Full casting announced for Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends
Including some Broadway legends
After selling out the Sondheim Theatre last year, Stephen Sondheim's Old Friends is back for a limited run at the Gielgud Theatre.
The special concert celebrates the incredible work of Stephen Sondheim following his death in November 2021.
The concert will run from 21st September 2023 to 6th January 2024 at the Gielgud Theatre with many of the Gala cast.
Damian Humbley, Bradley Jaden, Clare Burt, Gavin Lee and Jason Pennycooke will join Broadway Legends Bernadette Peters and Lea Salonga alongside Christine Allado, Janie Dee, Bonnie Langford, Joanna Riding, Jeremy Secomb, Jac Yarrow, Marley Fenton and Beatrice Penny-Touré. The company will also include Harry Apps, Bella Brown and Monique Young, completing a cast that is truly the best of the West End and Broadway.
Last years concert featured Michael Ball, Petula Clark, Judi Dench, Daniel Evans, Bonnie Langford, Adrian Lester, Damien Lewis, Julia McKenzie, Elaine Page, Bernadette Peters, Clive Rowe, Imelda Staunton, Hannah Waddingham, Anna-Jane Casey, Janie Dee, Rob Brydon, Rosalie Craig, Rob Houchen, Julian Ovenden and Gary Wilmot.
Last year's concert was broadcast on the BBC and is still available to watch on iPlayer.
Stephen Sondheim has been dubbed the titan of musical theatre and helped re-shape and re-imagine what could be done within the art form. From his work as a lyricist for West Side Story and Gypsy to the incredible music and lyrics he wrote for Follies, Company, Sweeney Todd, Sunday in the Park with George and Into the Woods to name but a few.
Directed by Matthew Bourne, side by side with Julia McKenzie, with choreography by Stephen Mear, conducted by Alfonso Casado Trigo, musical supervision is by Stephen Brooker, musical arrangements by Stephen Metcalfe, set design by Matt Kinley, projection design by George Reeve, lighting design by Warren Letton and sound design by Mick Potter.
To get tickets and keep updated go to the Sodheim's Old Friends website.
Our favourite Sondheim musicals:
West Side Story
Based on Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, West Side Story takes the classic love tragedy to the streets of New York in the middle of the 20th Century. With the Montagues and Capulets replaced as rival gangs the Jets and the Sharks who come from different ethnic backgrounds. In this story one of the former Jets, Tony, falls in Love with Maria, who happens to be the sister of the Sharks' leader Bernardo.
The show opened on Broadway in 1957 and a film adaptation soon followed in 1961. Stephen Sondheim wrote the lyrics for West Side Story alongside Leonard Bernstein, who wrote the music. So many of the show's musical numbers are now theatre classics including 'Maria', 'Tonight', 'America' and 'I Feel Pretty'.
In December 2021 a new film adaptation of the show will be released with Steven Spielberg directing!
Gypsy
In 1959, Ethel Merman starred in Gypsy: A Musical Fable on Broadway. Now just known as 'Gypsy', the musical has Stephen Sondheim working as a lyricist with Jule Styne penning the tunes. The book was by Arthur Laurents and is based on the 1957 memoirs of Gypsy Rose Lee, an American striptease artist.
The show puts the focus mainly on Gypsy's mother, Rose who in the musical is an incredibly pushy stage mother. The show includes some fantastic numbers including 'Everything's Coming up Roses', 'Let Me Entertain You' and 'Rose's Turn'. There have been numerous revivals of the show that would cast theatre legends in the role of Mama Rose, including Angela Lansbury, Bernadette Peters, Patti LuPone and Imelda Staunton.
There have been two film adaptations of the show including the 1993 TV movie starring Bette Midler as Rose.
Company
1970 saw the opening of Stephen Sondheim's first collaboration with director Hal Prince, which was the musical Company. This musical centres around Robert, a single man in his thirties who can't seem to commit to a relationship. The musical was one of the first to deal with real adult themes. The show's music is distinctly Stephen Sondheim as the opening number starts with the dissonance from the calls to Bobby.
The show has an incredible score from the very beginning with its distinct overture to its brilliant numbers 'Getting Married Today', the iconic 'Ladies Who Lunch' and the brilliant 11 o'clock number 'Being Alive'.
There have been a couple of revivals of this show but most recently was the 2018 West End revival where Rosalie Craig starred as a gender-swapped Bobbie. The revival was due to open on Broadway in 2020 with Patti returning and Katrina Lenk in the leading role.
Follies
A theatre that was once home to Weismann's Follies between the World Wars is now facing demolition. The former performers reunite to pay tribute to the old building they used to perform in. The show explores the unhappy two of the former showgirls have with their respective partners.
With some incredible songs including 'Broadway Baby', 'Too Many Mornings' and 'Losing my Mind' Follies stands as a beautiful musical.
A Little Night Music
Set in Sweden in 1900, A Little Night Music tells the stories of multiple couples who spend "a weekend in the country". Much of the music in the show is set to waltz time.
There have been many productions of this show but one of the most recognisable would be the 1995 revival done by the National Theatre. The production starred Judi Dench as Desiree and includes her phenomenal performance of 'Send in the Clowns' which was the perfect marriage of brilliant writing and phenomenal acting!
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
In 1979 Stephen Sondheim's most operatic show, Sweeny Todd opened on Broadway. Compared to many of Sondheim's other works this got a whole lot darker as it tells a story of murder, revenge and cannibalism! While the original tales of Sweeney Todd come from Victorian fiction Sondheim's version is based on a 1973 play by Christopher Bond.
The show opens with the brilliant 'The Ballad of Sweeney Todd' and has other brilliant songs such as 'The Worst Pies in London' and 'A Little Priest'. The show went on to win a Tony Award and Olivier Award for best musical as well as getting a film adaptation in 2007!
Sunday in the Park with George
Sunday in the Park with George was Stephen Sondheim's first collaboration with director James Lapine. The story is inspired by the painting A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte and its painter George Seurat.
The original production opened off-Broadway in 1983 and starred Mandy Patinkin and Bernadette Peters. The show includes some great songs including 'Sunday' and 'Finishing the Hat' the latter song was also the title for Sondheim's 2010 book of annotated lyrics.
A revival starring Jake Gyllenhaall as George opened on Broadway in 2017, the production is due to transfer to the West End later this year, but it has been delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Into the Woods
Sondheim's next collaboration with James Lapine would bring together the worlds of the Brothers Grimm fairy tales including Cinderella, Jack and the Beanstalk, Rapunzel and Little Red Riding Hood. The show was a success and managed to bag a few Tony Awards despite having to compete against the Phantom of the Opera.
For many of us the line 'once upon a time' will make us instantly think of the start of this show's brilliant prologue. The show is plenty of fun and includes the songs 'Giant in the Sky', 'On the Steps of the Palace' and the beautiful finale number, 'Children Will Listen'.
In 2014, Disney released a film adaptation starring Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt, James Corden and Anna Kendrick.
Assassins
"Come here and kill a president!" In 1990, Assassins opened Off-Broadway. The show is in a semi-revue format and is put into the style of an American carnival, the characters are all people from history who tried to assassinate the President of the United States. The Balladeer narrates as all the assassins tell the stories of how they succeeded or failed to kill the president of their respective time period.
The show may be one of Sondheim's lesser-known works but it still packs a great punch with the song 'Unworthy of Your Love' popular amongst theatre fans.
While the original production was met with mixed reviews the 2004 revival on Broadway fared better and received five Tony Awards including Best Revival of a Musical.
Read More:
Everybody's Talking About Jamie: Tour dates👠
Susan Boyle joins Lucie Jones and the cast of Les Mis in the final of Britain's Got Talent