Sondheim Unplugged.

If you love musical theatre, Broadway, or Stephen Sondheim, you must listen to the “Sondheim Unplugged” recording series.

I reviewed the first volume soon after Sondheim’s tragic passing in November, and found it to be a moving and stirring set.

I’ve been waiting to review Volume Two ever since, and it did not disappoint.

The premise of the series is that all of the recordings feature singers performing Sondheim’s work, with only piano accompaniment.

Volume One was interesting, because it offered a few of Sondheim’s songs in different contexts — new arrangements, pop riffs, gender swapping, etc. While many songs were performed with their traditional arrangements, it was the new versions that often stood out.

Volume Two, by contrast, presents almost all of the songs in their traditional arrangements. And I liked that even better.

In this format, with only a piano and a singer, Sondheim’s work shines brighter than ever.

But the CD is only a success because the performances are almost uniformly wonderful. It’s hard to single any out (because they’re all so good), but I will try.

Julie Reyburn’s rendition of “Take Me to the World” is stunning; Jim Walton singing “Our Time” — 40 years after he premiered the song on Broadway — is incredibly powerful and sentimental, given the many dreams that he (and all of us) have experienced and lost along the way.

T. Oliver Reid’s “With So Little To Be Sure Of” could move an inanimate object to experience the heartbreak of a relationship ending; I fell in love with Kelli Rabke just by listening to her version of “Moments in the Woods.”

Ereni Sevasti’s “Happiness” is gripping; one of the most ingenious (and strongest) performances is Jacob Hoffman doing “Pirelli’s Miracle Elixir,” because without the chorus singing, we can finally hear all of Toby’s words clearly.

Christina Bianco — whose talent first blew me away in “Forbidden Broadway” — is terrific in “Sunday in the Park with George;” Karen Mason’s “Being Alive” is a stunner; and while I could keep going on, I’ll end with the incredible performances of Eric Michael Gillett and Melanie Vaughan on two songs from “Follies.”

Although I do enjoy a new arrangement of a Sondheim song, this volume really shows that nothing can top the way Sondheim intended it to be.

But for all the amazing performances, the true star of Volume Two might just be pianist and musical director Joseph Goodrich. He captures every emotion so masterfully in his playing — I suspect that if you just listened to his accompaniment, you’d still experience many of the songs in the same way. His playing is sometimes even better than an orchestra.

Ultimately, the album is a success because of the love that producer Phil Geoffrey Bond and his team clearly have for Sondheim and his work.

Bond’s liner notes are emotional, and his production of the album — from song choice to performer — displays a true familiarity and facility with Sondheim’s cannon.

If he continues to produce recordings of this quality, I would literally listen to the series until every single Sondheim song (including many of the cut ones) made had been presented.

Walking down the street listening to Sondheim’s words and music, I experienced every emotion I could ever hope for: love, anger, joy, bemusement, rage, passion, and so many more.

That is the genius of Stephen Sondheim; he opens up every contour of the human soul to us. But that’s only true when there are artists who can properly bring those emotions to life. And on that front, “Sondheim Unplugged: Volume Two” passes with flying colors.

I’ll be listening to it repeatedly, and I’m already waiting for Volume Three.

The author is a culture writer at The Algemeiner, as well as a nationally published playwright, screenwriter, and actor. You can see some of his creative work at www.Bloomywood.com