Last year, Cameron Mackintosh staged a sell-out memorial concert of the work of Stephen Sondheim, who died in 2021. Now he offers this celebration, packed with songs drawn from across his many musicals performed by an outstanding cast who have all been associated with his work. Songs that, for Sondheim fans, are old friends performed by a cast of old friends too.
Heading the company are Bernadette Peters, amazingly making effectively her West End debut at 75 (why have we had to wait so long?) and Lea Salonga, not seen in the West End since creating the original Kim in Miss Saigon, also over from Broadway. They very briefly introduce the evening which then proceeds as a succession of songs, one after the other, sometimes in a group from a particular show.
Devised by Mackintosh, it has been directed by Matthew Bourne and Julia MacKenzie and handsomely staged. It begins with black tie and glitzy gowns, which are replaced by appropriate character costume while projections and scenic pieces lowered in or sliding on from the wings turn the elegant set into new locations. Of course it is packed with great songs; if your favourite is missing, that’s only because there is too much to choose from.
A few lines from Sunday in the Park With George start things going—they are as true of Sondheim’s writing as of Seurat’s painting—and then we are into "Side by Side" and a snatch of "Comedy Tonight". There are going be a lot of laughs coming up, like Joanna Riding struggling across the stage on her knees trapped at the altar singing "Getting Married Today".
There are songs from Company, from Into the Woods with Bernadette Peters as Red Riding Hood and Bradley Jaden licking his chops over his expected meal as a lascivious bare-chested Wolf and Damian Humbley and Jac Yarrow as the fairytale princes in their "Agony".
The company come together parading in a rich rendition of "A Weekend in the Country" leading up to Peters’s soulful singing of "Send In the Clowns", and then there’s a selection from Sweeney Todd with Lea Salonga as a spirited, down-to-earth Mrs Lovett and Jeremy Secomb as Todd (which he played in the Tooting pie shop production) and Clare Burt delivering a stylish "Ladies Who Lunch", and so it continues.
After the interval, there are "Somewhere" (with Lea Salonga) and "Tonight" (with Bradley Jaden as Tony) from West Side Story and several numbers from Gypsy at full blast (Sondheim didn’t write the music for those shows but they are his lyrics).
The ladies line up for a high-kicking routine for "Broadway Baby", with Bonnie Langford setting a challenging starter and ending on her doing the splits with a comic coda, while "Everybody Ought to Have a Maid" from A Funny Thing becomes an outrageously camp male number for Gavin Lee, Damian Humbley and Jason Pennycooke fluttering feather dusters.
There is a total of nearly 40 numbers, including of course "Old Friends", and a reprise of "Side By Side" becomes a finale that turns into a montage of favourites with both audience and cast having a good time.
For Sondheim fans, this show is pure pleasure, even though my favourite numbers are missing, and it is a celebratory showcase that could win over those not already aficionados. It is a cast that brings years of experience, but they could all sing, as Bonnie Langford does so forcefully, "I’m Still Here". Sadly, Stephen Sondheim is not, but his music and witty words are. Enjoy them!