‘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.

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‘HERE LIES LOVE’: Arielle Jacobs & cast. Photo: Billy Bustamante, Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman (2023).

HERE LIES LOVE
Concept, music & lyrics by David Byrne
Music by Fatboy Slim
Developed & directed by Alex Timbers
Broadway Theatre
1681 Broadway at 53rd Street
(212-239-6200), www.HereLiesLoveBroadway.com

By David NouNou

Sitting through Here Lies Love, one cannot help but see the parallel lives of Eva Peron in Evita—which coincidentally also played at this same theatre—and Imelda Marcos (Arielle Jacobs) in this musical. They both started with poor origins, became working women, married men who sought power, and they both were the women who stood behind their men and got them to the top. And yes, they were both corrupt and landed their countries into poverty while they both enriched themselves through greed. Imelda did to the Philippines what Eva did to Argentina, and both were “High Flying Adored” by their countrymen—to quote a great song title from Evita.

The similarities end here. Whereas Evita was a cohesive musical with a brilliant, straightforward narrative and score, Here Lies Love is literally all over the place. I mean it; it plays all around and through the Broadway Theatre. The orchestra section has been gutted out, and you have an empty dance floor with a runway jutting out through the middle of the theatre. The runway has a life of its own and revolves all around the floor, thus making the audience move around the theatre with it. For some strange reason, the creators of Here Lies Love felt it should be an interactive musical. If you have a bad back or can’t stand for 90 minutes, I suggest you sit in the front mezzanine. Even the people who are in the mezzanine or balcony are not immune to all this interaction; they are brought in to join in the revelry and made to stand up and participate in some dance moves on two separate occasions.

After all, this is a David Byrne musical, and like his Broadway concert mega-hit American Utopia, he wants the audience to participate and be part of the experience. Truth be told, he has captured the essence of Imelda Marcos and added a layer of theatricality to her. This layer is in large part due to the direction of Alex Timbers who made it possible to have Imelda presented as a theatrical extravaganza. All you have to do is remember Mr. Timbers’ Moulin Rouge and Beetlejuice and you know the excesses that he can present.

When so much is going on all around you, through sound effects, projections, a giant disco ball, glowing neon lights, a DJ, even helicopter sounds airlifting the Marcos, it is difficult to concentrate on the performances. Arielle Jacobs does a valiant and admirable job of capturing Imelda’s essence, and her voice is powerful. Jose Llana as Marcos isn’t given much to make him interesting amidst all the goings on. However, Conrad Ricamora as Ninoy Aquino manages to break from all the noise around him and give an excellent performance as Imelda’s first love and her political rival. Alas, Lea Salonga has a very small part near the end, as Aurora Aquino, Ninoy’s mother, singing the haunting “Just Ask the Flowers.” Ms. Salonga is still in splendid form and voice.

Here Lies Love is one of those musicals that one cannot just label as “gimmicky.” It all depends on whether you’re into the gimmick of audience participation or not.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published July 27, 2023
Reviewed at July 26, 2023 press performance.

‘HERE LIES LOVE’ Lea Salonga & cast. Photo: Billy Bustamante, Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman (2023).

‘HERE LIES LOVE’: Conrad Ricamora. Photo: Billy Bustamante, Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman (2023).

‘HERE LIES LOVE’: Conrad Ricamora (left) & Arielle Jacobs (right) & cast. Photo: Billy Bustamante, Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman (2023).

‘HERE LIES LOVE’: Arielle Jacobs, Jose Llana & cast. Photo: Billy Bustamante, Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman (2023).

‘HERE LIES LOVE’: The cast. Photo: Billy Bustamante, Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman (2023).

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‘ONCE ON THIS ISLAND’: (left to right) Alex Newell, Lea Salonga & Merle Dandridge. Photo: Joan Marcus

ONCE ON THIS ISLAND
Book and lyrics by Lynn Ahrens
Music by Stephen Flaherty
Based on the novel My Love, My Love by Rosa Guy
Directed by Michael Arden
Choreographed by Camille A. Brown
Circle In The Square
235 West 50th Street
212-239-6200, www.OnceOnThisIsland.com

By Scott Harrah

Tales of star-crossed lovers might be nothing new, but director Michael Arden offers a unique twist in this charming, innovative revival of Once On This Island, the 1990 Lynn Ahrens and Steven Flaherty musical, based on a Rosa Guy novel. Set on an island in the French Antilles, this Caribbean fantasy is beautifully re-conceived by Mr. Arden, with clever sets by Dane Laffrey, lavish period costumes by Clint Ramos and imaginative lighting design by Jules Fisher and Peggy Eisenhauer. With the help of his scenic and lighting team, Mr. Arden offers a vivid “theater in the round” experience that works well in the confines of Circle in the Square, totally enveloping the audience and making us feel as if we are there on a windswept tropical island, complete with sand, a live goat, water, etc.

The rhythmic score by Ahrens and Flaherty transports us to a mythical time and place with a story paralleling Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet. Instead of the Montagues and Capulets, we have a beautiful Afro-Caribbean native girl, Ti Moune (the outstanding Hailey Kilgore), rescued from a near-fatal accident during a storm. She is adopted by two islanders, Mama Euralie (Kenita R. Miller) and Tonton Julian (Phillip Boykin), both of whom raise the orphan child as their own. Later, Ti Moune falls for the lighter-skinned, aristocratic native Daniel (Isaac Powell), an upper-class guy from the other side of the island who lives in a gated community.

Once On This Island relies heavily on the mystical superstition, voodoo and folklore of the French-speaking Caribbean, offering an endless parade of Calypso-infused songs like “We Dance,” “And the Gods Heard Her Prayer,” ‘The Sad Tale of the Beauxhommes,” and more. The songs propel the story forward like any well-made musical should, filled with the faith and rituals of the islanders. Granted, there’s a lot of confusing talk about gods and sorcery, but all one needs to believe in is the magic of the music while marveling at Camille A. Brown’s winning choreography.

Although the narrative conflict is fairly standard (dark-skinned Ti Moune can never truly be accepted by lighter-skinned Daniel’s family), the message still packs an emotional punch, considering the current political climate in America. However, under Michael Arden’s trenchant direction, the musical is more about the celebration of life and the gorgeous Afro-Caribbean songbook than anything else, so the story never seems heavy-handed.

This revival works so well thanks to the near-seismic energy of the cast, all brimming with talent. The multi-ethnic cast members gel together marvelously, but a few stand out. Ms. Kilgore gives a vivacious, sincere and truly heartbreaking performance as Ti Moune, the “peasant” girl, but Mr. Powell as Daniel is somewhat forgettable in comparison. Mr. Powell’s Daniel doesn’t always convince us that he’s someone Ti Moune would risk her life for, but without this notion there would be no story. Love perpetuates life, it seems.

Some of the show’s greatest performances are given by supporting cast members, like Tony winner Lea Salonga, bewitching us with her mellifluous voice as goddess Erzulie in such songs as “The Human Heart.” Kenita R. Miller, as Mama Eurlie, is often haunting as she sings of the love she has for Ti Moune, while Alex Newell, as gender-bending Asaka, has the whole house grooving as she belts out the rousing “Mama Will Provide.”

Once On This Island is a colorful, immersive experience for everyone, giving audiences a helluva joyful ride, making it one of the season’s freshest surprises.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published December 5, 2017
Reviewed at December 4, 2017 press performance.

‘ONCE ON THIS ISLAND’: Hailey Kilgore. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘ONCE ON THIS ISLAND’: Lea Salonga. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘ONCE ON THIS ISLAND’: Hailey Kilgore. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘ONCE ON THIS ISLAND’: Kenita R. Miller. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘ONCE ON THIS ISLAND’: Quentin Earl Darrington. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘ONCE ON THIS ISLAND’: Phillip Boykin. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘ONCE ON THIS ISLAND’: Isaac Powell & Merle Dandridge. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘ONCE ON THIS ISLAND’: (left to right) Emerson Davis, Lea Salonga, Alex Newell, Quentin Earl Darrington & Merle Dandridge. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘ONCE ON THIS ISLAND’: Isaac Powell & Quentin Earl Darrington. Photo: Joan Marcus

‘ONCE ON THIS ISLAND’: The cast. Photo: Joan Marcus

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‘ALLEGIANCE’: George Takei & Lea Salonga. Photo: Matthew Murphy

ALLEGIANCE
Book by Marc Acito, Jay Kuo & Lorenzo Thione
Music & lyrics by Jay Kuo
Directed by Stafford Arima
Choreographed by Andrew Palermo
Longacre Theatre
220 West 48th Street
(212-239-6200), www.AllegianceMusical.com

By Scott Harrah

There are so many powerful, interesting, dynamic, heroic tales in Allegiance that it is a shame the musical score bogs them all down. The theatrical axiom states that a musical score should propel the story forward. Sadly, in the case of Allegiance, it brings it to a halt. That’s a shame because otherwise, this is truly an epic drama about a World War II aspect we rarely hear about: The cruel treatment of an estimated 120,000 Japanese Americans in “internment” camps, and Japanese-American soldiers, unsung heroes who proved their loyalty to the stars and stripes by joining the fight against the enemy.

The story is so intense that one is genuinely invested in these characters and their plight and outcome. The uninteresting and banal score could have many songs trimmed and instead used the words as dialogue. The authors should have kept six or seven essential songs and eliminated the rest, because they start sounding the same after awhile and none rises to the occasion of the dialogue. The show, based on real-life events, is so epic that it would make either a fine film or stage drama. Was Allegiance done as a musical to give it more commercial appeal? Perhaps, but by doing so, the creators squandered an opportunity to create a straightforward historical saga about a chapter of American history and World War II that needs to be told. There is enough somber, fascinating substance here to make the material stand on its own, so why all the songs? Other than the moving anthem “Gaman” (meaning “patience” in Japanese), most of the musical numbers just seem distracting. In addition, Andrew Palermo’s choreography is downright pedestrian at times, adding zero to songs that already go nowhere.

Inspired by the true experiences of the show’s star George Takei (Sulu of “Star Trek” fame), the story spans 60 years of the Kimura family, starting out in San Francisco in 2001 and then Salinas, California in 1941 to the Heart Mountain Relocation Center in Wyoming during World War II, with scenes in Italy and France and stops in Washington, DC before and after the war. In 2001, Sam Kimura (Mr. Takei) is an elderly man and is visited by a woman bringing a mysterious envelope from his sister Kei (Tony Award winner Lea Salonga), whom he hasn’t seen in decades. Allegiance is ambitious indeed in its sheer scale and timeline. We see the rural farm areas of California in which Japanese Americans thrived, but had their homes sold for next to nothing and their livelihoods and possessions taken from them as they were placed in internment camps. Japanese Americans were held as prisoners by the U.S. military, with their freedom taken away, not given proper medical care, and forced to claim loyalty to the U.S. on questionnaires.

In the camp, young Sam Kimura (played by Telly Leung) wants to prove his family’s loyalty to the USA by joining the war. Sam befriends and falls in love with nurse Hannah Campbell (Katie Rose Clarke). Hannah understands the unjust ways the military treats the Japanese Americans in the camp, such as denying them badly needed medication, but there is little she can do.

Sam’s loyalty, however, isn’t shared by everyone in the camp. Sister Kei supports and loves Frankie Suzuki (Michael K. Lee), a man who is against Japanese Americans being drafted and is vociferous about the way the U.S. military treats his people. Kei also worries about their ailing grandfather Ojii-chan (played by Mr. Takei in a dual role), a man that loves working in his garden.

However, most of the performances are top notch. One has to marvel at 78-year-old George Takei. Here, he is at his best playing Ojii-chan, a charming old man who brings badly needed levity to the folks in the internment camp. It is his final scene as Sam the war hero—a man who earned a purple heart but lost nearly everything important in his life—that really shows us what a consummate actor Mr. Takei truly is as he breaks down emotionally in the most heartbreaking moment of Allegiance.

Lea Salonga brings multiple layers to the character of Kei and is consistently superb and in fine voice, so it is a pity she is given such mediocre material to sing.

Some of the best performances come from supporting cast members. As Hannah, the bighearted blonde nurse from Nebraska, Katie Rose Clarke is outstanding, giving a naturalistic portrayal of a woman who risks everything to stand up for what is right. Equally evocative is Michael K. Lee as Frankie Suzuki.

Director Stafford Arima gets effective performances from everyone else, but as a whole, he had a tall order indeed, overseeing a project with the best of intentions but, because it was made into a musical, was misguided from the get-go. The timing was more than right for Allegiance with all the current talk about immigration and what it means to be an American. Many stories about World War II and the plight of Japanese Americans remain untold. With some heavy script doctoring, Allegiance could have been a modern classic but as is, it is one big missed opportunity.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published November 15, 2015
Reviewed at press performance on November 14, 2015

‘ALLEGIANCE’: (left to right) Michael K. Lee, George Takei & Lea Salonga. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘ALLEGIANCE’: Telly Leung & Katie Rose Clarke. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘ALLEGIANCE’: Telly Leung (center) & cast. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘ALLEGIANCE’: The cast. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘ALLEGIANCE’: Lea Salonga. Photo: Matthew Murphy

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