STEPHEN SONDHEIM'S OLD FRIENDS Previews — Page 4

I was there tonight and, not gonna lie, I found the entire thing to be a slog. It felt like a charity performance at 54 Below - too many performers and too many songs with what felt like zero thought on how to cohere It all together.

I think this show is just the culmination of many years of Sondheim fatigue - the end of a very long farewell tour. We got so many great revivals in the years before he passed (FOLLIES, SUNDAY) and double that after (ITW, MERRILY, COMPANY, GYPSY, SWEENEY). This is a nearly three-hour sampler platter of his greatest hits, with some good fits and some…choices. Each time the show hit a bum note, I was left to think about a previous performer I had seen sing the song and how much better they often were.

Gavin Lee’s weird “Could I Leave You?” made me long for Jan Maxwell. Jacob Dickey’s sexual wolf (albeit in fine leather pants) lacked the cheeky mania that made Gavin Creel so memorable. The three ladies singing “You Can Drive A Person Crazy” made me want the Company revival back.

The only real times I felt genuine pangs of theatrical magic were the little Easter eggs Bernadette dropped from her past roles throughout the show (like Dot). Beth Leavel came out the best with her numbers that played to her strength as a “broad” and was once again criminally underused. That ending was a mess and definitely was dragged out. As my friend who was also there put it - “That was the longest “In Memoriam” segment I’ve ever sat through”

Additionally, I wasn’t a fan of the set because everything seemed so cramped on the stage and I didn’t find the easy interchangeable features of the set to be innovative, but rather cheap - like summer stock. (Oh! That balcony could be used for Rapunzel AND Maria!)

While I got color and light, I was also expecting a little order…composition…symmetry…balance…form - and didn’t get that.

Updated On: 4/2/25 at 09:57 PM

kdogg36 said: "quizking101 said: "I was there tonight and, not gonna lie, I found the entire thing to be a slog."

Does this mean you thought the songs were not performed to professional standards? Because an evening of Sondheim songs performed to professional standards could never be a slog."

Did you read anything beyond my first sentence?

Anyone know how much the discount has been at TKTS :)?

I absolutely loved the show in London and loved it on Broadway as well. (I saw first preview in NYC.) Is it perfect? No. There are shows that were over-represented and I would have happily cut some of those songs to include ASSASSINS, PACIFIC OVERTURES, SATURDAY NIGHT ("So Many People" or "What More Do I Need?"). The only song change from the London production to Broadway was the addition of the song from BOUNCE (mashed up with "I Know Things Now"). It was interesting for me as I'm not familiar with that song/score, but I don't think it adds much to the number.

I have no problem with the fact that it is part concert, part cabaret, part semi-staged numbers. I actually like the size of the cast because it makes the company numbers sound so beautiful and full. (I was impressed with the Doyle SWEENEY TODD where everyone played instruments, but I missed the full sound of an ensemble.)

As someone else noted - cast members understudy different numbers, not necessarily one actor's full track. One of the performances in London that I caught, Clare Burt was out. (Beth Leavel sings her songs on Broadway.) Janie Dee (who sang "The Boy From..." in London) sang "The Little Things You Do Together" with Gavin Lee, I think one of the swings played Electra in "Gotta Have a Gimmick," and Joanna Riding did "The Ladies Who Lunch." It was terrific!

Bottom line: I think most Sondheim fans will really love this show.

binau said: "Anyone know how much the discount has been at TKTS :)?"

I just checked the TKTS app and it's not on there right now. The app is a great way to track this type of thing.

quizking101 said: "Did you read anything beyond my first sentence?"

I did, but I can see that my response was needlessly and inexplicably sharp, and I apologize for that.

ACL2006 said: "does this show have understudies and/or standbys? Didn't notice any listed on Playbill.com"

Short answer yes, long answer it's complicated. Assuming the billing hasn't changed since the Los Angeles Run, Paige Faure, Alexa Lopez, Greg Mills and Peter Neureuther are credited as "Co-Star Alternates" - they have onstage ensemble tracks and serve as understudies. If one of the co-stars or stars go out, their songs will be covered by other members of the cast, which isn't made public. The only person I know of who went out for a performance in Los Angeles was Gavin Lee, and his solos were performed by Kevin Earley that night. I'm not sure if Kevin kept some of his other solos (No reason why he couldn't keep "Agony" which doesn't interact with Gavin's track in any significant way) or if his whole track was assumed by Greg or Peter. My suspicion is if Lea or Bernadette were to miss a show, their tracks would be split amongst the other featured performers (for example, maybe Joanna Riding is Mrs. Lovett while Bonnie Langford gains "Everything's Coming up Roses", or Lea takes "Send in the clowns" for the night while Kate Jennings Grant gets "Loosing my Mind"). We won't know how the internal coverage works until someone has to miss a show.

Updated On: 4/3/25 at 05:30 PM

binau said: "Anyone know how much the discount has been at TKTS :)?"

Right now it is listed as 50% off and the price range listed is $75 - $110.

You don’t need the TKTS app. Just google “TKTS live” and it will take you to the site and it lists all shows being offered.

quizking101 said: "I think you mean Gavin Lee*, not Gavin Creel (god rest his soul)"

I very much do, fixed.

I know how this works for most shows with ‘above-the-title’ stars, but is a revue like Old Friends treated the same way? Bernadette Peters and Lea Salonga appear to be the above-the-title stars (or are they?) while an actress like Beth Leavel is not. Does that mean ticket holders get advance notice and the chance to cancel or exchange tickets if Peters or Salonga is out, but not Leavel or anyone else?

Or do those rules not apply because it’s a revue and if Peters or Salonga are out, that’s the way it goes? (They also might not apply if Peters and Salonga aren’t considered above the title, which technically they are not.)

Updated On: 4/4/25 at 04:10 AM

Someone can look at a playbill to confirm but based on the MTC website and Telecharge it actually looks like Bernadette and Lea are not billed above the title. When I asked about this previously someone here said it’s common for MTC.