Stephen Sondheim's ‘Old Friends:' Don't Miss This Broadway Experience

Forbes

17-05-2025

Bernadette Peters on the opening night of "Old Friends" at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre
The run of Stephen Sondheim's Old Friends, the posthumous musical love letter to Stephen Sondheim, has been extended on Broadway until Sunday, June 29th, 2025.
The show offers musical theatre enthusiasts living near or visiting New York City the rare opportunity to experience the humor, joy and pathos of more than three dozen songs from Sondheim's most cherished musicals in one of Broadway's most intimate theaters.
The program includes tunes from such Sondheim classics as Sweeney Todd, Merrily We Roll Along, Company, Follies, and Into the Woods.
Bernadette Peters and Lea Salonga at a press event for "Stephen Sondheim's Old Friends"
Old Friends was first conceived as a one-night concert in London's West End, but the loyal legions of Sondheim fans wanted more. The sold-out production was live-screened from the Gielgud Theatre in London and then broadcast on the BBC before being reprised on stage for 16 weeks.
A North American premiere in Los Angeles preceded its arrival on the Great White Way. On Broadway, the show stars Bernadette Peters and Lea Salonga, who were part of the West End cast, joined by an array of talented performers from the London, Los Angeles, and New York productions.
The company of Stephen Sondheim's Old Friends
Old Friends was brought to the stage by Cameron Mackintosh, a longtime friend and collaborator of Sondheim. The two developed the idea during the COVID lockdown, but Sondheim died in November 2021 at age 91 before it was realized.
Bernadette Peters has often been called Sondheim's muse; she was a friend who worked closely with Sondheim and inspired him. He frequently praised the three-time Tony Award winner for her unique ability to express the depth of his music and lyrics in the roles she played: Dot/Marie in Sunday in the Park with George, The Witch in Into the Woods, Rose in Gypsy, Desiree in A Little Night Music, and Sally in Follies.
The revue celebrates Sondheim's extensive contributions to musical theater. Peters, who continues to bring the same vitality and joy she did decades ago, co-stars with the talented Lea Salonga. Best known for her Tony Award-winning performance in Miss Saigon, Salonga belts out memorable solos and duets with Peters.
Although the songs are removed from the context of the musicals where they were first heard, the incredible Matt Kinley set design, staging by Matthew Bourne, 14-piece orchestra with arrangements by Stephen Metcalfe, and spectacular talents of the cast have created a virtual collage of Sondheim's talents in a single show.
Stephen Sondheim in 1997
Sondheim is considered one of Broadway's most important musical innovators, credited with raising the bar on complex storytelling and sophisticated lyrics that advance a plot. Perhaps this show's name acknowledges the many friendships he forged during his career with musicians, composers and performers. (Old Friends was also the name of one of the songs from Merrily We Roll Along.)
A protege of famed lyricist Oscar Hammerstein II, Sondheim became a mentor to numerous other composers, including Jonathan Larson (Rent) and Lin-Manuel Miranda (Hamilton). His own debut as a lyricist was in the 1957 musical West Side Story in collaboration with composer Leonard Bernstein.
Sondheim's obituary in The New York Times recounts his myriad contributions to musical theater, including a dozen Broadway shows, five of which garnered Tony Awards for Best Musical and six for Best Original Score. He also won the 1985 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for Sunday in the Park.
Old Friends marks the fifth revival of Sondheim's work since his death. Although there have been several revues of his music in the past, this retrospective tribute uniquely allows Sondheim fans to enjoy a wide breadth of his greatest hits in one sitting. It's impossible not to hum these energetic tunes long after the curtain closes.
NY Times theater critic Jesse Green wrote about Old Friends: 'Any opportunity to experience how the feelings he channeled and the connections he made have mined our psyches and reshaped our world is an opportunity even old friends should take.'
The limited Broadway engagement of Old Friends at the non-profit Manhattan Theatre Club at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre will close on June 29, 2025. Running time is 2 hours 35 minutes with an intermission.