Comment: “Sundheim's Old Friend” brings the power and uneven rhythm of the stars
Since his death, historic songwriting genius Stephen Sondheim has recognized dozens of concerts, cabarets, TV shows and Broadway’s “Revues” since his death and celebrated the passion, talent and versatility of his musical heart. The latest contribution to that amazing work is Sondheim's old friend, This is a pleasant collection of tracks that the masters sometimes get vacant but almost always memorable. To perform 40 overwhelming, hard to play songs whose length, rhythm, style, range and volume is a huge task, but dynamic actors led by Bernadette Peters and Lea Salonga, there is no room for anxiety. You walked away.
There is enough drama and excitement here to lift production beyond the cabaret performance status, but sometimes you want to know how long it will take for the show to ignite. This is the two behaviors that are divided into very different levels of achievement and at the start of Christmas I see it slow. The entire exercise designed by British producer Cameron Mackintosh is limited to excerpts from the show he personally supervised. This explains that this estimate of Sondheim's favorite thing is nothing On Saturday night, anyone can whistle and Pacific proposes. You might argue that these aren't important, but in my opinion, great songs like “Seldom Are There To Be Definitely”, Lee Remick Anyone can whistle, And great “A person in a tree” Pacific proposal Much more distractions than the little distractions of “Everyone deserves a maid” An interesting thing happened on the way to the forum There are also fillings to forget Enter the woods.
To make matters worse, Matthew Bourne suffered from uninspired and completely predictable directions, which encouraged the actors to express every lyric and emphasized that each keyword was lowered to precise action. Three girls singing “You can make a person crazy” (from company) emphasizes the word “crazy”, by wrapping your fingers in the circle next to the temple and being squished by lim on the word “gay”. Ouch.
Smoking references are illustrated by actual genital grabbing simulated edema and gender. The endless smile and the over-the-top rolling of eyes are so much that it is cliché and obvious, not to mention redundant and amateur. Musically you prevent the joy of discovering any surprises in your own special way, and if Sondheim is praised for constantly reaching new heights of discovery, it is always discovering new ways to listen and think about words. Despite this, despite its harsh cliches, Act One manages to “kids can listen” with Bernadette Peters-Lea Salonga Duet Sweeney Todd, Lea Salonga's lively spin convinced me that she made “The Worst Pie in London”. By the end of the first act, the number of highlights exceeded the faint highlights, with a notable exception being a huge place in Joanna Riding, who owns the stage “I'm not married today” and conquers the lyrics of the tongue with minimal gestures and the greatest cleverness. As always, the songs are great, but delivery would otherwise be disappointing. Even Bernadette Peters, not the best sound when I saw the show, seemed to deliberately avoid her usual perfection, singing “Express the Joker” in a harsh nasal tone and emitting “Hello Little Girl” (Hello Little Girl), a mediocre fairy tale song Entering the woods, With Boop-boop-a-doop screams, it sounds smaller than Little Red Riding Hood.
Then some miracles happened. It seems like someone went backstage during the intermission, informing the actors that the performance was wandering in boring, unknown territory and begging everyone to take a step. Whatever happens, the result is a surprising second act that brings the house to a stage. Bernadette Gypsy-Crash, grind and play trumpet, full of applause. this madness The “Girls Looking Around Upstairs” section is rarely heard. Gavin Lee is not Alexis Smith Her “I Can Leave You” and although it nailed it permanently after the unrivalled Polly Bergen in the Broadway Revival, it always benefits from Bonnie Langford's personal explanation in ways I never surprised me. Stephen Sondheim's old friend –Especially the second act –It is a precious night of music.
My advice is: Give up trying to over-analyze any Sondheim ideas (and there will be more people) and sit down and let the song wash you off. Most importantly, to pour yourself a cup of old-fashioned port, reintroduce the superb records of the world of drama and music, and marvel at his many ways Intentionally To explain. Sondheim lives on vinyl forever.
Stephen Sondheim's old friend | 2 hours and 45 minutes. A midfielder. |Samuel J. Friedman Theater | Previous Performance: Sun, June 15, 2025 | 261 West 47th Street | 212-399-3000 | Buy tickets here
