To Steve With Love: Liz Callaway at Feinstein’s/54 Below, New York (livestream on 26 March). Star rating: five stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Many have come to honour Stephen Sondheim since his death and many more will do so until the end of time – there’s a big one coming up in London next month – […]
Tag Archives | Stephen Sondheim
Legacy: Maria Friedman and Friends extends run
The Menier Chocolate Factory in association with Sonia Friedman Productions, has confirmed an extension of the world premiere of new show, Maria Friedman & Friends – Legacy in response to high demand. Starring triple Olivier Award-winner Maria Friedman, the show which celebrates the genius of Marvin Hamlisch, Michel Legrand and Stephen Sondheim will now continue […]
An all-star cast of Old Friends will celebrate Sondheim at the Sondheim
Cameron Mackintosh has invited many of Stephen Sondheim’s old friends to join him in celebrating his extraordinary talents and legacy at the theatre which was recently rebuilt in Sondheim’s honour. The all-star cast for OLD FRIENDS so far includes Michael Ball, Petula Clark, Judi Dench, Daniel Evans, Bonnie Langford, Adrian Lester, Damian Lewis, Julia Mckenzie, […]
Dean John-Wilson and Kelly Price join the cast of Passion at the Hope Mill Theatre
Dean John-Wilson and Kelly Price will join the previously announced Ruthie Henshall in Hope Mill Theatre’s highly-anticipated re-imagining of Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s Passion later this year. Wilson (Aladdin, Prince Edward Theatre) will play Giorgio alongside Olivier nominee Price (What’s New Pussycat, Birmingham Rep) as Clara in the production which is due to play […]
Cast for Anyone Can Whistle at Southwark Playhouse
Chrystine Symone and Jordan Broatch will join the previously announced Alex Young for the new London production of Arthur Laurents and Stephen Sondheim’s rarely produced 1964 musical Anyone Can Whistle. Due to play Southwark Playhouse from 1 April until 7 May 2022, the Matthew Rankcom-directed production will star Young (She Loves Me, Guys and Dolls, […]
Into The Woods – Lyric Theatre, Belfast
Into The Woods continues at the Lyric Theatre, Belfast until 27 February 2022. Star rating: five stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ The Northern Ireland Opera production of Into The Woods currently gracing the stage of the rather lovely Lyric Theatre in Belfast is the first full professional staging in the UK of a Stephen Sondheim […]
I Know Things Now: Jeff Harnar Sings Sondheim – The Pheasantry
I Know Things Now: Jeff Harnar Sings Sondheim at The Pheasantry, London. Star rating: five stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Dapper American cabaret star Jeff Harnar brought his unique, virtually sung-through Sondheim show back to The Pheasantry two years after he launched it at the famed Chelsea cabaret room and it was even better, even sharper than […]
Maria Friedman unveils new show celebrating the work of Hamlisch, Legrand and Sondheim
Triple Olivier Award-winner Maria Friedman will celebrate the genius of Marvin Hamlisch, Michel Legrand and Stephen Sondheim in a new show premiering at London’s Menier Chocolate Factory in March 2022. Presented by the Menier Chocolate Factory in association with Sonia Friedman Productions, Maria Friedman & Friends – Legacy will begin preview performances on 3 March […]
Full cast announced for Northern Ireland Opera’s Into The Woods
An 18-strong cast of West End artists, and performers from across the musical theatre, opera and theatre worlds has been assembled for Northern Ireland Opera’s upcoming production of Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s magical musical Into The Woods. Featuring performers hailing predominantly from Northern Ireland, the cast for the production which will debut at Belfast’s […]
Alex Young to star in new London production of Anyone Can Whistle at Southwark Playhouse
Alex Young (Amalia Balash in She Loves Me at Sheffield Crucible and Young Sally in Follies at the National Theatre) will star in a new London production of Arthur Laurents and Stephen Sondheim’s 1964 musical Anyone Can Whistle, directed by Matthew Rankcom in The Large at Southwark Playhouse from 1 April to 7 May 2022 […]
Maria Friedman and Friends Celebrate Sondheim – Crazy Coqs
Maria Friedman and Friends Celebrate Sondheim continues at Crazy Coqs, London until 8 January 2022. Star rating: five stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ What a belter of a start to 2022! The formidable Maria Friedman is rightly showbiz royalty and this was a right-royal celebration in song and story of her mentor and friend, the […]
Remembering Stephen Sondheim (1930-2021), The Ultimate Musical Man of Broadway
Stephen Sondheim rewrote the history of the Broadway musical in a career lasting over 60 years. Michael Darvell looks back, show by show, at the genius that was Stephen Sondheim. It is an unquestionable fact that Stephen Sondheim was responsible for taking the rather moribund genre of the Broadway musical and breathing new life into […]
Tribute to Cameron Mackintosh is centrepiece for Sky Arts Christmas programming
Stephen Sondheim is among the musical theatre greats featured in a major new documentary celebrating the life and work of Cameron Mackintosh to be screened on Sky Arts this festive season. Filmed ten days before the legendary composer passed away, Sondheim’s contribution will add poignancy to the two-hour programme which also includes interviews with other […]
Theatre Royal Bath provides a home for Gilliam and Hausman’s Into the Woods
Director Terry Gilliam and choreographer Leah Hausman’s highly-anticipated production of Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s magical musical Into the Woods has found a new home at the Theatre Royal Bath. Just a few weeks after The Old Vic announced the shock decision to cancel the production which was to have provided the finale of the […]
NI Opera to return to Belfast’s Lyric Theatre with production of Into the Woods
Northern Ireland Opera will return to Belfast’s Lyric Theatre early next year with a major new production of Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s magical musical Into the Woods. NI Opera’s artistic director Cameron Menzies will take charge of the epic production which will shine a spotlight on the best of Northern Irish music and creative […]
Drag artist Divina De Campo to star in Hedwig and the Angry Inch at Leeds Playhouse
Divina De Campo will take centre stage in a major new production of the Tony Award-winning Hedwig and the Angry Inch as part of the Leeds Playhouse’s spring/summer 2022 season. The star of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK who made her musical theatre debut as Mary Sunshine in the current UK touring production of Chicago, will […]
West End theatres lights will be dimmed in honour of Stephen Sondheim
The Society of London Theatre has announced that all West End theatres will dim their marquee lights at 7pm on 29 November 2021 for two minutes in memory of the composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim who died at his home in Connecticut on 26 November 2021, he was 91. Among those venues paying their respects […]
‘There are giants in the sky’: The theatre community pays tribute to Stephen Sondheim
It feels pretty impossible to find the words to sum up the kind of influence composer Stephen Sondheim had on the world of musical theatre. There was of course the way he turned the genre on its head and made changes to form and content that had never been contemplated before. Then there was the […]
‘We are all blessed to have been alive at the same time as this theatre legend’: Stephen Sondheim dies at the age of 91
The Stephen Sondheim Society’s Chairman and Musical Theatre Review contributor Craig Glenday writes: Dim the lights… Stephen Sondheim was the most innovative, most influential and most important composer and lyricist in modern Broadway history. His contribution to musical theatre – and to theatre in general – is impossible to quantify, such was the variety, sophistication […]
tick, tick… BOOM! – Netflix
tick, tick… BOOM! – Netflix. Star rating: four stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ✩ Creators of art love to see themselves, so in every art form there is some form of light reflected back upon the creator, as if they are saying: “look how hard this is? It’s really tough, but I managed it, so […]
Ruthie Henshall leads re-imagining of Sondheim and Lapine’s Passion at the Hope Mill Theatre
Olivier Award winner and popular musical theatre performer Ruthie Henshall (Les Miserables, Miss Saigon, Oliver!, Crazy For You, Chicago, Billy Elliot) will lead a reimagining of Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s multi-award-winning Passion at the Hope Mill Theatre for a limited run from 5 May to 5 June 2022. Under the direction of Michael Strassen […]
A Little Night Music – Leeds Playhouse
A Little Night Music continues at Leeds Playhouse until 17 July 2021. Star rating: five stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ For my first visit to Leeds Playhouse in many months I knew I was in safe hands with a joint production from the venue and Opera North, the ever reliable James Brining in the director’s chair. […]
CD Review: A Perfect Little Death – Eleri Ward
A PERFECT LITTLE DEATH – Eleri Ward (Ghostlight Records – digital) Star rating: five stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ A combination of two deep loves: the expansive, one of a kind canon of Stephen Sondheim and the sweet, melancholic sounds of Sufjan Stevens – Eleri Ward has come up with a most beautiful album. Acoustic […]
Cast for Buxton Festival’s A Little Night Music
Stage and screen star Gabrielle Drake will play Madame Armfeldt in the Buxton International Festival’s summer production of A Little Night Music. As previously announced, the first musical to feature alongside the prestigious festival’s traditional opera and classical music concert programming will star award-winning actress Janie Dee (Follies, Carousel) as Desiree, a role the West […]
Innovative production of Into The Woods to be staged at The Old Vic
Monty Python’s innovative Terry Gilliam and renowned choreographer Leah Hausman will co-direct a reimagined production of Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s magical musical Into The Woods at The Old Vic in 2022. Announced as part of The Old Vic: Back Together season, a hybrid digital and live programme, which is due to begin in July, […]
Broadway reopening set for September 2021
Broadway is finally – and definitely – coming back. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo has announced that the ban on theatrical performance in effect for over a year will be lifted on 14 September 2021. Selling of advance tickets will begin immediately. The shutdown, mandated in the midst of the Coronavirus pandemic, began on 12 […]
Music review: ’Send in The Clowns’ – Amanda McBroom
Golden Globe winning songwriter (The Rose), singer and actress Amanda McBroom marks the 91st birthday of composer Stephen Sondheim by releasing a single of ‘Send in the Clowns’. Star rating: five stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ It is 23 years since Amanda McBroom played Desiree Armfeldt in A Little Night Music at the Gold […]
A Little Night Music to be the Buxton International Festival’s first musical theatre production
The prestigious Buxton International Festival will feature a musical for the first time alongside its traditional opera and classical music concert programming. Presented by the Festival and Buxton Opera House, the new production of Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler’s evocative A Little Night Music will star award-winning actress Janie Dee (Follies, Carousel) as Desiree, a […]
Chiswick Playhouse reopens with new variety festival including two musical productions
Chiswick Playhouse will mark its reopening with Chiswick Playhouse Recharged, a socially distanced festival of magic, musicals, comedy and more running from 17 May to 27 June 2021. The programme includes two nostalgic and powerful musical productions presented by Scenaria, The Soprano Behind the Screen: The Untold Story of Marni Nixon and a brand-new song […]
London run of hit revival of Sunday in the Park With George postponed
Plans to bring the hit Broadway production of Sunday in the Park With George to the West End this year have been postponed due to the continued uncertainty about the lifting of Covid restrictions on travel and the reopening of theatres to full capacity. Featuring multi-award-winning Hollywood star Jake Gyllenhaal (This Is Our Youth, Garrick […]
Celebrating Sondheim – Chichester Festival Theatre
Celebrating Sondheim – Encore, streaming from Chichester Festival Theatre until 25 March 2021. Star rating: five stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Timed as a 91st birthday tribute to the only composer to have theatres named in his honour on Broadway and in the West End, this reissue of the Celebrating Sondheim concert filmed at […]
Simply Sondheim – Signature Theatre, Virginia
Simply Sondheim – Signature Theatre revue on stream via Marquee TV from MAX Theatre, Arlington, Virginia until 26 March 2021. Star rating: five stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Here’s a little gem of a show if you’re a Sondheim fan – who isn’t? – and although it costs $35 (around £26) to have it […]
Chichester Festival Theatre offers another chance to see its Sondheim Celebration
Home viewers will get a second chance to enjoy Chichester Festival Theatre’s sold-out concert Celebrating Sondheim, an encore screening marking Stephen Sondheim’s 91st birthday on 22 March 2021. Hosted by the popular venue’s artistic director Daniel Evans, the star-studded celebration of the music of the legendary composer featured Evans’ co-star for the London and Broadway […]
CD Review: Anyone Can Whistle – Studio Cast Complete Recording
ANYONE CAN WHISTLE – Studio Cast Complete Recording – 2 CD (JAY RECORDS – CDJAY2 1457) Star rating: five stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ The 23 year wait for the much-anticipated complete recording of Stephen Sondheim’s Anyone Can Whistle has finally come to fruition and the crop is as delicious and mouthwatering as anything […]
Hit revival of Marry Me a Little to be streamed by the Barn Theatre
The Barn Theatre’s recent critically acclaimed revival of Stephen Sondheim’s Marry Me a Little will be streamed digitally later this month. Forced to end its run four days earlier than planned on 4 November 2020 due to the second lockdown, a recording filmed during the production’s final performances will be available for home viewing from […]
Marry Me A Little – Barn Theatre, Cirencester
Marry Me A Little continues at the Barn Theatre, Cirencester until 8 November 2020. Star rating: five stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ It’s always an immense pleasure to visit The Barn Theatre in Cirencester. The quality of productions they have produced and collaborated on in the few years since they opened has been astonishing […]
A Little Night Music – Opera Holland Park
A Little Night Music was performed at Opera Holland Park, London. Star rating: five stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ What could possibly keep a dedicated Sondheimite away from an outdoor, summer evening production of A Little Night Music? A global pandemic? A very limited supply of tickets that sold out nearly instantly? An actual thunderstorm being […]
Janie Dee and Joanna Riding reunite for outdoor staging of A Little Night Music
Janie Dee and Joanna Riding will star in a special outdoor version of Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler’s evocative A Little Night Music in London. The pair who previously appeared together in the National Theatre’s hit production of Follies will reunite for the socially distanced concert performance in Holland Park on 15 August 2020. They […]
Star-studded online concert Kings Of Broadway 2020 will celebrate the work of Jule Styne, Jerry Herman & Stephen Sondheim
Kings Of Broadway 2020, an online concert celebrating the music of the legendary Broadway composers Jule Styne, Jerry Herman and Stephen Sondheim (the latter two whose lyrics will also be celebrated), will premiere at 7pm on Sunday 31 May 2020 via the ‘Quick Fantastic’ channel on YouTube. The evening will feature a cross section of […]
West End production of Sunday in the Park With George is postponed until 2021
The highly anticipated West End season of Sunday in the Park with George, starring Academy Award nominee Jake Gyllenhaal and Tony Award winner Annaleigh Ashford, has been postponed until further notice, following the temporary closure of theatreland this spring. Presented by Ambassador Theatre Group Productions, Riva Marker and Jeanine Tesori in association with New York […]
Catching up with Janie Dee about the London Climate Change Festival
After attending a matinee of The Boy Friend at the Menier Chocolate Factory, Musical Theatre Review’s Barrie Jerram chatted to the ever-busy JANIE DEE who starred as Madame Dubonnet in the superlative production [NB This interview was conducted several weeks before the coronavirus pandemic worsened]. Janie spoke at great length and bubbled over with enthusiasm […]
Sondheim at 90: A YouTube career retrospective
Ian Bowkett writes: It is deeply unfortunate that on the 90th birthday of legendary composer/lyricist Stephen Sondheim we are in the midst of a period without access to live musical theatre. However, that does make this the perfect time to scour YouTube for our favourite renditions of his songs to take us away to happier […]
New productions of South Pacific and Assassins for Chichester 2020
Gina Beck, Julian Ovenden, Joanna Ampil and Rob Houchen will star in a major new production of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s classic South Pacific, one of two major musicals to feature in a packed 2020 season at the Chichester Festival Theatre. Due to play the prestigious venue from 6 July until 29 August 2002, the new […]
I Know Things Now: Jeff Harnar Sings Sondheim – The Pheasantry
I Know Things Now: Jeff Harnar Sings Sondheim at The Pheasantry, London. Star rating: four stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ✩ Smooth, polished, inventive… dapper American cabaret star Jeff Harnar makes singing look easy, even when confronted by Stephen Sondheim’s notoriously difficult lyrics. The Californian, now 60 (but you’d never have guessed it), seems to […]
Assassins – Watermill Theatre, Bagnor
Assassins continues at the Watermill Theatre, Bagnor until 26 October 2019. Star rating: five stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Every time I see Assassins, I like it more and more and this darkly comic Watermill revival of the controversial Stephen Sondheim/John Weidman take on the American dream that “every now and then goes a […]
A tribute to Harold Prince – King of Broadway
The American theatre director and producer Harold Prince, celebrated for some of the most successful musical productions on Broadway and in the West End, recently died at the age of 91. For over 60 years he produced or directed many of the most original musicals in theatre history. Michael Darvell looks back at the life […]
Road Show – Encores! Off-Center – New York City Center
Road Show, an Encores! Off-Center production, played at New York City Center. Star rating: five stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ Stephen Sondheim and John Weidman’s Road Show is a brilliant but daunting enterprise, so all kinds of credit and thanks have to be heaped on the Encores! Off-Center series for giving us another look at it. […]
Queen’s Theatre to be renamed the Sondheim Theatre
Stephen Sondheim will become the only living artist to have a theatre named in their honour in both the West End and on Broadway when the Cameron Mackintosh’s Queen’s Theatre re-opens after four months of refurbishing work later this year. Announcing the re-naming of the iconic Shaftesbury Avenue as the Sondheim Theatre, Mackintosh said: “I […]
Guildhall School of Music and Drama – Merrily We Roll Along
Merrily We Roll Along, performed by students from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, continues at the Silk Street Theatre, London until 10 July 2019. Star rating: four stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ✩ Merrily We Roll Along is such a fabulous musical with its fascinating back -to-front story and some of Stephen Sondheim’s […]
Sunday in the Park With George starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Annaleigh Ashford opens at the Savoy Theatre in June 2020
Tickets have gone on sale today for a strictly limited season of Sunday in the Park With George starring Jake Gyllenhaal and Annaleigh Ashford and directed by Sarna Lapine, at the Savoy Theatre. Preview performances will begin on 11 June 2020, with the final performance taking place on 5 September 2020. Official opening night to […]
