Bernadette Peters & Lea Salonga to Lead Sondheim’s OLD FRIENDS On Broadway in 2025- Page 7

[TellZ]

Posted: 2/10/25 at 10:42pm

meredithchandler73 said: "Why were certain shows represented more than others? I can't swear to this, but I think I read somewhere that Cameron Mackintosh selected heavily from Sondheim shows he has produced, including his previous revues."

At the top of the show, Bernadette and Lea address the audience as themselves and this is one of things they say - that there was so much to choose from, Mackintosh decided to mostly focus on projects he was involved in producing.

I will say including a clip of Sondheim and Webber performing a tribute to Cameron from HEY MR. PRODUCER in Act II was gratuitous.

[VernonGersch]

Posted: 2/11/25 at 1:06am

meredithchandler73 said: "Why were certain shows represented more than others? I can't swear to this, but I think I read somewhere that Cameron Mackintosh selected heavily from Sondheim shows he has produced, including his previous revues."

at the start of the show bern and lea address the audience with some chit chat and talk about how the selections were all made from shows Cameron produced in London over the years - and that's why the song selections are the way they are.  

 

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 2/11/25 at 8:53am

To me it feels like when the show was cast, it went against Sondheim's preference of actors who sing. But I guess, since content dictates form and his music is the star here, it makes sense to feature some singers who act.

Hope I can catch this in New York.

 

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 2/11/25 at 4:45pm

VernonGersch said: "meredithchandler73 said: "Why were certain shows represented more than others? I can't swear to this, but I think I read somewhere that Cameron Mackintosh selected heavily from Sondheim shows he has produced, including his previous revues."

at the start of the show bern and lea address the audience with some chit chatand talk about how the selections were all made from shows Cameron produced in London over the years - and that's why the song selections are the way they are.

"

Did Cam Mac ever produce a Company, Night Music, Sweeney or Passion (OK some of those songs are from Side by Side by Sondheim which was one of his first successes...)

 

[Ke3]

Posted: 2/11/25 at 5:07pm

TellZ said: "I wasimpressed with the range Solanga gets to express - of course we get her gorgeous vocals on things like Loving You and Children Will Listen, but her getting to chew up the scenery in an extended Sweeney Todd sequence in full Lovett drag was a treat. And her Everything's Coming Up Roses lets her get scary - really fun to see her get to do material not normally associated with her voice."

It really feels to me that we've been robbed of her as an actress over the years. Even when I see clips of her in concert she often seems to be deeply in character. Manila is really the only place where she's been given access to roles outside of how she's seen here in the west.

[binau]

Posted: 2/12/25 at 6:15pm

Can anyone spoil how exactly Bernadette sings ‘bounce’ with ‘I know things now’ now?

[Copeman63]

Posted: 2/12/25 at 6:19pm

DAME said: "So.. what happened with David Harris?"

I am curious too! We’re seeing the show on Friday night and I was looking forward to seeing my favorite Zaddy!

[TellZ]

Posted: 2/12/25 at 6:55pm

binau said: "Can anyone spoil how exactly Bernadette sings ‘bounce’ with ‘I know things now’ now?"

 

Click Here To Toggle Spoiler Content

About halfway through I Know Things Now, she shifts into singing Bounce, and then goes back to I Know Things Now to finish the song. If I remember correctly, when the music shifts to Bounce, she started with the first lyric ("We've come a long way...") and then the last bit was "Forge a new trail, bounce." I think.

 

[meredithchandler73]

Posted: 2/12/25 at 8:55pm

Copeman63 said: "DAME said: "So.. what happened with David Harris?"

I am curious too! We’re seeing the show on Friday night and I was looking forward to seeing my favorite Zaddy!"

I am curious as well. I confess, I'm not very familiar with his work except for "Do You Hear The People Sing?" - a concert of concert of Boublil & Schönberg's work. I believe David and Lea performed it in Manila and Singapore over 10 years ago.

[MezzA101]

Posted: 2/14/25 at 6:49am

'Stephen Sondheim's Old Friends': Behind L.A.'s Broadway-Bound Revue

 

https://variety.com/2025/legit/news/stephen-sondheim-old-friends-revue-ahmanson-broadway-bernadette-peters-1236307283/

[MezzA101]

Posted: 2/14/25 at 4:47pm

‘Old Friends’ review: Bernadette Peters leads love letter to Sondheim

https://ew.com/old-friends-review-bernadette-peters-lea-salonga-love-letter-to-stephen-sondheim-11680290

[binau]

Posted: 2/14/25 at 4:51pm

“With these two ballads, Peters reminds audiences that Sondheim’s gift was not merely the unforgettable music, but the veritable feast he offered actors within the narrative arcs of his songs. Peters has a distinctive, haunting voice and she delivers both songs impeccably, but it is her heartbreaking performances — the ache and palpable yearning of love and heartbreak that set them apart. In her interpretation, these songs become transcendent, soul-shattering meditations on life and loss.“

[DAME]

Posted: 2/14/25 at 5:40pm

meredithchandler73 said: "Copeman63 said: "DAME said: "So.. what happened with David Harris?"

I am curious too! We’re seeing the show on Friday night and I was looking forward to seeing my favorite Zaddy!"

I am curious as well. I confess, I'm not very familiar with his work except for "Do You Hear The People Sing?" - a concert of concert of Boublil & Schönberg's work. I believe David and Lea performed it in Manila and Singapore over 10 years ago."

I am curious.  I hope he is ok.  He has dissapeared from his socials as well... and he is usually on there a lot.  Maybe he was just let go?

[yyys]

Posted: 2/14/25 at 5:51pm

David Harris also missed his last shows in Moulin Rouge back in late January. 

[Someone in a Tree2]

Posted: 2/15/25 at 6:06pm

By and large a pretty magnificent night of relived memories at the Ahmanson last night! Huge cast, gloriously staged, with an impeccable 16-piece orchestra, and a proper set design that provided actual built-scenery set changes throughout the evening. Wow, how lucky were we!

The show started off a bit bumpily, with some worthless introductory remarks from Bernadette and Lea (please cut them before the Bway premiere!) and a very by-the-numbers "Comedy Tonight" and middling medley of "Company". Then Joanna Riding slayed with a dazzling "Getting Married Today" and we were off to the races. The show launched into fully staged mini-productions of "Into the Woods", "A Little Night Music" (their stunning "Weekend in the Country" put the last Bway revival to humiliating shame), and a "Sweeney Todd" for the ages. Who knew that Lea Salonga  was hiding such a great comic Nellie Lovett behind her ravishing soprano voice all along? Then came Beth Leavel who made a glorious meal of "Ladies Who Lunch" (sorry), and Act 1 closed with a sumptuous and tear-inducing "Sunday". Bliss!

I will confess that Act 2 was a bit of a comedown for me, centered mostly on "Follies" and shows written with other composers. But even here, those gorgeous voices made West Side's "Quintet" come to life; Gypsy's old "Gotta Get a Gimmick" chestnut still gave us such joy; Bonnie Langford's "I'm Still Here" was fabulous and heartbreaking (and curious since she used lyrics from Debbie Fisher's "Postcards from the Edge" version for reasons known only to the Brits). Gotta give a shoutout to Kate Jennings Grant's deliciously tipsy "The Boy From", the only song my husband didn't recognize.

I haven't mentioned Bernadette for a reason. She clearly was having vocal issues, not just with the notes, but also difficulty pronouncing the words with the precision she usually shows. I thought her "Send in the Clowns" was very precise and thoughtful, and her comedic bits were delightful but not sure what was off with the rest. Sadly, her tear-soaked "Losing My Mind" is an acquired taste I simply never could.

They should have ended the night with the full cast singing those gorgeous harmonies of "Not a Day Goes By" accompanied by their slideshow of the Master from infancy to old age. Then bows and deserved standing ovations.

But alas no. They sort of fumbled the finale with another anthem, and another, and another, each less well received than the previous. Who knew what was a bow and what was a dance break? We left the theater a bit confused, yet truly elated at the great performances we'd been gifted with. It's as close to perfect a Sondheim tribute as we're likely to see this decade.

 

 

[emo_geek]

Posted: 2/16/25 at 1:23am

Totally agree with your review. Overall I loved it, and what a joy. However, this afternoon the entire audience stood through the last 3 songs because we thought we were giving them a standing ovation and then they would awkwardly start another song. 

[MezzA101]

Posted: 2/16/25 at 5:41am

Lea Salonga Is Never Getting Tired of Sondheim (NYT Spring Preview)

 

https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/16/theater/lea-salonga-old-friends-broadway-sondheim.html?unlocked_article_code=1.xU4.F8c_.ybnL4jhgMVK_

[BorisTomashevsky]

Posted: 2/16/25 at 1:52pm

If David was indeed let go, I’d believe it. As wonderful as his voice is, his performance as Father in Ragtime in Concert really had no depth and didn’t “get” the period at all. I think he does much better with contemporary/shallow roles like Fiyero/The Duke. And as we know, Sondheim needs to be acted well. 

And in some ways it’s preferable if he was let go. I’m hoping it isn’t a serious illness that meant he couldn’t do the show. 

Updated On: 2/16/25 at 01:52 PM

[DAME]

Posted: 2/16/25 at 7:32pm

They auditioned him and he is a known proven worker.  I can’t imagine they let him go.  I hope he is well.  Maybe he is just doing the NY run?  

[ChairinMain]

Posted: 2/17/25 at 1:01am

Caught the show this weekend in LA, and I largely agree with Someone in a Tree's review, except I liked Bernadette a bit more than they did. Bernadette sounded solid (well, solid for 78) on Friday night. Her vocal estate has diminished over the years, yes, but that happens to all of us, and she remains one of the keenest of interpreters of this music. It is something special to hear her sing "Sunday" one last time, ya know? She's having fun, and we're having fun with her. Lea, on the other hand, sounds capital-F Fantastic. Her voice has mellowed and gotten richer in color since her ingenue days and she reveals comic timing I did not know she possessed in the Mrs. Lovett sequence. The Sweeney section was an overall highlight - both she and Jeremy Secombe (who doesn't really do anything else over the course of the show) are excellent. 

I got what I wanted, overall. It's a charming "greatest hits" concert performed by a range of artists that range from very talented to definitive. Beth Leavel's Ladies who Lunch is the best I've ever seen - including Patti's, and there's similarly worth-the-price-of-admission work from Gavin Lee, Bonnie Langford and Joanna Riding. It's honestly just wonderful seeing these British artists get their well-deserved flowers on this side of the Atlantic. Jacob Dickey and Maria Wirries stand out nicely out of the younger performers. Jasmine Forsberg and Daniel Yearwood, who I know from other shows to possess incredible voices, are a bit wasted in their tracks, but one can't have everything. 

Regarding the drama regarding David Harris's departure - I cannot imagine that if he was let go it was because of his acting, as was speculated upthread. While it is possible that Kevin Earley does not perform everything that he was initially assigned, his track was not a super demanding one. His biggest number is "Agony" with Kyle Selig, and is Paul in "Not getting Married Today" and Frederic in "A Weekend in the Country." There could have been some shuffling of numbers in the wake of his departure, but...he could have left the production for any number of reasons and we simply don't know why. 

[ChairinMain]

Posted: 2/17/25 at 1:04am

Oh, also, does anyone have a list of how numbers were assigned and who did what in the west end run? All i can find is the list from the original gala concert. I'm curious if the division of labor was similar. 

[BroadwayBaby6]

Posted: 2/17/25 at 3:53pm

I saw the show on Saturday night 2/18. Bernadette was in great voice. I'm assuming she was able to get medical treatment for her vocal chords which were reportedly in bad shape on Friday night. There are steroid treatments (inhaled or injected) that can relieve vocal strain and even completely suppress the inflammation of a cold or a sore throat.

The show definitely needs some work before Broadway. The sequencing was strange and a few of the numbers didn't land.  The only weak link was Jason Pennycooke. He lacked stage presence and neither of  his numbers "Live Alone and Like It" and "Buddy's Blues" landed. His getting the audience to clap during "Buddy's Blues" was downright embarrassing. 

Last minute- replacement Kevin Earley, who used to be a mainstay of Los Angeles musical theatre, was fantastic.

Lea, as others said, is a revelation as Mrs. Lovett. She has evidently played the role in Singapore and the Philippines.
 

[binau]

Posted: 2/17/25 at 3:59pm

The vibe of ‘buddy’s blues’ was definitely of the similar cringe vain in London but the west end audiences almost always ate it up and clapped along like it was a panto or something. I didnt really get it but the audiences loved it without fail night after night for some reason. 

[Bette's Turban]

Posted: 2/17/25 at 7:06pm

“Last minute- replacement Kevin Earley, who used to be a mainstay of Los Angeles musical theatre, was fantastic.”

Not to take anything away from Kevin (whom I like) ; but it’s a fairly bland track.. so not sure where the FANTASTIC comment comes from.  He is not given much to do.  And he is not a mainstay of Los Angeles theater.  His work has mostly been elsewhere .  Just look at his website .  
Curious as to what happened to Harris.  He used to overshare on social media .  Now silence .  Hope he is ok.

Updated On: 2/17/25 at 07:06 PM

[DAME]

Posted: 2/17/25 at 7:15pm

Kevin was always in the show.  He was not brought in to replace David.