Old Friends: Bernadette Peters – Photo: Matthew Murphy
Do we never tire of Stephen Sondheim’s music? Not if it is performed with flawless finesse by a troupe of performers who breathe fresh interpretations into the songs that musical theater lovers have heard umpteen times.
Lucky for us, this is the case with the new Broadway revue, Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends, a two-and-a-half-hour soiree that showcases the late composer.
Director Matthew Bourne was tasked with a near-quixotic challenge to whittle down Sondheim’s body of work into one show. Some will leave the theater not having heard their favorites.
Still, there is more than enough to satisfy even the most ardent acolyte. Even the three shows for which Sondheim contributed only the lyrics: West Side Story, Gypsy, and The Mad Show are represented.
After successful runs on the West End and the West Coast, Tony winners Lea Salonga, Bernadette Peters, and Beth Leavel headline a large cast that knows exactly how to deliver the goods.
Dressed in gowns and tuxedos by Jill Parker, the ensemble brings class and chic to an already elegant affair, accompanied by Annbritt duChateau’s magnificent orchestra, which is prominently on display throughout the production.
Youth is a common and much-desired commodity in entertainment, but there’s something special about seeing a cast of older performers who have a wealth of life experience and numerous credits to their name. It brings an added level of poignancy when Peters sings, “Send in the Clowns.” We actually believe that she’s had her heart broken.
Old Friends: Beth Leavel – Photo: Matthew Murphy
We get the same level of realism with Bonnie Langford’s show-stopping “I’m Still Here.” Leavel, who always has just the right comic timing, puts it to use in both the solo “The Ladies Who Lunch” and in the duet “The Little Things You Do Together,” with Gavin Lee.
Salonga also brings steely grit to “Everything’s Coming Up Roses,” proving that she would be a marvelous Mama Rose in Gypsy. (Producers take note!)
It may have been useful to include some background information on the shows and their scores, but honestly, this is a show by and primarily for theater geeks and Sondheim lovers. For newcomers, it introduces an incomparable, once-in-a-generation maestro.
Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends (★★★★☆) is playing on Broadway through June 15 at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, 261 West 47th St. in New York City. Tickets are $94 to $422. Visit www.manhattantheatreclub.com.
Dating in these times is not for the faint at heart. Some singles are out here playing games of sexual catch-and-release, while others, according to Celine Song's astute romance Materialists, have reduced relationships to X's and O's, concerned less with love than with checking off boxes.
Age, height, income, education, family background, future potential earnings, and, of course, attractiveness are the key measurements for the movie's modern daters seeking the help of Manhattan matchmaker Lucy (Dakota Johnson) to find a mate.
Life is a cabaret at the titular bolero bar in GALA Hispanic Theatre's Botiquín de Boleros de Columbia Heights. Of course, for this lively, immersive staging, directed and choreographed by Valeria Cossu, we, the audience, are the patrons at the Columbia Heights Bolero Bar.
Seated at cabaret tables onstage, at stage level, or in regular seats throughout the house, audience members may find themselves in the midst of the action for Rubén Léon's heartfelt backstage musical revue, adapted by GALA artistic director Gustavo Ott.
Formerly a mainstay of D.C.'s diverse Columbia Heights neighborhood, the fictional boîte was "one of the hottest cabarets" in town, we're told. But due to the pandemic, it has sat dormant for years, until now -- now being November 2024, just ahead of a presidential election that will prove particularly pivotal for immigrants like some of the performers who call the club home.
Signature Theatre’s high-octane rock musical paints Hunter S. Thompson as a counterculture icon, but leans too hard on hero worship and too little on meaningful insight.
If you don't know or don't recall what a big deal Hunter S. Thompson was, he's here to tell you how big a deal he was -- and why -- in Signature Theatre's The Untitled Unauthorized Hunter S. Thompson Musical, directed by Christopher Ashley.
In fiction, as he apparently was in life, the maverick writer is his own biggest fan, eager to blow his horn in this rock 'n' roll odyssey from Be More Chill creator Joe Iconis, who composed the music and lyrics, and co-wrote the show's book with Gregory S. Moss. Their story takes us through Thompson's unruly journey from middle-class kid in 1940s Louisville, Kentucky, to self-proclaimed major figure in American history, a leading voice of the '60s counterculture movement.
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