Latest news with #OldFriends
Forbes
17-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Stephen Sondheim's ‘Old Friends:' Don't Miss This Broadway Experience
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.
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Here We Are, National Theatre, review: Stephen Sondheim musical is more Severance than sing-a-long
Here We Are review and star rating: ★★★★ Stephen Sondheim's final musical is nothing like his most famous works – in fact, it's barely a musical at all, but perhaps we shouldn't be surprised. As Here We Are writer David Ives remarked, the legend relished in challenging his loyal followers with reinvention. 'Sondheim makes people crazy in all kinds of interesting and different ways.' An absurd comedy about a bunch of rich Americans who try to go for brunch but can't seem to get served, Here We Are is a barmy satire with the existential trappings of a Beckett play. Proferring a message about overconsumption, it is certainly no gentle nostalgia vehicle like Old Friends, the blast through Sondheim's most famous tunes that scored a five-star review from City AM in 2023. Inspired by Luis Buñuel's absurdist films The Exterminating Angel and The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie, after Sondheim died aged in 2021 aged 91, there was controversy over whether the piece should be staged at all. Would this super experimental show dent Sondheim's legacy as perhaps the 20th century's greatest composer and lyricist, the man behind Company, Follies, A Little Night Music, Sweeney Todd and Into The Woods? Unlikely: the reality is that even if Here We Are ruffles the feathers of Sondheim purists, it wouldn't be the first time. Many of his shows didn't do big box office numbers or become classics for years after release. We meet a highly-strung group of yuppies, including a plastic surgeon, an ambassador and an industrialist. Wealthy central couple Leo and Marianne Brink, played by Rory Kinnear and Jane Krakowski, struggle to land a brunch booking for their group, and things go awry when the six friends become entangled with the radical left-wing group Prada – 'not the shoes' – and are taken down an absurdist rabbit hole not dissimilar to the Apple TV show Severance, where dream sequences become indistinguishable from reality. As a satire on wealth, Here We Are has some hilarious and pertinent bits, including the lady cloning her dogs so her fluffy friends are with her no matter which country she's in, and the insufferable chef who goes from serving French Deconstructionist cuisine to Post-Deconstructive, where 'everything is actually what it is.' Ives finds his biting point in how desperately out of touch these people are with reality. 'I want things to be what they seem and not what they are,' groans one character in one of the show's many interesting meta parts. It also works as a fascinating physical piece. Choreographer Sam Pinkleton, alongside director Joe Mantello and set and costume designer David Zinn spent seven years in development to orchestrate this frankly incredibly weird show, in which characters speak and move in time with Sondheim's accompaniment, like characters in an old black and white movie. Much of the comedy is mined from Fawlty Towers-style farcical faffing – but on a grand, complex scale. It's the type of tomfoolery that might look silly but is pulled off vanishingly rarely. As for Sondheim, he must have loved Ives' script. As for his ditties, they serve as a function to enable the story rather than existing to entertain us in and of themselves. Songs including Here We Are (Overture), The Road and Waiter's Song are more a final reminder of the legend's skill at employing music to bolster the plot rather than songs that stand alone. One audience member who sat near me joked that the songs and accompaniments were stitched together from bits of music he'd left on his cutting room floor from other productions, but I don't think that's necessarily a criticism. They add to the production's bags of natural charm. In the main, it's just refreshing to see something this surrealist and bonkers getting a mainstream staging. Here We Are plays at the until 28 June Error while retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘It should be illegal how much fun I'm having': Lea Salonga on playing Mrs. Lovett and more in ‘Stephen Sondheim's Old Friends'
'It boggles my mind that this is actually happening,' admits Lea Salonga about the recognition she has been receiving for her performance in Stephen Sondheim's Old Friends. Hours before joining Gold Derby to discuss the Broadway revue, the actress earned a nomination from the Drama League for Distinguished Performance in addition to her previously announced special recognition for Distinguished Achievement in Musical Theatre. She will celebrate the honors with her son, whose 19th birthday overlaps with the ceremony, and looks forward to toasting with the cast and crew. 'I think we're gonna be screaming quite a bit once I get to work. I think we're all going to be delirious with joy,' exclaims the actress (watch our full interview above). This is now Salonga's third production of Old Friends, having previously appeared in the West End and Los Angeles engagements of the show. The Tony winner notes how the current audiences process the revue differently. 'I think it's pretty safe to say New York audiences know Steve Sondheim's work better than any other audience does,' admits the star. The question the creatives and company had to answer was therefore, 'What do we do when it's an audience full of people that know the story probably better than we do?' She shares an anecdote from fellow cast mate Jeremy Secomb that held an answer: when he performed Sweeney Todd for Sondheim, the composer 'was laughing at all his own jokes,' and that spirit informs how the ensemble approaches the material. Salonga says, 'You will not be spoon-fed anything, but we will serve everything in the way that we should be serving everything.' The actress adds, 'It's been incredible performing this material. … There is just so much love.' More from GoldDerby Everything to know about the 'Malcolm in the Middle' revival: Returning cast, first photo, streaming info ... 'Predator: Badlands' trailer, Bill Hader heads to Jonestown for HBO, Cannes additions, and more of today's top news stories 'Adolescence' now predicted to receive 5 acting Emmy nominations: Odds update The Sweeney Todd section of the revue is a bravura one for Salonga, as she plays Mrs. Lovett opposite Secomb's demon barber, performing 'The Worst Pies in London' and 'A Little Priest' in a medley of five songs from the musical. 'It should be illegal how much fun I'm having,' confesses the actress, who says she loves that she gets to 'disappear into a role far more than I do at any point during the show.' Unlike other numbers, the Sweeney ones find her transformed fully into character with 'wigs, makeup, blacked-out teeth, a costume, an accent.' She credits producer Cameron Mackintosh with the opportunity to play Lovett on Broadway – a role she has portrayed in productions in Manila and Singapore — and for seeing her 'in a way that other producers have not yet been able to. … He saw me as a 17-year-old in the Philippines, so much to cast me in Miss Saigon, and sees me on another level to be able to do this show… He took a risk also casting me as Eponine in Les Misérables.' SEE our interview with Natalie Venetia Belcon, 'Buena Vista Social Club' star One of Salonga's earliest numbers in Old Friends is 'Loving You,' a gorgeous ballad from Sondheim's late career musical Passion. In the context of the original musical, the song is performed by Fosca, an unwell cousin of an Italian colonel who falls into deep infatuation with Giorgio, an Italian military captain on assignment to a remote outpost. For her rendition, Salonga went to a more immediate source to conjure the number's intense emotions: her son, Nick. Before the West End run, Julia McKenzie, the show's artistic consultant who Salonga credits as 'one of the directors,' told the performer to 'just think of the person that you love the most in the world,' and she 'instantly' knew to whom she would now sing the piece. She says the 'beauty' of this revue is that it has 'given brand new meaning and given new life' to these numbers. Old Friends has given rise to many moments of unexpected resonance for Salonga. The Here Lies Love star closes out a six-song section from Into the Woods with the musical's final number, 'Children Will Listen,' and in the final moments, she is joined on stage by Bernadette Peters. 'It's crazy, it's really crazy,' thinks the actress, continuing, 'I'm standing face to face with the original Witch from the Broadway production of Into the Woods, somebody pinch me, please, I'm about to die.' The moment of connection has taken on additional meaning, too, as she will be playing the Witch in a production of the musical in the Philippines after Old Friends concludes and now feels like sharing the song with Peters is a moment in which her scene partner passes the torch and sends 'love and well wishes' to her for when she takes on the role herself. 'It feels deeply meaningful every time we share that moment in the show,' she adds. Near the end of Old Friends, Salonga delivers a rousing performance of 'Everything's Coming Up Roses,' the iconic Act 1 finale from Gypsy. The song has been done on Broadway by legendary actresses in the original production and numerous revivals, including Ethel Merman, Angela Lansbury, Tyne Daly, Peters, Patti LuPone, and now Audra McDonald. A legend herself, Salonga did not try to 'live up' to all the versions that have come before, which would have been 'unrealistic.' Instead, she leaned fully into the reason producer Mackintosh asked her to do the song, explaining, 'He knows of my own history as a performer that started performing from a very young age, which means that I have a mother who managed my career and who shepherded me through so much of this crazy, crazy, sometimes predatory, fickle business. So I sing it as an homage to her, so I am pulling from real life, therefore I don't really need to pull emotionally from performances that have been done before.' The result is a deeply impassioned interpretation that serves as a part of the incredibly emotional climax of the revue. SEE Tony Talk: Our first Best Musical picks anticipate a showdown between 'Maybe Happy Ending' and 'Dead Outlaw' Seeing Salonga perform these extended excerpts from Sweeney Todd and this number from Gypsy have New York audience clamoring for the actress to star in a full production of a Sondheim musical on Broadway. 'Mama Rose is definitely something that I'm seeing on the horizon,' admits the Tony winner, who says fellow performer Joanna Gleason nudged her to tackle the role sooner than later. 'I'm definitely putting that on my list of Sondheim ladies that I'd like to be able to one day play while I'm still physically strong enough to do it, because that's a mammoth role and requires so much physical, vocal, mental, emotional energy,' explains the actress. Even though she's portrayed Mrs. Lovett elsewhere, she would love to revisit that character, because performing Sondheim is 'like doing roles in the Shakespeare canon,' as every new production offers a chance to explore 'how much more deeply this character goes.' Best of GoldDerby 'Death Becomes Her' star Jennifer Simard is ready to be a leading lady: 'I don't feel pressure, I feel joy' 'Boop! The Musical' star Jasmine Amy Rogers uses her own 'quirky little eccentricities' to bring iconic cartoon character to life Kennedy Center Honors: 50 entertainers who deserve to be selected Click here to read the full article.
New York Post
03-05-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Post
Back on Broadway, Bernadette Peters misses her friend Stephen Sondheim: ‘I've had dreams about him'
Not a day goes by that Bernadette Peters doesn't miss her old friend Stephen Sondheim. 'I do think of him every day,' she told me over lunch at Cafe Luxembourg. 'I'm singing his music, you know. And I've had dreams about him. He should be here. He should be here.' Peters is back on Broadway this season after seven years away, alongside Lea Salonga and 15 others in a wonderful revue of the late composer's work called 'Old Friends.' 5 Bernadette Peters is back on Broadway in 'Old Friends.' Getty Images Advertisement The audience at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre is especially rapt and weepy whenever the beloved actress takes the stage, because she played such a vital role in bringing these timeless songs to life. Peters, 77, originated some of the great Sondheim parts: the rapping Witch in 1986's 'Into the Woods' and model Dot in 1984's 'Sunday in the Park with George.' Later, the New York native starred in revivals of his 'A Little Night Music' and 'Follies.' But the collaboration — some have called her his 'muse' — all started with the out-there George Seurat musical 'Sunday.' Advertisement 5 The actress originated roles in Sondheim shows such as 'Sunday in the Park with George,' which she recreates in 'Old Friends.' AP 'When I first met him, he made me nervous,' Peters said of Sondheim, who'd already delivered notoriously tricky shows such as 'Sweeney Todd' and 'Company.' 'The first song I got was the first song, 'Sunday in the Park with George,' with all those words. And I was nervous like crazy.' The jitters soon went away, though. 'He was very kind to performers,' she said. Advertisement Peters' favorite memories of Sondheim, who died in 2021, were when he'd come back to her dressing room and give notes. 'I was lucky that the writer was there for me to talk to and ask questions. 'What did you mean when you wrote that?' It's a great gift.' 5 Peters played Dot in 'Sunday' in 1984. Everett Collection / Everett Collection And the experience, which got her and her friend and co-star Mandy Patinkin Tony nominations, proved life-changing. Advertisement 'That show was so remarkable and it opened me up so much that I thought, well, I'll just do any show that [Sondheim and James Lapine] write that comes along. I'll say 'yes,' no matter what. And he called me for 'Into the Woods,' so I went and I did that.' Now, Peters is in 'Old Friends,' which began as a gala put on by producer Cameron Mackintosh in London. Its success led to a four-month run in the West End, before heading to Los Angeles and finally to Broadway. In the show, the actress croons heart-wrenching numbers she's known for, like 'Losing My Mind' and 'Send in the Clowns.' 'As I get older all the lyrics really seem to have a lot more meaning for me,' she said. 5 While Bernadette Peters is known for playing the Witch in 'Into the Woods,' in 'Old Friends' she plays Little Red Riding Hood. Everett Collection / Everett Collection But Peters has also thrown us some Sondheim curveballs. For 'Into the Woods,' the fairytale musical which has evolved into a cherished classic, Peters doesn't sing 'Children Will Listen' as the Witch — she becomes young Little Red Riding Hood instead. Her tune 'I Know Things Now' is about being chased by the Big Bad Wolf. 'I went, 'What have I done?! I'm singing a song a child sings, and now I'm an adult talking about . . . is this like a MeToo movement song?!',' she said. 'So I figured out how to do it.' Advertisement In an, erm, less innocent moment, Peters hilariously takes on Mazeppa, the 'bump it with a trumpet' stripper from 'Gypsy,' in 'You Got To Get A Gimmick.' Actually, the actress plays the brass instrument so well that some of her friends thought the music was piped in. 'So, I've gotta be a little sloppy with it,' she said. 5 In addition to 'Old Friends,' Peters will appear in the new Jesse Eisenberg film and is touring her concert around the world. Matthew Murphy Advertisement Peters has a busy summer ahead. 'Old Friends' runs through June 15. Go see it. Also a film star, having played opposite Steve Martin in 'The Jerk,' she met up with me the same week she did a day of shooting for 'A Real Pain' Oscar nominee Jesse Eisenberg's upcoming musical-comedy movie for A24, which also features Julianne Moore and Paul Giamatti. She's an activist, too. Her long-running animal adoption charity event, Broadway Barks, takes place in Shubert Alley on July 12. And then she packs her bags and tours her concert all around the country before heading to Australia in the fall. Advertisement Peters is the picture of a dependable showbiz workaholic, and arrives at the theater every day almost four hours before curtain. 'I have to practice my trumpet,' she said.
USA Today
02-05-2025
- Entertainment
- USA Today
Silver Charm, oldest living Kentucky Derby winner, is still charming fans at 31
Silver Charm, oldest living Kentucky Derby winner, is still charming fans at 31 The enduring phenomenon of Silver Charm, who would be the human equivalent of at least a 90-year-old, has become symbolic of the Thoroughbred world's renewed interest in aftercare. Show Caption Hide Caption How oldest living Kentucky Derby winner spends his retirement Silver Charm, who won the 1997 Kentucky Derby and Preakness, is thriving at age 31 as he enjoys retirement at Old Friends Farm. Sports Pulse GEORGETOWN, Ky. − Michael Blowen emerges from the garage of his home with a red Solo cup full of treats that have been ground up specifically for the 31-year-old horse he calls his favorite living thing in the world. It's quite a statement. Blowen, 78, has a wife and a family and befriended all sorts of famous people in his years as the film critic for the Boston Globe. But as he walks toward a grassy field a few hundred feet from his house, an almost completely white horse − who just happens to be the oldest living Kentucky Derby winner − perks up. Bowen smiles and opens the gate. The horse knows the routine. They start jogging, side by side, as quickly and energetically as two old men can move. After 10 or 15 seconds, they both give up. 'There's a lot of kids, a lot of grandkids, a lot of everything, right?' Blowen says, explaining why the humans in his life have to take a back seat to the horse. "There's only one Silver Charm, and he's in my backyard.' It's a big week for the horse who captured America's imagination in 1997 as he gutted out narrow victories in the Derby and Preakness. Though about 20,000 visitors come to see Silver Charm throughout the year here at Old Friends, the retirement farm for well-known Thoroughbreds that Blowen started back in 2003, Derby week is a different animal. The tours are booked solid. Bob Baffert, who won his first Derby with Silver Charm, always stops by. And even though the infirmities of his advanced age have cost him a bit of mobility and all but four of his teeth, Silver Charm understands when it's showtime. So every few hours, until it's time for him to retire to his stall at about 3:30 p.m., he will approach the fence and stick out his tongue, waiting for visitors to feed him a handful of his custom-made treats or shredded carrots that don't require him to do too much chewing. 'He's still just thriving being around people,' said John Nicholson, who took over as executive director and CEO of Old Friends last year. 'Every day is a treasure, and every day we have him, we feel blessed.' The enduring phenomenon of Silver Charm, who would be the human equivalent of at least a 90-year-old, has become symbolic of the Thoroughbred world's renewed interest in aftercare. Though the nearby Kentucky Horse Park had long been a tourist attraction where some past champions lived out their final days, Blowen started Old Friends around the same time as reports emerged that Ferdinand — the 1986 Derby winner and 1987 Horse of the Year − probably died in a Japanese slaughterhouse after an unsuccessful stud career. The news stunned American racing fans, and it opened the eyes of people in the industry about how easy it was for even a famous and beloved racehorse to meet a cruel and tragic end if they were no longer profitable as stallions. After Silver Charm returned from his own disappointing stud career in Japan and arrived at Old Friends in 2014, he quickly validated Blowen's theory that people would pay money for the chance to get up close and personal with stars they watched on the racetrack. As a result, the operation at Old Friends has grown to 230 acres in Kentucky, plus satellite farms in Japan and New York, with two other Derby winners − Big Brown (2008) and I'll Have Another (2012) − now living here alongside the main attraction. QUITE A STUD: This Thoroughbred didn't win the Kentucky Derby. But he's dominating it in "retirement." 'It takes $3.5 million a year to operate Old Friends and all of our farms, and I would put Silver Charm as our chief fundraiser,' Nicholson said. 'He's a part of every message we send. He's often the messenger. He excites people when they're here, and he always delivers as far as being a good public figure. He's very aware when the camera is around, he's very aware when people are here to see him, and he always puts on a good show." Old Friends is not, as Nicholson points out, a rescue operation. Other organizations prioritize that work, and Old Friends will not just take in anybody's horse. The waiting list to fill a stall here is long. It has, though, helped put the spotlight on the concept of aftercare and the responsibility of horse owners to care for the animals from the racetrack to their final resting place, and the development of chip-tracking technology they hope will prevent horses from slipping through the cracks. 'Now it's a pillar of the industry,' Nicholson said. 'It's not a fringe thing. You've just got to do it." There's not a single moment when Blowen is around Silver Charm that he doesn't have a huge smile on his face. Even though the horse has been living here for a decade, Blowen still calls Silver Charm's arrival at Old Friends the best day of his life and wears a baseball cap that was actually made for Baffert in 1997. Like so many horse racing fans, Blowen became enamored with Silver Charm in the spring of 1997 when he showed incredible grit and determination to hold off Captain Bodgit by a neck at the Derby and then outduel Free House by a nose as the Preakness. Though Silver Charm led the Belmont with an eighth of a mile to go and looked poised to become the first Triple Crown winner in 19 years, Touch Gold accelerated past him in the last 75 yards to win by half a length. Now, Touch Gold lives one paddock over, where a romantic fan can at least imagine the two old rivals carrying on a decades-long argument about who was actually better. Remarkably, they both still look robust and healthy, which is in no small part thanks to the detailed health care and nutritional support the horses receive at Old Friends. Even though Silver Charm is long past his athletic glory and his coat is much whiter than people remember from his racing days, he still makes a good impression and seems like a horse with plenty of life left in him. 'He's lost some weight and is getting a little ribby,' Blowen says as Silver Charm walks underneath a shed that gives him some relief from the afternoon sun. It's a subtle but poignant acknowledgement that he won't be here forever. But the gift of Silver Charm is that he still wakes up, day after day, and connects someone to one of their best memories. Whether it's a bet they cashed on that race or a spouse they met that Derby Day or talking about whether he'd win the Triple Crown with a loved one who is no longer alive, the people at Old Friends hear a different reason every day for why fans make the pilgrimage to see him in person. And however long that lasts, they'll cherish it. 'Hey handsome!' Blowen says as Silver Charm, tongue hanging from his mouth, approaches the red cup full of treats in his hand. 'He's unbelievable.'
