(Written by Intern, Alecia Wilk) With minimal prior knowledge about Stephen Sondheim’s career, a seat in the audience for Old Friends came with a sense of imposter syndrome. This montage of greatest hits celebrating the life of the legendary lyricist and composer is clearly meant for musical aficionados. The production, which carries on without so much as a hint of plot for many numbers, gears itself at those who have seen their share of Stephen Sondheim shows. Cooing at the mere mention of his name suggests that Old Friends need not expend itself to earn a loving reception. Still, as a newcomer, the Samuel J Friedman theatre provides a sweet and serenading introduction to this monument in Broadway history.
Upon being kept in anticipation for some minutes after the intended curtain, Bernadette Peters and Lea Salonga grace the stage addressing the lateness. Appreciating the implication that the cast had celebrated too hard after opening night, the crowd work goes well-received, and twenty or so minutes after start time, the 42-number marathon that comprises Old Friends begins. For many songs, the staging is kept to a bare minimum. The focus instead shifts to displaying vocals of longtime stars Peters and Salonga, and ensuring the music of the on-stage 14-piece orchestra resounds with clarity. Comedy Tonight and Company get the show off to the races—with an energy that is almost too much. The lights blare in big contrasts, and the whole cast populates the stage to exhibit their belting.
Prolonging the pit stop at Company for a bit, Gavin Lee and Beth Leavel put a twist on The Little Things You Do Together by performing it as an old couple. Leavel keeps the back and forth entertaining even as they spend the whole song side by side on stools, infusing an entertaining character to her reformulated part. Exiting Company, Salonga takes the stage for Loving You, and provides the sentimentality previously missing. Desperate lyrics, impressively devastating vocals, and the power of the orchestra are so excellent they almost work against the numbers surrounding. I longed for an emotional context to ground the performance. Passion’s segment is far too brief, and Company overstays its welcome. Moving on to a good slice of Into The Woods, the tone turns bouncy and amusing, and takes advantage of the stage with columns which enter from the left and right to transform into castle towers and trees. A Weekend In The Country enjoys its own stage dressing as well, as some of the entourage race to and fro on the steps of the palace contemplating the invitation, vividly projected on a suspended screen. Kate Jennings Grant does wonders, her tone raising the number to again resemble a scene even in its dismembered state.
The Sweeney Todd segment is truly something to behold. A pronounced orchestra and game cast completely embody the world of that show. In staging too, Todd’s full-fledged production pays off, transporting the audience to a kooky reimagining of 19th century London. Even the under-eye makeup on Jeremy Secomb as Sweeney Todd has been painted to harsh perfection. As Mrs. Lovett, Lea Salonga is unrecognizable, barring the size of her talent. Her costuming and movements are over-the-top amusing, balancing serious character acting with flawless vocal strength. Her short hiatus from the stage leaves a wound, licked better by Jacob Dickey’s dreamy vocals in Pretty Women. This production and direction clearly have favorites. Its bias for Sweeney Todd makes for a most satisfying detour.
This also makes Beth Leavel’s duty in Ladies Who Lunch maybe the most difficult in the show, as she has to follow the selections from that beloved musical. Taking the undressed stage alone, she makes a great comedic entrance, daring to engage with the crowd. Dripping with charisma and exuding a presence that spans the entire theatre, her performance and the orchestra marry to transform the place into a glitzy jazz club. Filling the place with enough groove to lift rears from seats, she embodies the performance perfectly, and manages to do so without any preamble or context to her aid.
For a show with a nearly three hour runtime including intermission, Old Friends moves along at a surprisingly comfortable pace. The length was not exhausting, probably helped by its ability to jump around from show to show. The second act especially makes use of this feature, jumping from one unrelated number to another like lilly pads at its head. Everybody Ought to Have a Maid is especially enjoyable, and a marvel to experience the bounce and fluidity that Gavin Lee, Jason Pennycooke, and Kyle Selig execute in its up-tempo choreography. Similarly, explosively energetic Jason Pennycooke soars in his solo circus performing Buddy’s Blues. It is acerbic, and a wonder how he manages so many switches of voice, squeezing out a high note even after a hyperventilating self-dialogue.
Adding another dose of comedy, Kate Jennings Grant dons center stage in a hot pink dress to kill the crowd again with expert delivery. All the while holding a prop umbrella’d cocktail, she gives a wonderfully dynamic rendition of The Boy From…. With full-bodied acting despite spending the song mostly in one place, she taps into topical White Lotus vibes, adding nice alterations on each repetition of the chorus to make it even funnier. Bringing in the more serious concluding numbers, Bernadette wails Losing My Mind, with lighting beautifully outlining the frays of her curls.
All of the cast comes together for a real tribute on Not a Day Goes By. Projecting a video slideshow of Sondheim from childhood and throughout his life, the cast serenades in his memory with their back to the audience. It is a tender and thoughtful act of memorial, down to the screen the photographs are projected on—a metal canvas, with pores that add a measure of transparency and imbue the projection with a true sense of spirit. On its heels, Being Alive celebrates Sondheim’s memory. The cast’s vocals shine overwhelmingly, with full force resonance in solid gold harmonies. They are joined by stage lights the color of the sun, which travel onto the seats to the back of the theatre in a beam. Being Alive plays like a false ending. Full from its radiant presentation, Old Friends and Side by Side feel merely cute by comparison. After a standing ovation for the first of the two, everyone in the crowd had to re-seat themselves as the show actually wrapped up.
Clearly curated for Sondheim geeks whose satisfaction was likely already won by simply purchasing tickets, this revue predictably does not waste time queueing the crowd in for all the ground it must cover. Though in some instances it skates by on the benefits of familiarity bias, at its end, even newbies can enjoy a heartfelt initiation to his massive legacy. A rich testament to Sondheim’s outsized influence on musical theatre, Old Friends is a “best of” collection with plenty to offer.
For a crash course or poignant reminder on one of Broadway’s greats, catch Old Friends, now playing performances at Samuel J. Friedman theatre until June 15th.
