OLD FRIENDS Reviews - Page 4

[DAME]

Posted: 4/15/25 at 4:43pm

Don’t go. The covers sound interesting.  But don’t miss Lea.

[n2nbaby]

Posted: 4/15/25 at 5:42pm

everythingtaboo said: "Iowa said: "Saw the show tonight, and they took an “all hands on deck approach” to covering Lea’s track. It was quite complicated! For “Side by Side,” Beth Leavel joined Bernadette. Jasmine Forsberg did “Loving You,” Kate Jennings Grant did her solos on the “Into the Woods” section, Bonnie Langford did the Mrs. Lovett numbers, Maria Wirries sang “Somewhere,” Joanna Riding performed “Everything’s Coming Up Roses,” Paige Faure filled in for her on “Not a Day Goes By,” and Beth Leavel once again joined Bernadette for “Old Friends” and the “Side by Side” finale. They all did a commendable job and no one sounded tentative in the least, but I really missed the extra excitement that Lea presumably brings to the show."

Just got the alert, Lea is out tonight for the 4/15 eve performance. I was really thinking about cancelling, but seeing how this was covered, I may just go still. It's Lea dammit!But just to hear Bonnie do Mrs. Lovett and Beth do Side by Side with Bernie, I'm felling a lot better about going."

 

if you are still going to go, go to the box office and ask about rush tickets for tonight. Saturday afternoon I had front row tickets (spent $199 a piece) and went to the box office just to see if they were offering rush - $49 each in the third row of the orchestra. So I bought them and then refunded my original tickets through the Ticketmaster app.

 

[bear88]

Posted: 4/15/25 at 8:47pm

n2nbaby said: "everythingtaboo said: "Iowa said: "Saw the show tonight, and they took an “all hands on deck approach” to covering Lea’s track. It was quite complicated! For “Side by Side,” Beth Leavel joined Bernadette. Jasmine Forsberg did “Loving You,” Kate Jennings Grant did her solos on the “Into the Woods” section, Bonnie Langford did the Mrs. Lovett numbers, Maria Wirries sang “Somewhere,” Joanna Riding performed “Everything’s Coming Up Roses,” Paige Faure filled in for her on “Not a Day Goes By,” and Beth Leavel once again joined Bernadette for “Old Friends” and the “Side by Side” finale. They all did a commendable job and no one sounded tentative in the least, but I really missed the extra excitement that Lea presumably brings to the show."

Just got the alert, Lea is out tonight for the 4/15 eve performance. I was really thinking about cancelling, but seeing how this was covered, I may just go still. It's Lea dammit!But just to hear Bonnie do Mrs. Lovett and Beth do Side by Side with Bernie, I'm felling a lot better about going."



if you are still going to go, go to the box office and ask about rush tickets for tonight. Saturday afternoon I had front row tickets (spent $199 a piece) and went to the box office just to see if they were offering rush - $49 each in the third row of the orchestra. So I bought them and then refunded my original tickets through the Ticketmaster app.

Well played.

 

[Robbie2]

Posted: 4/15/25 at 8:50pm

DAME said: "Don’t go. The covers sound interesting. But don’t miss Lea."

I agree, don't miss Lea in this as she's really special and a highlight of the evening!

[chrishuyen]

Posted: 4/15/25 at 10:42pm

Went and saw this today since I also have tickets for another date later in the run (where hopefully Lea will be on).  Thought it was overall well done though certain songs were more vibrant than the others and overall I enjoyed act 2 better.

I thought Lea's track was suitably covered where if I hadn't known she was supposed to be in the show I probably wouldn't have noticed anything amiss.  But I admit that during the numbers she'd usually do I couldn't help but wonder how she would have performed them, so I hope to see her next time!  The two performers I was most surprised by (in a good way) were Kate Jennnings Grant and Maria Wirries and I'd love to see them perform more in the future, though there were quite a few highlights all around--Little Things You Do Together, Children Will Listen, Broadway Baby, I'm Still Here, Not a Day Goes by, etc.  Also the Merrily overture including the Rich and Happy section.

I was disappointed to find that Steps of the Palace was barely a song and mostly just an intro to Agony and I'm kind of wondering what the point of even including it was.  Also, Love is in the Air is listed in the program as the last number but I don't think it happened tonight so was that cut?

Overall, I thought this was a great time and it was lovely to see all the performances, though I'lll definitely want to see Lea in her track!

[Skip23]

Posted: 4/15/25 at 10:46pm

Just saw this tonight
 

Enjoyable, but almost unnecessary and not really special. Another Sondheim review with less than knockout performances?  Granted Lea was out and everybody is quite adequate, but not a lot of highs in this show.   

 

But the highs for me were:

Beth Leavel’s Ladies Who Lunch

Jeremy Secomb’s, Sweeney Todd

Bernadette’s couple lines of Not A Day Goes By

Maria Wirries’ Somewhere

And an interesting twist to Could I Leave You with Gavin Lee singing from a male perspective.  

Interesting that, for me, Bonnie Langford and Joanna Riding didn’t really come across well -  efficient and functional, but again, not special.

 

 


 

 

 

 

 

Updated On: 4/15/25 at 10:46 PM

[Flowerlovestage5]

Posted: 4/15/25 at 11:21pm

I caught the show this evening. It’s a two act evening that is exactly what you would expect; a musical revue. The Orchestra is sublime and the set is simple but charming for this type of piece. 
 

Beth Leavels “Ladies Who Lunch” was the standout. I enjoyed the choices she made. Several people stood. 
 

Gavin Lee’s “Could I Leave You?” was most charming and welcomed. 
 

Bonnie Langford’s “I’m Still Here” though not groundbreaking was a high point. I wish we had her on stage in the states more often. Her Mrs. Lovett numbers were very good, in my opinion. 
 

Bernadette’s numbers were exactly as we have seen or would expect … her Send in the Clowns was particularly focused and poignant. Not overdone with the water works this time and well thought out. A lovely tribute to both Sondheim and her career, as well. 

I wasn’t disappointed by missing Salonga, though I hope she recovers soon. 

Particular mention should be made for the other players as everyone brought their own to the numbers. On a whole, the entire company blended well together and sounded terrific. 
 

a lovely 2 plus hours for Sondheim. 

 

[everythingtaboo]

Posted: 4/16/25 at 12:12am

I was there tonight also. Random notes:

No Lea, but the cast was uniformly wonderful, and didn't miss a beat covering her parts.

Bernadette did her usual numbers beautifully, but the treat was her hilarious turns in the You Gotta Have a Gimmick number, as well as singing "like Bernadette Peters" when auditioning with Broadway Baby.

Beth Leavel blew the roof off the place with Ladies Who Lunch. I was thrilled to get more of Bonnie, and amazing she can move she does.

Maybe it was the geriatric crowd, but so many people had to get up to use the bathroom. The person that insistent on having to get up during Sunday should never be allowed to enter a theatre again. 

(I didn't think Everything's Coming Up Roses was needed, or it just wanted well placed.)