‘OLD FRIENDS’: (Collage, left) Lea Salonga & (collage, right) Bernadette Peters. Photos: Matthew Murphy.

STEPHEN SONDHEIM’S OLD FRIENDS
Music & lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
Devised by Cameron Mackintosh
Choreography by Stephen Mear
Direction & musical staging by Matthew Bourne
Through June 29, 2025
Manhattan Theatre Club at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre
261 West 47^th Street
https://sondheimoldfriends.com/

By Scott Harrah

Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends is a not a “new” effort. Instead, it is a compendium revue of 40 songs from 14 classic musicals, performed by a cast of 19 actors. The show was originally devised by Cameron McIntosh and directed and staged by Matthew Bourne. Stars and featured performers include Sondheim veteran and three-time Tony Award winner Bernadette Peters, Tony winners Lea Salonga and Beth Leavel, among others.

The late, great Stephen Sondheim’s works have been featured in many musical revues. Previously, his songbook specialty musicals were produced in 1977 in Side by Side by Sondheim, and in 1999 in Putting It Together. Mr. Sondheim’s last Broadway musical medley show was Sondheim on Sondheim back in 2010, starring the late Barbara Cook, Vanessa Williams, Tom Wopat, Leslie Kritzer, and more.

How Sondheim changed musical theater

Mr. Sondheim remains a legend long after his death in 2021. True Sondheim aficionados are downright fanatical about his contributions to American musical theater.

“His skill of the rhyme and key changes are second to none,” the late StageZine.com critic David NouNou wrote in a review of Sondheim on Sondheim.

“He has changed the face of musical theater and turned it into a serious adult art form. If he would have written nothing more than simply the lyrics to musicals such as West Side Story (music by Leonard Bernstein), and Gypsy (music by Jule Styne), he would still be in the pantheon of musical prodigies, for they are two of the most brilliant and perfect scores ever written. However, Sondheim wrote full scores for countless musicals, and his shows have been awarded the Tony five times as Best Musical of the Year. They are A Funny Thing Happened on The Way to The Forum, Company, A Little Night Music, Sweeney Todd and Passion. Not to mention the ones that were nominated but didn’t win, such as Sunday in the Park with George, Pacific Overtures, Into the Woods, and my own favorite musical of all time, Follies.”

Songs from these musicals are included in Old Friends.

Sondheim’s hit parade

There is no true narrative included in the show. It’s not a “jukebox musical,” after all. Instead, a short prologue written by James Lapine is introduced in the beginning by Ms. Peters and Ms. Salonga.  Next, the two stars sing “Side by Side,” and then join Jason Pennycooke and Gavin Lee to perform “Comedy Tonight.” The titular “Company” from the 1970 musical Company follows.

Ms. Leavel, Bonnie Langford and Joanna Riding all team up for a rousing rendition of another Company gem, the patter song “You Could Drive a Person Crazy.”  “Getting Married Today,” from the same show, is a particularly fun number featuring Ms. Riding, Kevin Earley, Maria Wirries and company.

Bernadette Peters shines

Bernadette Peters performed in several Broadway productions of Sondheim shows. Her name is often synonymous with Sondheim’s work, and one can see why based on her highly emotional depth when singing such standards as “Send in the Clowns” and “Losing My Mind.” Granted, although her voice sounds strained at certain times, she still brings passion and poignancy to each lyric she sings, and the near-operatic quality remains intact.

Ms. Peters is lots of fun in “Hello, Little Girl” from Into the Woods, and Jacob Dickey is hilarious as the beefy Big Bad Wolf. In addition, she’s also one of the funniest aging strippers when singing “You Gotta Get a Gimmick” from Gypsy with Ms. Leavel and Ms. Riding. As the middle-aged stripper Mazeppa, Ms. Peters even plays the trumpet and gets huge laughs from the audience.

Lea Salonga’s incredible range

Equally important, Lea Salonga shows incredible range in a variety of songs, including her marvelous duet with Ms. Peters, “Children Will Listen” to a zany twist on Ms. Lovett from Sweeney Todd, singing the darkly comic “The Worst Pies in London.” What’s more, Ms. Salonga is at the top her game (and vocal range) while singing a gorgeous “Somewhere” from West Side Story—a golden oldie that creates frisson and sends aesthetic chills up one’s spine. She is at her outstanding best when belting out Mama Rose’s signature song “Everything’s Coming Up Roses” from Gypsy.

Ms. Peters and Ms. Salonga are in perfect harmony on “Being Alive” and “Side by Side” at the end of the second act.

Other cast performance surprises

There is so much amazing talent in the show. It’s almost impossible to mention them all without being verbose. That said, another performer truly stands out here: Beth Leavel, especially when singing “The Ladies Who Lunch” from Company. Ms. Leavel has all the flamboyant mannerisms and clipped vocal phraseology down to a science. She sings with the wit and sarcasm of a jaded Manhattan woman, bored with the wealthy elite. Elaine Stritch originated the song in Company.

Also noteworthy is the incredible Bonnie Langford and her razzle-dazzle take on “I’m Still Here” from Follies.  She brings back to glorious life the story of a show-biz “has been” who, despite many career ups and downs, has survived the travails of Hollywood and Broadway.

Great direction, choreography, costumes & sets

Director Matthew Bourne does an excellent job with this amazing cast and these timeless Sondheim treasures. Jill Parker’s gorgeous costumes and Matt Kinley’s engaging sets evoke the glorious world of Manhattan sophisticates from Company while also capturing the dark whimsy of Mr. Sondheim’s more daring musicals like Sweeney Todd. Stephen Mear’s vivacious choreography pulls out all the proverbial stops, especially when several cast members are all onstage for the showstopping numbers.

Old Friends is a marvelously entertaining and often poignant tribute to Stephen Sondheim and the unforgettable music and songs he created that will live on for many generations to come.

Published May 26, 2025
Reviewed at performance on May 22, 2025

‘OLD FRIENDS’: (Collage, left & right) Beth Leavel. Photos: Matthew Murphy.

‘OLD FRIENDS’: Lea Salonga. Photo: Matthew Murphy.

‘OLD FRIENDS’: Bonnie Langford. Photo: Matthew Murphy.

‘OLD FRIENDS’: Jacob Dickey & Bernadette Peters. Photo: Matthew Murphy.

‘OLD FRIENDS’: Joanna Riding & cast. Photo: Matthew Murphy.

‘OLD FRIENDS’: Beth Leavel, Bernadette Peters & Joanna Riding. Photo: Matthew Murphy.

‘OLD FRIENDS’: Jeremy Secomb & cast. Photo: Matthew Murphy.

‘OLD FRIENDS’: The cast. Photo: Matthew Murphy.

‘OLD FRIENDS’: The cast. Photo: Matthew Murphy.

‘OLD FRIENDS’: Kyle Selig, Daniel Yearwood & Jacob Dickey. Photo: Matthew Murphy.

‘OLD FRIENDS’: Jacob Dickey & Bernadette Peters. Photo: Matthew Murphy.

The post ‘Old Friends’: Stephen Sondheim’s greatest hits appeared first on StageZine.

‘MISS SAIGON’: Eva Noblezada & Devin Ilaw. Photo: Matthew Murphy

MISS SAIGON
Adapted from the original French text by Alain Boublil
Music by Claude-Michel Schönberg
Lyrics by Richard Maltby, Jr. & Alain Boublil
Directed by Laurence Conner
Musical Staging by Bob Avian
Broadway Theatre
1681 Broadway at 53rd Street
212-238-6200, wwwSaigonBroadway.com

By David NouNou

In the 1960s, America had the British rock invasion: The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, etc. In the 1980s and 1990s we had the Cameron Mackintosh invasion: Cats, Starlight Express, Les Misérables, Phantom of the Opera and Miss Saigon. Damn, that’s impressive, and Broadway deservedly welcomed him with open arms. He singlehandedly turned a dying Broadway into a booming, bustling Broadway with the aid of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Schönberg and Boublil.

That being said, I must now specifically concentrate on Miss Saigon. In 1991 it came to Broadway with the largest advance in history to date, the tale that a helicopter lands on stage (Americans love special effects) and a lot of controversy regarding casting. I salute Mr. Mackintosh in his stand to bring Jonathan Pryce and Lea Salonga in their roles that they originated in London, for which they ultimately won Tony Awards for best actor and actress, because without them the show would not have been as powerful and impactful.

Fast forward to 2017: Seeing Miss Saigon again might seem awesome at first thought but sadly for me (and I’m sure for most Americans who see it), it’s a shameful reminder of our past history and the atrocities that took place during the Vietnam War. Unlike the epic grandeur of Les Misérables with its glorious and memorable score and beautifully etched-out characters, Miss Saigon is epic visually but very thin on story line. It is basically Madame Butterfly set during the Vietnam War.

Chris (Alistair Brammer), an American G.I. stationed in Vietnam, falls in love with the 17-year- old Vietnamese bar girl, Kim (Eva Noblezada) who is under the thumbs and controlled by the Engineer (Jon Jon Briones), a man who has big dreams of coming to the USA and using his entrepreneurial skills to make it big in America. You know the rest.

The score by Boublil and Schönberg never lives up to the magnificence of Les Misérables. With the exception of “The Last Night of the World” a sweet ballad sung by Kim and Chris, the haunting “I’d Give My Life For You,” sung by Kim, and the Engineer’s rousing delusional tribute “The American Dream,” the rest of the score is undistinguished. The sensation of the show back then was the helicopter scene; now the best thing about that is the landing in which wind machines blast air onto the orchestra to simulate a helicopter landing with lots of people clamoring to get on and the taking off is like watching the headlights and front of a Volkswagen Beetle ascending.

For Mr. Mackintosh, casting is most essential. He brought Mr. Pryce as the Engineer, a role that is sinister, evil, calculating and a lowlife. He’d do anything and sacrifice anyone just to save his hide. Mr. Pryce played that part to perfection, and at the end you were cheering for him. As for Jon Jon Briones as the Engineer, I honestly have no idea what he is conveying. The closet character I could think of was a sleazy version of the parrot, Jose Carioca, in the 1943 Disney animated movie Saludos Amigos; totally lacking in personality, charisma and style, nothing that would suggest sinister, just plain smarmy and weasely.

Ms. Noblezada is enchanting as Kim, but Mr. Brammer lacks the passion that tortures Chris for having left Kim behind. Honorable mention must be made to Katie Rose Clark as Ellen, Chris’ wife, and Nicholas Christopher as John, Chris’ war buddy and friend. Another standout is Rachelle Ann Go as the prostitute Gigi, with her lush, haunting voice.

From a visual standpoint, this version of Miss Saigon is grimy and gritty.  Its direction by Laurence Connor is listless and aimless, no real vision or structure to it. It is so dimly lit that it is hard to distinguish if there ever was any daylight in Saigon. I saw this production in London in 2015 at the Prince Edward Theatre and there were talks back then that Miss Saigon would be transferring to Broadway. I knew that to make this move, better choices had to be made in direction and casting, especially for the Engineer.  The Engineer has to be able to hold up this giant behemoth of a musical. It wasn’t Mr. Briones then in the U.K. production and time has not improved him. Smarmy and pandering to the audience is not a real interpretation for the Engineer. Certainly better, tighter and more disciplined direction is needed than what Mr. Connor has provided.

It is not impossible to sell a historical musical that once lived for the helicopter gimmick; however, it is harder to sell when you have a musical with unfamiliar names, especially this season when there are stars in many of the shows currently playing. You can still sell a historical musical with no names if it is brilliantly conceived, directed and acted. Case in point: Come From Away—highly recommended.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published March 29, 2017
Reviewed at press performance on March 28, 2017

‘MISS SAIGON’: Jon Jon Briones. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘MISS SAIGON’: Katie Rose Clarke & Alistair Brammer. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘MISS SAIGON’: Rachelle Ann Go. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘MISS SAIGON’: Alistair Brammer & Eva Noblezada. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘MISS SAIGON’: Jon Jon Briones & cast. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘MISS SAIGON’: Eva Noblezada. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘MISS SAIGON’: Devin Ilaw. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘MISS SAIGON’: Jon Jon Briones. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘MISS SAIGON’: Eva Noblezada. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘MISS SAIGON’: Jon Jon Briones. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘MISS SAIGON’: Nicholas Christopher. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘MISS SAIGON’: Alistair Brammer. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘MISS SAIGON’: Alistair Brammer & Eva Noblezada. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘MISS SAIGON’: Eva Noblezada & Samuel Li Weintraub. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘MISS SAIGON’: Jon Jon Briones & cast. Photo: Matthew Murphy

The post ‘Miss Saigon’ returns to Broadway via London appeared first on StageZine.

EPIC REVIVAL IN LONDON: Eva Noblezada & Kwang Ho Hong. Photo: Matthew Murphy

MISS SAIGON
Adapted from the original French text by Alain Boublil
Music by Claude-Michel Schonberg
Lyrics by Richard Maltby, Jr. & Alain Boublil
Directed by Laurence Conner
Musical Staging by Bob Avian
Prince Edward Theatre
Old Compton Street
London, United Kingdom
(0844 482 5155), www.miss-saigon.com

By David NouNou

In the 1960s, America had the British rock invasion: The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, etc. In the 1980s and 1990s, we had The Cameron Mackintosh invasion: Cats, Starlight Express, Les Miserables, Phantom of the Opera and Miss Saigon. Damn, that’s impressive, and Broadway deservedly welcomed him with open arms. He single-handedly turned a dying Broadway into a booming, bustling Broadway with the aid of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Schonberg and Boublil.

That being said, I must now specifically concentrate on Miss Saigon. In 1990, it came to Broadway with the largest advance in history to date, the tale that a helicopter lands on the stage (Americans love special effects) and a lot of controversy regarding casting. I salute Mr. Mackintosh in his stand to bring Jonathan Pryce and Lea Salonga in their roles that they originated in London, for which they ultimately won Tony Awards for best actor and actress, because without them the show would not have been as powerful and interesting.

Fast forward to 2015. Seeing Miss Saigon at the gorgeous Prince Edward Theatre in London seems awesome at first thought, but sadly for me and I’m sure for most Americans who see it, it’s a shameful reminder of our past history and the atrocities that took place during the Vietnam War. Unlike the epic grandeur of Les Miserables ,with its glorious and memorable score and beautifully etched-out characters, Miss Saigon is epic visually but very thin in storyline. It is basically Madame Butterfly set during the Vietnam War.

Chris (Chris Peluso), an American G.I. stationed in Vietnam, falls in love with the Vietnamese bar girl Kim (Eva Nolezada), who is under the thumbs and controlled by the Engineer (Jon Jon Briones), a man with dreams of coming to America and using his entrepreneurial skills to make it big in the USA. You know the rest.

The score by Schonberg and Boublil never lives up to the magnificence of Les Miserables. With the exception of “The Last Night of the World,” a sweet ballad sung by Kim and Chris, the haunting “I’d Give My Life For You” sung by Kim and the Engineer’s rousing delusional tribute “The American Dream,” the rest of the score is undistinguished. And the whole scene with the helicopter landing in Act II is now almost laughable. A cheesy projection of a helicopter landing at the U.S. embassy morphs into what appears to be the body of a helicopter, with spinning ropes as propellers and lots of audio or noise, lot of hysteria, few people get on, and off it goes into projection land.

For Mr. Mackintosh, casting is most essential. He brought Mr. Pryce as the Engineer, a role that is sinister, evil, calculating and a lowlife. He’d do anything and sacrifice anyone just to save his hide. Mr. Pryce played that part to perfection, and at the end you are cheering for him. As for Jon Jon Briones as the Engineer, I honestly had no idea what he was conveying. The closet character I could think of was a sleazy version of the parrot, Jose Carioca, in the 1943 Disney animated movie Saludos Amigos; totally lacking in personality, charisma and style, nothing that would suggest sinister, just plain smarmy.

Ms. Nolezada is enchanting as Kim, and Mr. Peluso as Chris, possesses a powerful voice and both fit their characters perfectly. Honorable mention must be made to Siobhan Dillon as Ellen, Chris’ wife, and Hugh Maynard as Jake, Chris’ war buddy.

From a visual standpoint, this version of Miss Saigon is arresting, and the score and many of the performances pack a strong emotional punch. If it plans to come to America (and rumors say it will), some stronger choices have to be made: An Engineer that can hold up this giant behemoth, tighter and more disciplined direction, and a more authentic, realistic idea for the helicopter scene.

LOVE IN WAR-TORN VIETNAM: Eva Noblezada & Alistair Brammer. Photo: Michael Le Poer Trench

A G.I. IN ‘SAIGON’: Alistair Brammer. Photo: Michael Le Poer Trench

GIGI IN ‘MISS SAIGON’: Natalie Mendoza. Photo: Michael Le Poer Trench

THE ENGINEER: Jon Jon Briones. Photo: Michael Le Poer Trench

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published June 29, 2015
Reviewed at June 16, 2015 performance in London

The post U.K. ‘Miss Saigon’ revival a visually arresting epic appeared first on StageZine.