{"id":8374,"date":"2025-04-21T00:58:54","date_gmt":"2025-04-21T05:58:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/brackety-ack.com\/?p=8374"},"modified":"2025-04-21T00:58:54","modified_gmt":"2025-04-21T05:58:54","slug":"sondheims-old-friends","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/brackety-ack.com\/?p=8374","title":{"rendered":"Sondheim’s Old Friends"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Anyone who loves Stephen Sondheim as much as I do can make a list of his several musicals.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0The revues of Sondheim\u2019s work have been a mix of concerts that had runs on Broadway, and new shows that included previously cut music put together around a new plot, such as \u201cMarry Me a Little.\u201d The concerts drew all-star casts and were released on DVD. Most recently, there have been celebration concerts for Sondheim\u2019s 80<\/span>th<\/span> and 90<\/span>th<\/span> birthdays. The 90<\/span>th<\/span> birthday was in 2020 and aired over YouTube with segments from many stars. I was lucky enough to watch it live as it aired.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0The new musical \u201cSondheim\u2019s Old Friends\u201d was a big hit when it opened on the West End in 2022. Originally meant to be a gala of a single night, it became a full show and opened on Broadway on April 8<\/span>th<\/span>, 2025. \u201cSondheim\u2019s Old Friends\u201d is a revue of songs from a variety of Sondheim\u2019s other shows, capitalizing on the successes of \u201cSide by Side by Sondheim\u201d and \u201cPutting It Together\u201d. It combines tunes from many of Sondheim\u2019s works, though the title comes from a song in \u201cMerrily We Roll Along.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0As with any gala of Sondheim music, it would not be complete without the woman often called one of the foremost interpreters of Stephen Sondheim\u2019s work, Bernadette Peters. She has performed in all three major performances of \u201cOld Friends\u201d and is well known for her many roles in his works, including originating the Witch in \u201cInto the Woods\u201d and Dot in \u201cSunday in the Park with George.\u201d Peters has also performed many roles in revivals and as a replacement for original casts. It is with this experience and her friendship with Stephen Sondheim that the productions of \u201cSondheim\u2019s Old Friends\u201d can happen. The show starts with a speech by Peters where she tells the story of her relationship with Sondheim and how his music is timeless, being able to be taken out of the context of the shows the music was originally from.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0As with each revue of Sondheim\u2019s work, \u201cSondheim\u2019s Old Friends\u201d included a star-studded cast which includes Lea Salonga, Bonnie Langford, Gavin Lee, and more. Each brought their unique interpretations to the songs they performed.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Even though the show did not open until after his death, Stephen Sondheim was involved in the original plans for the gala. One could say that it is a very fitting goodbye as \u201cSondheim\u2019s Old Friends\u201d introduces his music to a new generation.<\/p>\n

Kathryn McElfresh<\/p>\n

Staff Reporter<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0Anyone who loves Stephen Sondheim as much as I do can make a list of his several musicals.\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0The revues of Sondheim\u2019s work have been a mix of concerts that had runs on Broadway, and new shows that included previously cut music put together around a new plot, such as \u201cMarry…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":8375,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8374","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/brackety-ack.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8374","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/brackety-ack.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/brackety-ack.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brackety-ack.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brackety-ack.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8374"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/brackety-ack.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8374\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brackety-ack.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/8375"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/brackety-ack.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8374"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brackety-ack.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8374"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/brackety-ack.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8374"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}