‘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.

‘GYPSY’: Joy Woods & Audra McDonald. Photo: Julieta Cervantes.

GYPSY
Book by Arthur Laurents
Music by Jule Styne
Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
Suggested by the memoirs of Gypsy Rose Lee
Music supervision, music direction &
additional arrangements by Andy Einhorn
Choreography by Camille A. Brown
Directed by George C. Wolfe
Majestic Theatre
245 W. 45^th St.
https://gypsybway.com
 

By Scott Harrah

It’s six-time Tony Award winner Audra McDonald’s turn to play the iconic Mama Rose—and she is one of the best yet. 

There’s a reason why Gypsy has been revived five times in the past 30 years: it remains one of the best-written, most seamless American musicals of all time, partially because it’s based on a true story, but primarily due to its unforgettable songbook.  Originally portrayed by Ethel Merman in 1959, the role of Rose is the lifeblood of this classic, and everyone from Angela Lansbury to Tyne Daly, Bernadette Peters and Patti LuPone has played the part on Broadway—and Imelda Staunton in London— since then. Now, Audra McDonald takes on the iconic Seattle stage mother Rose with everything she’s got and gives the character an entirely new “spin.”

A reinvention of Mama Rose

While many actresses played Rose as an edgy, high-spirited belter, Ms. McDonald gives the woman a sense of elegance and inner dignity, singing the classic songs with her famous coloratura voice and, in a sense, reinvents them for a new generation. Rose is as demanding a role in musical theater as Lady Macbeth and Blanche DuBois are in the pantheon of drama, and Ms. McDonald’s interpretation is one of the best yet. The only other outside-of-the-box portrayal of Rose this reviewer has seen was by Imelda Staunton at the Savoy Theatre in London back in 2015.

Ms. Staunton, a petite British acting legend, exploded on the West End with an entirely original rendition of Rose. “You see her building layer after layer with every scene and song,” wrote the late David Nounou in his 2015 StageZine review. “She is raw and vulnerable; she is coiled like a cobra ready to strike, and all wrapped up in a veil of desperation to succeed.”

Fragile & vulnerable

However, while Ms. Staunton’s Rose was manic—as was Patti LuPone’s in the 2008 Broadway revival—Ms. McDonald is more subtle but equally powerful. Hers is a Rose that gains gradual momentum, bossy in the beginning, but with a touch of class. Ms. McDonald paces Rose with razor-sharp intensity, eventually evolving into an out-of-control harridan who is not exactly likeable.  We see her fragility and vulnerability. When Ms. McDonald sings “Some People” in act one, we know immediately she’s not giving us the brassy Rose of yesteryear. She is softer, gentler and more operatic in her vocal delivery, and it works beautifully. She is also sublime indeed when singing classic songs like the heartbreaking 11^th hour finale “Rose’s Turn,” and even gives a fresh take on “Have an Eggroll, Mr. Goldstone.” She’s in fine voice when singing such classics as “Together Wherever We Go” and “Everything’s Coming Up Roses.”

Big, bold & splashy

This production is far more lavish than the stripped-down 2008 iteration with Patti LuPone. That revival featured an on-stage orchestra but had few sets and a downsized cast. This Gypsy is truer to the show’s epic proportions of the past. It is a spectacular production, with a cast of 30, a full orchestra, great sets by Santo Loquasto, outstanding Depression-era costumes by Toni-Leslie James and marvelous lighting by Jules Fisher and Peggy Eisenhauer. This is Gypsy the way it was meant to be: big, bold, splashy and spectacular.

Gypsy is “suggested” by “The Memoirs of Gypsy Rose Lee,” the story of the burlesque icon’s childhood life in a traveling vaudeville act, helmed by a domineering mother. Joy Woods is entertaining indeed in role of Louise, the tomboyish child who spends most of act one in the background while her prettier sister Dainty June (Jordan Tyson) headlines the show-within-a-show. It’s not until the second act when June strikes out on her own that Louise truly blossoms as she’s forced by her mother to become the stripper Gypsy Rose Lee.

Standout supporting cast

Some of the greatest performances are given by such supporting characters as Herbie (Danny Burstein), Rose’s boyfriend/manager.  Tony Award winner Mr. Burstein is always amazing, but he is one of the best Herbies this reviewer has ever seen. He’s sensitive, determined and is consistently top-notch in both his acting and singing. We really feel for the guy as he clings to the hope that Rose will one day marry him.

Joy Woods as Louise is another standout. She starts out shy and unassuming, but her transformation in the second act as Gypsy Rose Lee is remarkable, even if it seems a bit rushed and awkward. Watching Ms. Woods’ Louise go from a modest, awkward teen to the glamorous Gypsy Rose Lee is delightful, especially when she sings the showstopper “Let Me Entertain You.”

One of the show’s highlights is watching the trio of seasoned strippers in a Wichita burlesque grindhouse (Lesli Margherita as Tessie Tura, Lili Thomas as Mazeppa and Melinda Hull as Electra). The three burlesque queens show Gypsy how to take it all off in the razzle-dazzle number “You’ve Gotta Get a Gimmick.”

One of the greatest show-business stories ever told

However, there is nothing gimmicky about Gypsy. Despite its feel-good songs and breezy narrative, it’s essentially a tragedy as intricately crafted as anything by Shakespeare or the great American dramatists of the 20^th century. Director George C. Wolfe allows each cast member to shine, and Camille A. Brown’s choreography is energetic and effusive.

Gypsy peels back the emotional layers of a mother’s megalomania and strong drive to see her children succeed to expose the vulnerability beneath her iron-clad exterior. It’s a fable of sacrifice, the death of vaudeville in America, and the agony of broken dreams that still packs an emotional punch with new generations of audiences. That’s why more than six decades after it was first produced, Gypsy still holds up as one of the greatest show-business stories ever told.

Published January 9, 2025
Reviewed at press performance on January 8, 2025

‘GYPSY’: Audra McDonald. Photo: Julieta Cervantes.

‘GYPSY’: Audra McDonald & Joy Woods. Photo: Julieta Cervantes.

‘GYPSY’: (left to right) Danny Burstein, Joy Woods & Audra McDonald. Photo: Julieta Cervantes.

‘GYPSY’: (left to right) Zachary Daniel Jones, Brendan Sheehan, Audra McDonald, Andrew Kober, Danny Burstein & Jordan Tyson. Photo: Julieta Cervantes.

‘GYPSY’: Joy Woods. Photo: Julieta Cervantes.

‘GYPSY’: (left to right) Mylinda Hull, Joy Woods, Lesli Margherita & Lili Thomas. Photo: Julieta Cervantes.

‘GYPSY’: Zachary Daniel Jones, Tony d’Alelio, Jordan Tyson, Kevin Csolak & Brendan Sheehan. Photo: Julieta Cervantes.

‘GYPSY’: Jade Smith. Photo: Julieta Cervantes.

The post ‘Gypsy’: Audra McDonald is best Mama Rose yet appeared first on StageZine.

‘MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG’: (left to right) Daniel Radcliffe, Jonathan Groff & Lindsay Mendez. Photo: Matthew Murphy.

MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG
Music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
Book by George Furth
Directed by Maria Friedman
Hudson Theatre
141 West 44th Street
www.MerrilyonBroadway.com

By David NouNou

It is easy to see why Merrily We Roll Along was savaged by critics and bombed when it opened on November 16, 1981. It used up its advance sales on 44 previews and lasted only 16 performances. It was to be a Stephen Sondheim vehicle with a no-name cast; “just Sondheim” as its selling point. This was before he was a deity. It failed on so many levels.

It lacked the grandiosity of his 1979 Sweeney Todd, or the majesty of 1976’s Pacific Overtures, or the beauty of 1973’s A Little Night Music, or the extravaganza of 1971’s Follies or the brilliance of 1970’s Company. Merrily We Roll Along was a dreary musical about three friends examining their lives in 1978 and going backwards in time to 1957 when they first met in their prime. It lacked any sets; the costumes were made up of jeans, khakis and T-Shirts with the character’s names on it. I guess because the cast was so lackluster, it was the only way the audience could identify them. Its failure was also due to the feeling of detachment from the musical itself and its characters. In 1981, audiences wanted to feel empathy for their characters and Merrily just didn’t give them that. Another blow came in the form of Michael Bennett’s explosive razzle-dazzle Dreamgirls, loosely based on the formation of the musical group Diana Ross and the Supremes. There was plenty of attachment and empathy there. The choice was simple: It came down to dreary or razzle-dazzle.

Merrily has developed a cult following over the years. With songs like the bouncy “Old Friends,”  and the haunting “Not a Day Goes By,” the musical started picking up steam. Fast forward to 2023: Sondheim is a deity now. You’ve got three leads that are big names, full of charm, charisma and audience visibility/connection. It’s a fully mounted production with a multi-functional set and costumes galore. The detachment that failed in 1981 works wonderfully for the age we live in now. However, it is Maria Friedman’s visionary direction that has reshaped a dreary musical into a full-blown, knockout production.

Having Daniel Radcliffe (Charley Kringas), Jonathan Groff (Franklin Shepard) and Lindsay Mendez (Mary Flynn) has given this musical a luster that it desperately needed. It is 1976 in Franklin Shepard’s Bel-Air mansion with all the phonies and sycophants surrounding him and extolling him. He is a producer now; he has left his roots of composing music for the glamour of Hollywood and all its pretentiousness. He is on his second marriage to theatrical actress, Gussie Carnegie (Krystal Joy Brown). She divorced Broadway producer, Joe Josephson (Jeremy Kushner), who produced Franklin and Charlie’s first musical hit, Musical Husbands.

Also at the party is a second member of the original trio, Mary Flynn, who has always been in love with Franklin but he has always been blind to it. She has written a bestseller and has now become a critic. Also, she loves her liquor. She is the mirror that Franklin has to look into to see what he has turned into; not the brilliant composer he always wanted to be. He is a success as a moneymaker, but a total failure as a man, a friend, a husband, and a father.

Moving backwards in time to 1973 at NBC Studios in Manhattan, Charley Kringas is awaiting the arrival of his composing partner and friend Franklin for an interview, but instead Franklin is late due to another venture of moneymaking. They are asked what it is like to be working together, and Charlie interrupts by “if I may…” and sings “Franklin Shepard, Inc.,” the showstopping number of the show, which incidentally sounds much like the style and tempo of “I’m Not Getting Married Today” from Sondheim’s Company.

Going further back to 1967, a courthouse where Beth Shepard (Katie Rose Clarke) is divorcing Frank and he asks her if she still loves him, and she sings the heart-wrenching “Not A Day Goes By.” End of Act I.

Act II is the weaker of the two. It starts in 1964 with Franklin and Charley’s first huge success, and keeps moving backward to 1960 when they formed their first revue at a downtown club in New York City where Beth auditions for them and Frank ends up proposing to her, until it’s finally 1957 on an NYC rooftop where the trio (Franklin, Charley and Mary) first meet, and sing about their bright future which is ahead of them in the song “Our Time.”

The musical was problematic from the onset. It had a difficult book to navigate through and the characters were most unlikable in its original formation—a no-no in musical comedy. However, over the years the book has been revised a few times, and there is no overlooking Daniel Radcliffe, Jonathan Groff and Lindsay Mendez. They are the oomph this show so desperately needs. Their charisma and charm make you overlook a lot of their character flaws and that’s perfectly okay, because everyone is flawed in some form or another. They work in harmonious sync. They complement each other’s performances. This is a tremendous asset to this complicated show. They smooth out the wrinkles and give it an easy flow.

In addition to Maria Friedman’s excellent direction, there is the sublime live orchestra—not pre-recorded tracks that are used in so many musicals today to cut costs—conducted by Joel Fram, and the divine orchestrations by Jonathan Tunick carry this musical into melody heaven. This is how you take a flop, reimagine it, cast it with a splendid trio, and turn it into an incredible memorable revival.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published October 23, 2023
Reviewed at October 22, 2023 press performance.

‘MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG’: Katie Rose Clarke & Jonathan Groff. Photo: Matthew Murphy.

‘MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG’: (left to right) Reg Rogers, Katie Rose Clarke, Jonathan Groff, Daniel Radcliffe & Lindsay Mendez. Photo: Matthew Murphy.

‘MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG’: The cast. Photo: Matthew Murphy.

‘MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG’: Krystal Joy Brown & Jonathan Groff. Photo: Matthew Murphy.

‘MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG’: (left to right) Daniel Radcliffe, Jonathan Groff, Reg Rogers
& Krystal Joy Brown. Photo: Matthew Murphy.

‘MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG’: (left to right) Krystal Joy Brown, Reg Rogers, Natalie Wachen & cast. Photo: Matthew Murphy.

The post ‘Merrily We Roll Along’ an incredible revival appeared first on StageZine.

‘MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG’: (Left to right): Lindsay Mendez, Daniel Radcliffe & Jonathan Groff
. Photo: Andy Henderson, 2023.

Rehearsals have started for the Broadway revival of MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG, which begins performances at Broadway’s Hudson Theatre (141 West 44^th Street) on Tuesday, September 19. Tickets are on sale now at https://merrilyonbroadway.com/

Directed by multi-Olivier Award^® winner Maria Friedman, MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG features music & lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, a book by George Furth, and is based on the original play by George S. Kaufman & Moss Hart.

MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG will star Daniel Radcliffe as Charley Kringas, Jonathan Groff as Franklin Shepard, and Lindsay Mendez as Mary Flynn. The production will feature Krystal Joy Brown as Gussie Carnegie, Katie Rose Clarke as Beth Shepard, and Reg Rogers as Joe Josephson. The cast will also include Max Rackenberg, Brady Wagner, Sherz Aletaha, Maya Boyd, Leana Rae Concepcion, Morgan Kirner, Ken Krugman, Corey Mach, Talia Robinson, Amanda Rose, Jamila Sabares-Klemm, Brian Sears, Evan Alexander Smith, Christian Strange, Koray Tarhan, Vishal Vaidya, Natalie Wachen, and Jacob Keith Watson.

The production recently enjoyed a critically acclaimed and completely sold-out run at New York Theatre Workshop, after its sold-out runs at London’s Menier Chocolate Factory and the Olivier Award-winning West End transfer produced by Sonia Friedman Productions.

Spanning three decades in the entertainment business, MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG charts the turbulent relationship between composer Franklin Shepard and his two lifelong friends — writer Mary and lyricist & playwright Charley. An inventive cult-classic ahead of its time, MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG features some of Stephen Sondheim’s most celebrated and personal songs. Maria Friedman first directed the musical at London’s Menier Chocolate Factory – a production that subsequently transferred to the Harold Pinter Theatre, where it garnered the most five-star reviews in West End history before going on to win the Olivier Award for Best Musical Revival.

MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG is produced on Broadway by Sonia Friedman Productions, David Babani, Patrick Catullo, Jeff Romley, and New York Theatre Workshop. This production was originally produced at the Menier Chocolate Factory (Artistic Director David Babani) and subsequently produced in London’s West End by Sonia Friedman Productions, Menier Chocolate Factory, and Neal Street Productions.

MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG also features choreography by Tim Jackson, orchestrations by Tony Award winner Jonathan Tunick, scenery and costume design by Soutra Gilmour, lighting design by Amith Chandrashaker, sound design by Kai Harada, hair and wig design by Cookie Jordan, casting by Jim Carnahan, CSA and Jason Thinger, CSA, music supervision by Catherine Jayes, music direction by Joel Fram, associate music supervision by Alvin Hough, Jr., and music coordination by Kristy Norter. Merrily We Roll Along was originally directed on Broadway by Harold Prince and originally produced on Broadway by Lord Grade, Martin Starger, Robert Fryer, and Harold Prince in association with Ruth Mitchell and Howard Haines.

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‘SWEENEY TODD’: Josh Groban & Annaleigh Ashford. Photo: Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman.

SWEENEY TODD: THE DEMON BARBER OF FLEET STREET
Book by Hugh Wheeler
Music & lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
From an adaptation by Christopher Bond
Directed by Thomas Kail
Lunt-Fontanne Theatre
205 West 46th Street
(877-250-2929), www.SweeneyToddBroadway.com

By David NouNou

Most theatergoers can recite all of Stephen Sondheim’s works and he was prolific indeed. Quite possibly, the best and most intricate song wordsmith of any generation. First produced in 1979, starring Angela Lansbury and Len Cariou and winner of eight Tony Awards, the original production of Sweeney Todd closed after only 557 performances. A barber slitting the throats of his clients for revenge and then making pies out of their bodies wasn’t exactly what people wanted to see from a musical. For most people it was quite jarring, and it wasn’t the usual musical fare one came to expect from a Sondheim musical. Honestly, I was one of those people that just didn’t get it. Let’s just say it was decades ahead of its time

The years have transformed this musical into a masterpiece. Audiences have finally come to appreciate it not only as a musical but it also has the grandness and style of an opera. The songs don’t come trippingly off the tongue, but they are among Sondheim’s greatest compositions.

You know the plot: Sweeney Todd (Josh Groban) rescued at sea and befriended by a young sailor, Anthony Hope (Jordan Fisher) on a dock in London. They are met by a Beggar Woman (Ruthie Ann Miles). Sweeney recounts to Anthony how he used to be a barber and married to a beautiful woman. A corrupt judge, Judge Turpin (Jamie Jackson), lusted for his wife and sent Sweeney away on trumped-up charges. Leaving Anthony, Sweeney goes to Fleet Street where his barber shop used to be above a meat-pie shop. The shop is run by Mrs. Lovett (Annaleigh Ashford) who tells him how awful her pies have been because of the lack of meat in them. When Sweeney asks about renting the barber shop, Mrs. Lovett reveals to him that she recognizes him as Benjamin Barker, the former barber that stayed there, and presents him with his old sterling silver straight razors that she kept for him all these years. She also informs him that his wife, Lucy was lured by the judge and his assistant, Beadle Bamford (John Rapson) to a masked ball at the judge’s home—where she was raped and ultimately, she poisoned herself. The judge then took Sweeney’s infant daughter, Johanna (Delaney Westfall) and raised her as his ward. This starts the tale of Sweeney Todd, the demon barber of Fleet Street.

From the moment I heard that Josh Groban was going to play Sweeney Todd, I have been counting down the days to see this show. For me, this was the show I was longing to see in the 2022/23 season, and wow, it offered everything I’ve been waiting to see in Sweeney Todd. I’ve seen the original Sweeney with Len Cariou, also George Hearn, Bob Gunton, Michael Cerveris—all great in their own right. However, Mr. Groban is the definitive Sweeney. His acting is subtle, provides the proper menace, but his voice, whether singing the bittersweet “The Barber and His Wife”, the bitterness in “No Place Like London,” the anguish for his blades in “My Friends” or the tormented “The Ballad of Sweeney Todd,” the voice is heaven-sent—from its purity to operatic scale, his voice is spellbinding.

One always associates the robust Mrs. Lovett with Angela Lansbury. Let’s face it, who can top Angela Lansbury? Annaleigh Ashford has taken a different path. Ms. Ashford is known for her mastering the art of comedy. Since she is a much younger Mrs. Lovett, she doesn’t go for the robust innocence, but taps into every aspect of the comedic and the sinister that Mrs. Lovett possesses, and this makes her the perfect foil to Mr. Groban’s possessed Sweeney.

Director Thomas Kail, best known for directing the blockbuster musical Hamilton, has seen to every aspect of this production. From fine-tuning his two leads to the supporting players, including: Jordan Fisher as Anthony, Gaten Matarazzo as Tobias, Ruthie Ann Miles as Beggar Woman, Delaney Westfall as Johanna, Jamie Jackson as Judge Turpin, and John Rapson as Beadle Bamford, they all excel in their performances. What Mr. Kail has also seen to is the perfect set design by Mimi Lien. The original by Eugene Lee, although a Tony winner, was way too overwhelming. The steeliness of it overtook everything that was going on. Most other sets were minimal and underwhelming. This one is a perfect mood setter.

Whether it is the material or the timing, suffice it to say this version of Sweeney Todd has reached the pinnacle of perfection.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published April 2, 2023
Reviewed at April 1, 2023 press performance.

‘SWEENEY TODD’: Josh Groban, Annaleigh Ashford & cast. Photo: Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman.

‘SWEENEY TODD’: Ruthie Ann Miles. Photo: Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman.

‘SWEENEY TODD’: Gaten Matarazzo, Annaleigh Ashford, Josh Groban, Nathan Salstone & cast. Photo: Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman.

‘SWEENEY TODD’: Gaten Matarazzo, Annaleigh Ashford, Alicia Kaori, DeLaney Westfall & Kristie Dale Sanders. Photo: Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman.

‘SWEENEY TODD’: Nicholas Christopher & cast. Photo: Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman.

‘SWEENEY TOOD’: Jamie Jackson & John Rapson. Photo: Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman.

‘SWEENEY TODD’: Jordan Fisher & Maria Bilbao. Photo: Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman.

‘SWEENEY TODD’: Josh Groban. Photo: Matthew Murphy & Evan Zimmerman.

The post ‘Sweeney Todd’: Razor-sharp revival best ever appeared first on StageZine.

‘COMPANY’: Katrina Lenk. Photo: Matthew Murphy.

COMPANY
Music & lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
Book by George Furth
Directed by Marianne Elliott
Bernard B. Jacobs Theatre
242 West 45th Street
(212-239-6200), https://companymusical.com/

By Scott Harrah

The latest Company revival could drive a critic (and purists) crazy with British director Marianne Elliott’s new, often confusing and very European spin on this masterpiece that has never needed tampering. Why?  It is the quintessential New York musical, a show renowned for its simplicity, sophistication and gorgeous score, featuring classics like “Being Alive,” “The Ladies Who Lunch,” “You Could Drive a Person Crazy,” “Another Hundred People,” “Getting Married Today” and others.  What’s offered here is a 21^st century perspective to dust off the narrative cobwebs and dated dialogue and make it relevant in 2021, but the score by Stephen Sondheim (who died last month) is so timeless that there was no need for a major overhaul here   More than 50 years have passed since Company first premiered on Broadway but much of the overall premise of the show rings true today.  Manhattan is still a maddening, overcrowded insane world with millions of people, and it’s still so easy to feel alone when you’re single.  This is certainly one of Mr. Sondheim’s greatest works, if not the best.  George Furth’s original book was—dare I say it?—ahead of its time back in 1970 when Company premiered on Broadway.  Many aspects of the show—tiny Manhattan apartments, expectations about getting married, the hustle and bustle of the New York City subway—are still relevant today.  Company is both an all-American musical and a paean to New York City, but Ms. Elliott’s interpretation (a hit in 2018 in London) has diminished many of the charms of the original show.

Director Marianne Elliott’s biggest change to the story is swapping the gender of lead character Bobby. Tony Award winner Katrina Lenk (The Band’s Visit) plays Bobbie, a single Manhattan woman celebrating her 35^th birthday.  Ms. Lenk has a great voice and an effervescent stage presence, but she appears too bland and emotionally distant for audiences to root for her, and this is problematic since the original Bobby was always the least interesting character in Company.

Marianne Elliott did such a superb job with the 2018 Broadway revival of Angels in America and the 2014 British import The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, so it is disappointing that she has added too much European-style excess here, from a scene showing Bobbie in the rain to various characters running through Bobbie’s bedroom during the “Barcelona” number in act two.  The last revival in 2006, starring Raul Julia as Bobby, was also very minimalist and featured gimmicky touches from another British director, John Doyle.  Remember how John Doyle had the actors play instruments onstage in the revival of Company and, in 2005, Sweeney Todd?  One of the changes that truly works is changing a straight couple to a gay couple. The character of Jamie (originally Amy) is played with manic exuberance by Matt Doyle as a gay man about to marry his partner Paul (Etai Benson).  Mr. Doyle truly stops the show with his outstanding rendition of “Getting Married Today.”  He displays all the nervous emotions of wedding-day jitters that both men and women, straight or gay, can relate to, and Mr. Doyle should certainly be a front-runner for a Tony Award in a few months.

Another standout is Tony nominee Jennifer Simard as Sarah, the diet-crazed woman married to recovering alcoholic Harry (Christopher Sieber).  Fans of Patti LuPone will not be disappointed with her take on the glamorous, acid-tongued Joanne, Bobbie’s oldest and dearest friend who loves to talk about her many husbands.  Ms. LuPone is her usual over-the-top self, belting out one of the show’s most famous songs, “The Ladies Who Lunch,” with her famous tough-diva pipes.

Scenic designer Bunny Christie mostly fills the stage with Neon-lit boxes and Mylar balloons in an attempt to make the show more contemporary, but doing so takes away some of the show’s New York accent.  Anyone who has at least studied the 1970 original remembers the set was actually a character in the show. Walter Kerr wrote in his 1970 New York Times review that the set by Boris Aronson “at first looks like the prison setting for ‘The Last Mile’ [but] becomes a breath-taking mobile, an interlocked Tinker-Toy of rippling platforms, sighing elevators, spun-glass spindles for dances to chin themselves on.”  In this revival, the set designs look nothing like New York City and could be Anywhere, USA.

Despite this revival’s many shortcomings, it is worth seeing Company simply for the score resurrected one more time to truly appreciate the late, great Mr. Sondheim and hear all the beautiful songs by the last of the great Broadway songsmiths.

Edited by David NouNou
Published December 12, 2021
Reviewed at December 11, 2021 press performance.

‘COMPANY’: (left to right) Christopher Sieber, Jennifer Simard, Katrina Lenk & Patti LuPone. Photo: Matthew Murphy.

‘COMPANY’: (left to right) Claybourne Elder, Manu Narayan, Bobby Conte. Photo: Matthew Murphy.

‘COMPANY’: Katrina Lenk & Claybourne Elder. Photo: Matthew Murphy.

‘COMPANY’: (left to right) Rashidra Scott, Katrina Lenk & Greg Hildreth. Photo: Brinkhoff-Moegenbur.

‘COMPANY’: Matt Doyle. Photo: Matthew Murphy.

‘COMPANY’: Katrina Lenk. Photo: Brinkhoff-Moegenburg.

‘COMPANY’: The cast. Photo: Matthew Murphy.

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‘WEST SIDE STORY’: Shereen Pimentel, Isaac Powell & cast. Photo: Jan Versweyveld

WEST SIDE STORY
Based on a conception by Jerome Robbins
Originally directed & choreographed by Jerome Robbins
Book by Arthur Laurents
Music by Leonard Bernstein
Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
Directed by Ivo van Hove
Choreographed by Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker
Broadway Theatre
1681 Broadway & 53rd Street
(212) 238-6200, www.westsidestorybway.com

By David NouNou

Where and how does one begin to disseminate this preposterous “reimagination” of a once-revolutionary Broadway classic that reinvented musical theatre, now reduced to an abstract Eurotrash mess? Credit for this abomination must certainly go to Belgian director Ivo van Hove. His definition of directing is having a downpour of rain on stage in anything he directs. Remember his production of A View From the Bridge from 2015? Well, there are two downpours here: one in the rumble scene and the second is in Tony’s death scene and finale. Mr. van Hove takes American classics and injects them with European pretentiousness.

That is just one of the absurd insertions in this revival. I’ll name you a few more just so you will know what you are paying for. The stage is totally bare, making the Broadway Theatre stage seem cavernous. What you get instead is a videographer on stage taking pictures of cast members and imposing them on the back wall of the theatre; that’s how the show starts. The hardest thing to explain to you is also the dumbest: Why are cast members in different scenes being videotaped behind a makeshift set obstructed from audience view and shown on the back wall as if watching a movie? As if that isn’t enough, some of the cast members in some scenes are actually photographed on real streets and then splashed on the wall.

Naturally every song has a videotape with various images on that infamous wall. One example is “America”, sung by Anita, Bernardo and the Sharks. When Anita sings “I like to be in America,” you see pictures set in America. However, when Bernardo sings about Puerto Rico, you get the images of downtrodden people and hovels. With all these images bombarding our line of vision, it is counterproductive to what is actually going on stage. The actors are so dwarfed by the images that you hardly notice them but are preoccupied with all the photographed visuals.

Here is another one: Remember the brilliantly conceived balcony scene where Tony climbs a fire escape to meet Maria in her apartment complex, ultimately confessing their love for each other and then sing “Tonight”? What once was a lovely, touching and romantic scene has now been reduced to the two of them chasing each other around on a bare stage singing, then writhing on the dirty streets of New York in each other’s arms—and all this is superimposed on the giant back wall.

Jerome Robbins conceived a brilliant musical adaption of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet and moved the setting to 1957 in modern-day New York City. He changed the Capulets and Montagues to the Jets being the American gang and the Sharks being the Puerto Rican gang. He gave them distinct looks and mannerisms that fit each group. Each gang was fighting for their turf and trying to eliminate the other. Well, that wasn’t good enough for Mr. Van Hove, so he decided to make them all tattooed ’hood rats hip-hopping their way on the stage and making them indistinguishable from one another. Whether it is the opening scene where you meet the two gangs, or the dance at the gym, or the rumble, the cast members have so melded and morphed into one another that you have no idea who is fighting whom, and by this point you don’t care because it has become a big, aimless mess on stage.

As for the leads Tony (Isaac Powell), Maria (Shereen Pimentel), Anita (Yesenia Ayala), Bernardo (Amar Ramasar) or Riff (Dharon E.Jones), there is nothing that makes them stand out in any form. For those unforgettable characters have been reduced to memories of what we know of them either from previous revivals or from the classic iconic (though dated) 1961 movie.

Back to Jerome Robbins. Not only did he conceive this masterpiece, he also directed and choreographed the show. The choreography was innovative and electrifying, it changed dance forever on the musical stage. The staging was concise and synchronized with razor-sharp movements. Anne Teresa De Keersmaeker has scraped all that genius precision and come up with a mash-up of dance styles with the usual back flips and the one-arm stand kick with nothing visually pleasing or exciting. I guess she didn’t hear the adage “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

I’ll give you another dilly for the road. This is just for laughs: Who wears gold-sequined capri pants to a rumble? This sparkly gem comes from costume designer, An D’Huys–another ridiculous idea gone bad.

There is really nothing more one can say about a masterpiece that once was throbbing with excitement being reduced to a cliché of tedium in the name of “reimagination.” Of all the recent musical revivals of West Side Story, Oklahoma, Carousel, The King and I or Kiss Me Kate, this has to be the saddest and most pitiful, because it had the most sublime heart-pounding score of any show. The score by Leonard Bernstein is one of the most memorable and exciting pieces ever composed, thus making West Side Story one of the most vibrant and legendary musicals of our time. West Side Story deserved a better fate than this abysmal Eurotrash version.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published February 20, 2020

‘WEST SIDE STORY’: The cast. Photo: Jan Versweyveld.

‘WEST SIDE STORY’: The cast. Photo: Julieta Cervantes

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‘SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE’: The cast. Photo: Matthew Murphy

SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE
Music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
Book by James LaPine
Directed by Sarna LaPine
Hudson Theatre
141 West 44th Street
(855-801-5876), www.TheHudsonBroadway.com

By David NouNou

With practically every musical, one either loves it, hates it or is indifferent to it. With a Sondheim musical, one either passionately loves it–or at worst, it’s not one’s cup of tea. You cannot toss a Sondheim musical aside by being indifferent to it. Putting it together is not easy, in Seurat’s words, for it has to have balance, color, light, tension and symmetry. Whether one likes the piece or not, one has to admire and respect the effort, the art and the intelligence that goes into each of Sondheim’s musicals.

When Sunday in the Park with George was originally presented in 1984, one felt a sense of detachment to it and one can still have that feeling today. Act I and Act II seemed to be two different musicals, with the common thread being artist George Seurat. Seurat used science behind color that led him to develop Pointillism. Like Seurat, Sondheim was also creating his new style by using Pointillism as a source to his music. With time and maturity and this current production, Act II really complements Act I. Whereas Act I introduces us to Seurat (Jake Gyllenhaal) and his muse/lover/model Dot (Annaleigh Ashford) in the creation of his masterpiece “A Sunday Afternoon On the Island of La Grand Jatte,” Act II is set in a gallery in 1983 and delves into Dot’s daughter Marie (also Ms. Ashford), and her grandson George (also Mr. Gyllenhaal). The 1983 George invents the “Chromolume,” a set of magnificent lighting designs using colored light bulbs that float over the audience’s head to create a three dimensional design of the original painting with music and light. It’s an extraordinary special effect that makes the moment memorable.

What is truly remarkable in this production is Jake Gyllenhaal. Having just seen him in Nocturnal Animals, as well as Southpaw, Prisoners, and Nightcrawler, one wouldn’t expect to see this intense young actor in a musical. Who knew he could sing? He brings a charisma to both Georges that eliminates a lot of the detachment one feels in Sunday. He actually draws you into the drama of what is happening on the Island of La Grand Jatte. Equally adept is Annaleigh Ashford, who brings a delightful innocence and smarts to her characters Dot and Marie. Mr. Gyllenhaal and Ms. Ashford have a most congenial chemistry together.

Unlike the current revival of Sunset Boulevard, in which the bare stage was a disastrous mistake, the bare stage here works in favor of the show and concentrates heavily on the creation and the recreation of Seurat’s painting, and this makes the viewer concentrate more on the performers, their performance and their voices.

Director Sarna LaPine has cleverly filled the stage with a great supporting cast, including Robert Sean Leonard, Penny Fuller, Ruthie Ann Miles, Brooks Ashmanskas, Jenni Barber, Phillip Boykin and Erin Davie, and weaves Act II to Act I together seamlessly. However, the detachment of the piece, even with the best of efforts and intentions can never be eliminated. For a lot of people, Sunday in the Park with George can fall in the category of not my cup of tea.

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published March 2, 2017
Reviewed at performance on March 1, 2017

‘SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE’: Jake Gyllenhaal & Penny Fuller. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE’: Jake Gyllenhaal. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE’: Annaleigh Ashford. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE’: Annaleigh Ashford & Jake Gyllenhaal. Photo: Matthew Murphy

‘SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE’: Annaleigh Ashford & Jake Gyllenhaal. Photo: Matthew Murphy

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IMELDA’S TURN: Imelda Staunton gives one of the freshest interpretations of Mama Rose ever in the London revival of ‘Gypsy.’ Photo: Johan Persson

GYPSY
Suggested by the memoirs of Gypsy Rose Lee
Book by Arthur Laurents
Music by Jule Styne
Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim
Directed by Jonathan Kent
Choreographed by Stephen Mear
Through November 28, 2015
Savoy Theatre
Strand
London, United Kingdom
(0844 871 7674), www.gypsythemusical.uk

By David NouNou

Americans are very possessive of their national treasures, and Gypsy, the musical, is certainly one of them. I would definitely place it among the five greatest American musicals of all time. However, in the past 11 years, two Broadway revivals have been major disappointments: the first was a total flatliner, and the second was a maniacally one-note, manic, diva-driven vehicle. So when it was time for StageZine to select which shows to review in London, Gypsy was not a top priority. I must say that nothing could have prepared me for what I saw on the stage of the Savoy or Imelda Staunton as Mama Rose.

To begin with, the book by Arthur Laurents is tightly written (though at times now a bit creaky) but the music by Jule Styne and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim are immortal and second to none. From the first note of the overture, the music is intoxicating and prepares you for the roller coaster ride you are about to take. Starting with the new orchestrations by Nicholas Skilbeck and Tom Kelly to fit the range of the leading lady’s voice, they maintained the crispness of the score, and Jonathan Kent’s reimagined and redefined direction compresses the proceedings on the small Savoy stage not in a downscaled manner but in the shabby mode of the old vaudeville and burlesque style.

The story is simple: a stage mother (Rose) is trying to push her two young daughters, Baby June and Baby Louise, to stardom in vaudeville at a time when vaudeville was dying and the girls are growing up and still being passed off as young little girls. Ultimately time marches on, June runs off to elope and get away from Mama’s grip to become an actress, and Louise becomes the renowned stripper Gypsy Rose Lee.

Now for the best part of a review, when a critic shamelessly fawns over the leading lady and for good reason. Most Americans know Imelda Staunton for her Oscar-nominated role as the lead in Vera Drake and the two Harry Potter movies and would not seem an obvious choice as Mama Rose; after all, the role was originated by Ethel Merman, the legendary voice of Broadway. Just listen to the original recording of Gypsy and you’ll know why no actress dared play the part until 1974. That was the time when Angela Lansbury was coaxed to do the role. Ms. Lansbury was not a great singer but certainly gave a brilliant performance. Ms. Lansbury originated it in London and lucky for me she came to Broadway, where I got my first glimpse of this masterpiece. Subsequently many actresses have come to play the part: Tyne Daly, Linda Lavin, Bernadette Peters, Betty Buckley, Patti LuPone, and those are only the ones that I saw, but I can honestly say I have never encountered a force with the ferocity of Hurricane Imelda.

She is as ruthless as Medea, as delusional as Norma Desmond, as genteel, charming and emotionally fragile as Blanche DuBois. Being familiar with this musical, I was most interested to see how Ms. Staunton was going to make her first entrance. While the audience was watching the proceedings onstage, I had my head cocked to the right, watching her make her way down the dark aisle. While most Roses barrel in on their first entrance to make their presence felt as the force they are with the famous line “Sing out, Louise,”  not Imelda; she casually sashays down the aisle and firmly says those three immortal words while climbing onstage. At first I thought this was an odd choice for an entrance, but then it made sense; she unobtrusively enters to receive her due applause. And so begins this legendary performance for the ages. You see her building layer after layer with every scene and song. She is raw and vulnerable; she is coiled like a cobra ready to strike, and all wrapped up in a veil of desperation to succeed. As for her singing, no one expects Merman, but watch Ms. Staunton act the hell out of “Some People,” “Small World,” “Everything’s Coming Up Roses,” “Together Wherever We Go,” and the finale “Rose’s Turn.” One is absolutely and orgasmically drained after that number.

As the grown up Louise, Lara Pulver bears an uncanny resemblance to a young Joan Crawford, is perfect in her early stages of awkwardness and being invisible and touching up to the point where Mama pushes her onstage to be a stripper. It’s at this point where she is not convincing in the maturation process and the emergence of the renowned stripper Gypsy Rose Lee. Her “Let Me Entertain You” montage of the cocoon opening into a butterfly is hampered in two ways; she is given the most hideous costumes to perform in, thus making the scene blah instead of sexy and exciting; and she lacks the oomph to bring any shading to character development as Gypsy Rose Lee.

Peter Davison is sweet, gentle and loving as Herbie, Rose’s ardent pursuer, but lacks the hard edge of an agent that Herbie needs to survive in show business.

One of the major highlights of the show’s reimagining are the three strippers in the “You Gotta Get a Gimmick” number. Usually performed by older but fit actresses, Mr. Kent made it more authentic, by showing the seediness of burlesque with women whose bodies have had hard times and seen better days. Kudos to Anita Louise Combe (Tessie Tura), Louise Gold (Mezeppa) and Julie LeGrand (Electra) for letting it all hang out.

I must confess that seeing Imelda Staunton as Mama Rose performing at the magnificent art deco Savoy Theatre was theatrical nirvana for me. For anyone who is planning to visit London and is going to the theatre, Gypsy is the show to catch. A truly “must see” show of the year.

AS RUTHLESS AS MEDEA & AS DELUSIONAL AS NORMA DESMOND: Imelda Staunton as Mama Rose in ‘Gypsy’. Photo: Johan Persson

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCES: Lara Pulver (left) & Imelda Staunton in ‘Gypsy.’ Photo: Johan Persson

ONE OF AMERICA’S BEST MUSICALS REVIVED IN LONDON: Imelda Staunton (left) & Lara Pulver in ‘Gypsy.’ Photo: Johan Persson

‘LITTLE LAMB’: Lara Pulver in ‘Gypsy’. Photo: Johan Persson

GREATEST SHOW-BIZ STORY EVER ON THE STAGE: ‘Gypsy’ revival in London. Photo: Johan Persson

Edited by Scott Harrah
Published June 26, 2015
Reviewed at June 19, 2015 performance in London

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