, including “Into the Woods,” “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum” and “Company,” Moore said.

Sondheim, who studied musical theater writing with Oscar Hammerstein, caught his first big break when he was asked to write the lyrics to “West Side Story,” which was followed by a lyric-writing assignment for “Gypsy.”

“He was supposed to write lyrics and music for ‘Gypsy,’ ” Moore said. “But he wasn’t well-known at the time, and Ethel Merman, who was the star, refused to take a chance on his music. So he was only allowed to write the lyrics.”

Moore said that this year, the WKU theater department will do an opera. She said often when they perform an opera, they will do a smaller musical in preparation.

“And this seemed to perfectly fit the talents and voices of the students,” she said. “People think musicals are light and fluffy, but this is richer, more dramatic material,” she said. “Sondheim’s work requires a certain depth. It’s complicated work.”

Sondheim is a musical theater master, Moore said. Credited with bringing an adult sophistication to musical theater, he has won nine Tony Awards, two Grammy Awards and the Pulitzer Prize.

“His lyrics are very sophisticated and each song is like its own scene,” Moore said. “Each song is telling a story, and we hope that the whole evening will add up to a story for the viewer.”

— For more information or for tickets, call 745-3121 or 745-5845.