Latest news with #StephenSondheim
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
Time Out
08-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Time Out
Here We Are Tickets
About Here We Are Stephen Sondheim's 'cool, and impossibly chic' (New York Times Critic's Pick) final work is directed by two-time Tony Award-winner Joe Mantello with book by Tony Award-nominee David Ives. Hide Know before you go Please note: Jane Krakowski will not be performing on the following dates: Mon 9 June, 7.30pm, Tues 10 June, 7.30pm, Wed 11 June, 2.15pm, Wed 11 June, 7.30pm. Venue Lyttelton Theatre National Theatre, South Bank, London, United Kingdom, SE1 9PX Get directions View map Directions Location: National Theatre Railway station: Waterloo Bus numbers: (Waterloo Road) 1, 4, 26, 59, 68, 76, 139, 168, 171, 172, 176, 188, 243, 341, 521, RV1, X68 Night bus numbers: (Waterloo Road) 139, 176, 188, 243, 341, N1, N68, N76, N171, N343 Car park: National Theatre, Upper Ground (1min) Directions from tube: (10mins) Follow signs for exits to the South Bank. This should lead you to an underground pedestrian passage called 'Sutton Walk' that emerges at the South Bank. Turn right and walk along the river Thames until you see the National Theatre. Show schedule Day of week Matinee Evening Monday - 7:30 PM Tuesday - 7:30 PM Wednesday 2:15 PM 7:30 PM Thursday - 7:30 PM Friday - 7:30 PM Saturday 2:15 PM 7:30 PM Sunday - -
Times
03-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Times
Jane Krakowski: My career was supposed to be over when I was 40
Stephen Sondheim has been a bedrock of Jane Krakowski's career almost since the beginning. The Tony and Olivier award-winning actress — and the mighty comic dynamo of TV's 30 Rock and Ally McBeal — played Fredrika in an off-Broadway production of A Little Night Music when she was 14. Ten years later she starred in a Broadway revival of Company. 'And now, at 29, here I am!' Krakowski, 56, says with more than a trace of the indomitable Jenna Maroney, her reality-defying prima donna from 30 Rock. And Here We Are indeed — that's the title of Sondheim's final, posthumous musical, which is having its UK premiere at the National Theatre in London in a cast led by Krakowski, Rory Kinnear and Tracie
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
CNY Community Arts Center presents 'Into the Woods'
(WSYR-TV) — Stephen Sondheim is one of the most beloved composers and lyricists of the 20th century. He's responsible for so many musical theater shows we still know and love today. One of those shows is of course 'Into the Woods,' and youth from the CNY Community Arts Center will bring that fan-favorite show to life this month. Jane and Joseph Schuessler joined Bridge Street Friday, along with performers Nathan Carr and Nathaniel Quaco to give us a sneak peak. First cast shows are May 9-11. The second cast will be the following weekend, May 16-18. Learn more and get tickets at Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Final 2025 Tony eligibility rulings: Jinkx Monsoon, Jeb Brown, and Bernadette Peters will compete as featured players
The Tony Awards Administration Committee met for the fourth and final time this season to determine the eligibility status of 12 Broadway productions ahead of the 2025 Tony Awards nominations on Thursday. In addition to confirming the status of several writers, some hotly competitive performers are swapping acting categories. The productions discussed today were: Good Night, and Good Luck; Boop! The Musical; The Last Five Years; Stephen Sondheim's Old Friends; Smash; John Proctor Is a Villain; Floyd Collins; Stranger Things: The First Shadow; Pirates! The Penzance Musical; Just in Time; Real Women Have Curves: The Musical; and Dead Outlaw. More from GoldDerby Sadie Sink on her character's 'emotional rage' in 'John Proctor Is the Villain' and her reaction to 'Stranger Things: The First Shadow' Allison Janney enters Emmy race as a supporting actress for 'The Diplomat' (exclusive) 'The Last of Us' stars Pedro Pascal, Isabela Merced are rising in the latest Emmy odds The committee made the following determinations on all requests eligible for consideration: Heather Gilbert (lighting design) and David Bengali (projection design) will be considered jointly eligible in the Best Lighting Design of a Play category for their work on Good Night, and Good Luck. Jasmine Amy Rogers will be considered eligible in the Best Lead Actress in a Musical category for her performance in Boop! The Musical. David Rockwell (scenic design) and Finn Ross (projection design) will be considered jointly eligible in the Best Scenic Design of a Musical category for their work on BOOP! The Musical. The Last Five Years will be considered eligible in the Best Revival of a Musical category. Jason Robert Brown (book/composer/lyricist) will be considered jointly eligible along with the producers in the category. Jason Robert Brown (book/composer/lyricist) will be considered eligible in the Best Orchestrations category for his work on The Last Five Years. Bernadette Peters will be considered eligible in the Best Featured Actress in a Musical category for her performance in Stephen Sondheim's Old Friends. Lea Salonga will be considered eligible in the Best Featured Actress in a Musical category for her performance in Stephen Sondheim's Old Friends. Matt Kinley (scenic design) and George Reeve (projection design) will be considered jointly eligible in the Best Scenic Design of a Musical category for their work on Stephen Sondheim's Old Friends. Robyn Hurder will be considered eligible in the Best Lead Actress in a Musical category for her performance in Smash. Beowulf Boritt (scenic design) and S. Katy Tucker (video and projection design) will be considered jointly eligible in the Best Scenic Design of a Musical category for their work on Smash. John Proctor Is the Villain will be considered eligible in the Best Play category. Natasha Katz (lighting design) and Hannah Wasileski (projection design) will be considered jointly eligible in the Best Lighting Design of a Play category for their work on John Proctor Is the Villain. Floyd Collins will be considered eligible in the Best Revival of a Musical category. Tina Landau (book/additional lyrics) and Adam Guettel (music and lyrics) will be considered jointly eligible along with the producers in the category. Jeremy Jordan will be considered eligible in the Best Lead Actor in a Musical category for his performance in Floyd Collins. Scott Zielinski (lighting) and Ruey Horng Sun (projections) will be considered jointly eligible in the Best Lighting Design of a Musical category for their work on Floyd Collins. Louis McCartney will be considered eligible in the Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Play category for his performance in Stranger Things: The First Shadow. Miriam Buether (set designer) and 59 (video and visual effects designer) will be considered jointly eligible in the Best Scenic Design of a Play category for their work on Stranger Things: The First Shadow. Stephen Daldry (director) and Justin Martin (co-director) will be considered jointly eligible in the Best Direction of a Play category for their work on Stranger Things: The First Shadow. Lynne Page (movement director and choreographer) and Coral Messam (additional choreography) will be considered jointly eligible in the Best Choreography category for their work on Stranger Things: The First Shadow. Rupert Holmes (adaptation) will be considered eligible in the Best Book of a Musical category for his work on Pirates! The Penzance Musical. Jinkx Monsoon will be considered eligible in the Best Featured Actress in a Musical category for her performance in Pirates! The Penzance Musical. Tatianna Córdoba will be considered eligible in the Best Lead Actress in a Musical category for her performance in Real Women Have Curves: The Musical. Arnulfo Maldonado (set design) and Hana S. Kim (video design) will be considered jointly eligible in the Best Scenic Design of a Musical category for their work on Real Women Have Curves: The Musical. Andrew Durand will be considered eligible in the Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a Musical category for his performance in Dead Outlaw. All other eligibility will be consistent with the opening night credits. Several actors are now competing in categories that run contrary to their opening night billing. RuPaul's Drag Race double winner Jinkx Monsoon moves to the featured actress race for her comedic portrayal of Ruth in Pirates! The Penzance Musical. But her costars Ramin Karimloo and David Hyde Pierce will still be duking it out in lead actor. Broadway legends Bernadette Peters and Lea Salonga will be joining Monsoon in the featured actress race for their turns in the revue Stephen Sondheim's Old Friends. Gold Derby had already predicted that these two divas would buck their star billing for a shot at featured: revues are true ensemble-based productions, and the Tony administration hasn't allowed a performer to compete in lead for this type of production since the '90s. The other major acting switcheroo is for Jeb Brown of Dead Outlaw. The entire cast of that critically acclaimed musical is billed below the title. Brown received lead actor nominations from the Lucille Lortel and Outer Critics Circle Awards for the Off-Broadway run, but the Tony Administration chose to only bump up his costar Andrew Durand. Some of Broadway's top writers will also get a shot at a Tony Award for shows they wrote years ago. In 2014, Neil Patrick Harris made a comment in his lead actor acceptance speech for Hedwig and the Angry Inch, lamenting the fact that the show's creators John Cameron Mitchell and Stephen Trask never had the chance to win a Tony Award for the musical. The tuner fell into a rare, but increasingly common, loophole where the revival was its first time being produced on Broadway. The following year, the Tony Awards decided that the writers of any such revivals would be eligible for the top award alongside the producers. This year, that affects musical revivals Floyd Collins and The Last Five Years, both of which have been performed professionally for decades but never on Broadway until now. As such, Tina Landau and Adam Guettel will appear on the ballot for Floyd Collins and Jason Robert Brown will appear on the ballot for The Last Five Years. Best of GoldDerby Sadie Sink on her character's 'emotional rage' in 'John Proctor Is the Villain' and her reaction to 'Stranger Things: The First Shadow' 'It should be illegal how much fun I'm having': Lea Salonga on playing Mrs. Lovett and more in 'Stephen Sondheim's Old Friends' 'Death Becomes Her' star Jennifer Simard is ready to be a leading lady: 'I don't feel pressure, I feel joy' Click here to read the full article.
