Sondheim's Final Musical: HERE WE ARE (Off-Broadway) - Critics' Reviews

[jacobsnchz14]

Posted: 10/21/23 at 1:48pm

Well, folks... tomorrow is the final opening night for an original Sondheim musical in New York City. I've enjoyed reading everyone's thoughts on the show since the first preview and didn't know if we needed to continue the conversation there or just do a thread specifically of the reviews and our reactions to those reviews.

But I'm very curious about the reviews and am kind of gauging them to be (mixed to) positive. Any specific thoughts on how things are gonna turn out?

[binau]

Posted: 10/21/23 at 2:20pm

I suspect that the production, direction and cast will be universally praised with opinions all over the place on the book and the score. In any case, what I'm hoping is that the critics take their job seriously and don't take the easy, lazy way out by simply dismissing the show as unfinished or summarising Sondheim's score as derivative (even if it is at points) without actually calling some of the more magical moments (e.g. the 'I'm Sorry' song, 'It is what it is*', the duet with Ha/Diamond, the Bishop/priest song etc.).

* I find this song with Tracie Bennett particularly haunting with her dark vocals, a new sound that I personally don't think I can really pinpoint as derivative from other Sondheim work, a weird tension between being both tragic and comedic, the whole metaphor between the food and mortality of life by accepting "it is what it is" that feels like something an elderly man would be thinking about. 

In any case, I can't think of any other show in recent memory that I could care less what critics have to say about it. My/many others' dreams came true and we are part of history. How many people get to obsessively follow and understand the art one of our greatest has produced across the span of almost 70 years. 

They won't be coming down these stairs again. And it is what it is. 
 

[TotallyEffed]

Posted: 10/21/23 at 3:07pm

Theatrical heaven and anyone who disagrees is a philistine.

[leefowler]

Posted: 10/21/23 at 4:28pm

Well, call me a Philistine.

[Jarethan]

Posted: 10/21/23 at 5:31pm

TotallyEffed said: "Theatrical heaven and anyone who disagrees is a philistine."

I loved it but I did think it is a little ‘precious’ a little too much in the first act.  I think the vast majority of theatre goers wouldn’t like this, starting with those who are inconsistent when it comes to SS in the first place.

[ljay889]

Posted: 10/21/23 at 6:00pm

Practically every Sondheim show was divisive with audiences and critics in their original productions. This will be no different. I do see more positive and (mixed-to-positive) word of mouth online than negative. 

[bear88]

Posted: 10/21/23 at 7:39pm

binau said: "In any case, I can't think of any other show in recent memory that I could care less what critics have to say about it."

Me too. What I saw the other night was a terrific night of theater. There are nits to pick, and certainly the overall piece (and the surrealist films on which it was based) isn't going to be for everyone - especially given its unconventional structure. And that's fine. But every Sondheim show ever (and this one is less dependent on Sondheim for obvious reasons) ran into a buzzsaw of mixed reviews or damned-with-faint-praise plaudits. Often, those critiques look rather foolish in retrospect. 

 

[Jarethan]

Posted: 10/21/23 at 7:48pm

Since I suspect that I will not be seeing this again, i was able to get a ticket to see this a second time.  My wife and friends went off to see Danny DeVito, something I had no interest in.  They enjoyed it modestly, only because of him and his (surprise) chemistry with his daughter.

I really enjoyed this again, probably just as much as the first time.  I still think it is modest Sondheim, but modest Sondheim is better than...

I have never seen the movie, Exterminating Angel, which I know is absurdist.  That said, I still don't have a clue what the bear was intended to represent / provide / whatever.  I have tried to find out via Google, but have really had no luck.  Does anyone know / think they know / care / etc.  If so, can you respond, in a spoiler alert if you think necessary.

I still believe that this would be a huge flop if moved to broadway.  It just would not have broad appeal beyond the people who will manage to see it at the Shed.

[KevinKlawitter]

Posted: 10/21/23 at 10:05pm

I really enjoyed this again, probably just as much as the first time. I still think it is modest Sondheim, but modest Sondheim is better than...
 

Makes me think of when people referred to Bridge of Spies (a movie I love) as "Mid-level Spielberg".  Given top-tier Spielberg includes several of the best movies ever made, "mid-level" for him is still going to be better than most.

 

[Jarethan]

Posted: 10/21/23 at 10:23pm

KevinKlawitter said: "I really enjoyed this again, probably just as much as the first time. I still think it is modest Sondheim, but modest Sondheim is better than...


Makes me think of when people referred toBridge of Spies(a movie I love) as "Mid-level Spielberg". Given top-tier Spielberg includes several of the best movies ever made, "mid-level" for him is still going to be better than most.

Absolutely agree with your point more than you know.  Bridge of Spies is probably one of my three favorite Spielberg movies, which I know is a minority opinion.

 

[Fetus]

Posted: 10/21/23 at 10:36pm

Jarethan said: "

I have never seen the movie, Exterminating Angel, which I know is absurdist. That said, I still don't have a clue what the bear was intended to represent / provide / whatever. I have tried to find out via Google, but have really had no luck. Does anyone know / think they know / care / etc. If so, can you respond, in a spoiler alert if you think necessary."

In the film, the bear (and some sheep) are to be used to entertain the dinner guests. They wind up wandering the house after the servants leave and the dinner guests find themselves stuck. I have not seen it in years, but I think sheep are used throughout the film as a religious/class motif, while the bear is only in a few moments.

I caught this last week and have not stopped thinking about it. Rachel Bay Jones is remarkable.

[Jarethan]

Posted: 10/21/23 at 11:01pm

Fetus said: "Jarethan said: "

I have never seen the movie, Exterminating Angel, which I know is absurdist. That said, I still don't have a clue what the bear was intended to represent / provide / whatever. I have tried to find out via Google, but have really had no luck. Does anyone know / think they know / care / etc. If so, can you respond, in a spoiler alert if you think necessary."

In the film, the bear (and some sheep) are to be used to entertain the dinner guests. They wind up wandering the house after the servants leave and the dinner guests find themselves stuck. I have not seen it in years, but I think sheep are used throughout the film as a religious/class motif, while the bear is only in a few moments.

I caught this last week and have not stopped thinking about it. Rachel Bay Jones is remarkable."

Thanks.  I agree.  RBJ is the heart of the show.

[SisterGeorge]

Posted: 10/22/23 at 11:08am

It's useless to rely on precedent in predicting the critical reaction to this show as there is no precedent for reviewing a new Sondheim after Sondheim's death, and there's no way that his no longer being with us is not going to impact these reviews. 

[UrNotAMachine]

Posted: 10/22/23 at 1:04pm

I'm personally expecting a very mixed reception. Sondheim pushed the envelope of what musical theatre could be with every show, and that certainly includes this one. Critics, who have often taken decades to adequately asses Sondheim's genius, will be just as baffled about this show as they were during Company's out-of-town tryouts or the cold reception of Assassins' original run.

[binau]

Posted: 10/22/23 at 2:07pm

Does anyone know what time the performance is today and what time we can expect reviews?

[rattleNwoolypenguin]

Posted: 10/22/23 at 4:29pm

I had fun! It’s a fun one. I don’t know if it will stay with me and linger the way other Sondheim shows do, but it was a delightful odd bit of theatre.

I think I will always dream about what could’ve been had Sondheim gotten to write more for the second act.

Most of his score for this is frothy and funny and odd and dissonant, and I think to have him be able to give Rachel Bay and DH Pierce more in Act Two could’ve REALLY landed it in a way that we’ll unfortunately never get to see.

These “let’s critique wealth” pieces are very popular right now and I think I didn’t feel this added as much or jabbed the knife in a new way. I also really didn’t feel like the young character Micaela Diamond played (and she is great in it) worked the way it was written. It felt like an older person’s skewed perspective on Gen Z. I just didn’t fully buy it.

Some people are gonna be obsessed with this, some people are gonna hate it and not think it’s their cup of tea, and some are gonna enjoy it but not feel too much (besides it feeling emotional as Sondheim’s last), and I fall into that camp.

I also don’t see this for Broadway. I think The Shed is perfect for it.

 

[Springtime]

Posted: 10/22/23 at 5:30pm

Reviews not out until midnight. 

[citylightsny]

Posted: 10/22/23 at 6:57pm

Here's a pre-midnight. From an unusual source.

https://www.slashfilm.com/1426024/here-we-are-review/

Updated On: 10/22/23 at 06:57 PM

[CT2NYC]

Posted: 10/22/23 at 7:33pm

Clickable link to that thoughtful and well-written review
https://www.slashfilm.com/1426024/here-we-are-review/

Updated On: 10/22/23 at 07:33 PM

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 10/22/23 at 10:05pm

Chicago Tribune is a rave

Review: ‘Here We Are’ opens off-Broadway, Sondheim’s final, life-loving musical

https://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/theater/broadway/ct-ent-here-we-are-sondheim-last-musical-review-20231023-xhp3n6eoq5cjrjyn773rbcehjq-story.html

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 10/22/23 at 10:07pm

New York Theatre:

Here We Are Review. Sondheim the Surrealist

https://newyorktheater.me/2023/10/22/here-we-are-review-sondheim-the-surrealist/

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 10/22/23 at 11:53pm

AMNY: Sondheim’s unfinished swansong ‘Here We Are’ leaves audiences underwhelmed

https://www.amny.com/news/ambroadway-sondheims-unfinished-swansong-here-we-are-leaves-audiences-underwhelmed/

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 10/23/23 at 12:01am

4 stars out of 5 from TimeOut:

There are riches in Stephen Sondheim's final musical.

https://www.timeout.com/newyork/theater/here-we-are-review-musical-stephen-sondheim-bunuel

[lopside]

Posted: 10/23/23 at 12:04am

https://www.thedailybeast.com/review-here-we-are-is-stephen-sondheims-fractured-farewell-to-musical-theater?utm_campaign=owned_social&utm_source=twitter_owned_tdb&utm_medium=socialflow&via=twitter_page

“Here We Are”–Stephen Sondheim’s fractured farewell–is a stylish, committed production of an incomplete, flawed work.

 

[MemorableUserName]

Posted: 10/23/23 at 12:05am

3 Stars from NY Stage Review:

Here We Are: A Minor But Welcome Final Addition to the Sondheim Canon

https://nystagereview.com/2023/10/22/here-we-are-a-minor-but-welcome-final-addition-to-the-sondheim-canon/