Sondheim & Ives’ HERE WE ARE headed to London’s National Theatre in 2025

[jacobsnchz14]

Posted: 9/8/24 at 2:51pm

https://x.com/mrcarl_woodward/status/1832794557743820992

[TotallyEffed]

Posted: 9/8/24 at 2:55pm

I hope it comes to Broadway after :)

[Broadway Flash]

Posted: 9/8/24 at 3:12pm

Truly truly one of my favorite things I’ve seen EVER.  It’s the absolute perfect musical for me. 

[BETTY22]

Posted: 9/8/24 at 4:04pm

This is wonderful news.....

[Play Esq.]

Posted: 9/8/24 at 4:09pm

Is it wrong to say that Sondheim's last musical was his best in 20 years?  I appreciate Passion, but I could watch Here We Are over and over in various iterations for forever.  I can't say that about any other Sondheim musical since Assassins (orig: 1990).

[jkcohen626]

Posted: 9/8/24 at 4:13pm

Great to hear this show has a future. Hopefully this means it'll be filmed. Would KILL for them to get Rachel Bay Jones back for this. She was the heart and soul of this show. 

[TotallyEffed]

Posted: 9/8/24 at 4:15pm

Rachel was perfection and would have been a real contender for the Tony. Isn’t the rumor for London Jane Krakowski?

[inception]

Posted: 9/8/24 at 4:26pm

Who is the guy posting this?  I don't see anything connecting him officially to the National Theatre.

[EDSOSLO858]

Posted: 9/8/24 at 4:30pm

Watch this show twist and turn its way to Broadway, much like Gatsby: An American Myth will. 

[binau]

Posted: 9/8/24 at 4:46pm

I loved ‘Here We Are’ and the production at The Shed was more than I could ever have hoped for. A truly life changing experience that I felt I deserved because of my love and obsession with Sondheim’s work. 

But I personally wouldn’t suggest that the score is anywhere near the level of ‘Passion’, or even Road Show (even though I was more entertained by Here We Are ).  The score is serviceable and has its moments but I think the show worked because all the different pieces came together at once. A funny and interesting book with some cooky characters, some brilliant acting, a director who had the vision to make it work despite Sondheim giving up on the piece. Unexpectedly lavish staging. It was just so surprising that we got what felt like a fully fledged show. 
 

Sondheim showed he can still write a clever lyric, structure complex songs around dialogue, and create a melody or two. But every score before (and including) Passion was a ground breaking new world of sound that he and no one else had ever done before. “I read” is the kind of song that I feel can shake you to your core. I don’t think there is much innovative in ‘here we are’. 

I’m not saying this to bring the energy down of anyone else who thinks otherwise - anyone that is exited over Sondheim’s work should be. And I will be first in line to see this at The National! 

[Broadway Flash]

Posted: 9/8/24 at 4:54pm

I do love the score, but David Ives and Joe Mantello should be recognized for this just as much as Sondheim.  Just fabulous work all around.  And it was  Sondheim’s idea. 

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 9/8/24 at 5:45pm

inception said: "Who is the guy posting this? I don't see anything connecting him officially to the National Theatre."

It is gossip. Not an official announcement.

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 9/9/24 at 5:02am

binau said: " But every score before (and including) Passion was a ground breaking new world of sound that he and no one else had ever done before"

I completely agree (and I know some Sondheim fans STILL dislike Passion, but whatever.)  I think Passion really was the climax (no pun intended given its opening) to Sondheim's great works (and the just under 25 years between Company-Passion are all peak Sondheim.)  In some ways it feels like the culmination of everything he'd done, while being completely unlike everything he's done (including the tonal structure which never closes until the very final chord of the show.)

I'm grateful for the post Passion stuff we've had--including of course Road Show and Here We Are.  And I think they're good shows.  But it was after Passion that Sondheim finally did start to sound self-referential (something his critics used to always accuse him of but previously, I'd say, wasn't remotely true.) 

[hearthemsing22]

Posted: 9/9/24 at 8:37am

Why does everything have to go to Broadway? A London transfer (and not even officially announced!) doesn't mean Broadway has to be next. It did perfectly well at The Shed, it's great that there might be a London transfer, and then that's it. Not every single off Broadway show-no matter who the composer is- has to come to Broadway as well. Let it be. 

[Kad]

Posted: 9/9/24 at 8:51am

hearthemsing22 said: "Why does everything have to go to Broadway? A London transfer (and not even officially announced!) doesn't mean Broadway has to be next. It did perfectly well at The Shed, it's great that there might be a London transfer, and then that's it. Not every single off Broadway show-no matter who the composer is- has to come to Broadway as well. Let it be."

And you don’t need to pop up every time somebody on here expresses desire for a transfer or a tour or a movie or whatever and share this same sentiment again and again. Let it be.

[RippedMan]

Posted: 9/9/24 at 9:09am

Great staging, but I thought Act 2 was a complete bore. Loved Act 1. And I love Passion and Bounce. I'd be curious to see how this changes for London. I don't think the staging would work in that giant theater unless it's playing the smaller space.

[Owen22]

Posted: 9/9/24 at 10:01am

I am in London at the moment and had Sunday roast with a friend who works at the National Theater and it is a guarantee that Here We Are will be playing the National possibly (but not definitely) sometime next year. What is not guaranteed is the casting, but he has heard it may have a lot of the original cast with Jane Krakowski possibly replacing Rachel Bay jones.

Updated On: 9/9/24 at 10:01 AM

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 9/9/24 at 10:21am

RE: ranking Sondheim's work --

I'm bad at picking faves to begin with, but when you've lived with one body of work for years and years, and seen multiple interpretations, and studied them, and thought about them, and read Sondheim's own writings on them, it's gonna be hard for me to give this one a fair assessment until more time passes.

[dramamama611]

Posted: 9/9/24 at 10:51am

Lucky you, Londoners!  Hope you love it.

 

I doubt this has a further life in NY, after the initial release of tickets, this was not a hard show to get tickets for, for most of it's run.   It's never going to appease the average theater goers taste (which is fine, I loved it).

[hearthemsing22]

Posted: 9/9/24 at 11:53am

dramamama611 said: "Lucky you, Londoners! Hope you love it.



I doubt this has a further life in NY, after the initial release of tickets, this was not a hard show to get tickets for, for most of it's run. It's never going to appease the average theater goers taste (which is fine, I loved it)."

Wasn't the second half based on a movie...I forget which one! What was it? Is it worth watching? 

[inception]

Posted: 9/9/24 at 12:18pm

hearthemsing22 said: "

Wasn't the second half based on a movie...I forget which one! What was it? Is it worth watching?"

Both acts were based upon films by Luis Buñuel.  The first act on The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie, and the second act on The Exterminating Angel.  I would call them Marxist fairy tales.  I found Here We Are much more entertaining than the films it is based upon.

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 9/9/24 at 2:48pm

RippedMan said: "Great staging, but I thought Act 2 was a complete bore. Loved Act 1. And I love Passion and Bounce. I'd be curious to see how this changes for London. I don't think the staging would work in that giant theater unless it's playing the smaller space."

I can't imagine the text changing much.  I liked Act II more than I expected but I would try to tighten it up more (cutting as much as ten minutes.)  I get that I'm sure they wanted audiences to get a sense of the ennui (to put it lightly) that the characters are feeling, but...

 

[binau]

Posted: 9/10/24 at 1:46am

The only way I can see this coming back to Broadway is if they book a major star. I'm not sure if christine baranski is that star (she could be, I just don't know what kind of box office pull she has). 

I am also curious about the theatre space - to be honest even though the Shed in theory is 'small' it did feel like a large  cold open box to me and wonder if the show might feel a bit nicer and warmer in a proper theatre. 

[carolinaguy]

Posted: 9/10/24 at 10:07am

jkcohen626 said: "Great to hear this show has a future. Hopefully this means it'll be filmed. Would KILL for them to get Rachel Bay Jones back for this. She was the heart and soul of this show."

Unfortunately for the theater, Rachel Bay Jones is getting a nice network paycheck now as a regular on the Young Sheldon spinoff series. Her availability for any stage work will be very limited for the next few years, most likely.

[TimeToDither]

Posted: 9/11/24 at 2:09am

I simply loved the Shed production. The writing is extraordinary, of course, but the production itself was very much unlike anything else I've ever seen. I hope that no matter if they go with the same design or something new (and I'm always up for changing things up), the set & tech lives up to the expectations set by the original production.

I agree that I'd see this coming back to Broadway for a limited run only if they book a major star; on the occasion ... how about someone unexpected? My fantasy casting would be led by someone like Renee Zellweger or Marion Cotillard if we can't get the original cast.