Stephen Sondheim doing Platform at National later this month

Stephen Sondheim is doing a platform performance at the National Theatre on Thursday 21st January at 6:00 pm when he will be talking  to Rufus Norris about his career and his views on current musical theatre trends.

Tickets go on sale  on Friday 8 January at  2:30 pm

Michael Xavier, Maria Friedman and Kim Criswell sing Sondheim Inside Out

On BBC Radio 3 at 2:00 pm today Katie Derham presents The Singing Will Never Be Done  which is a show featuring the hit songs of Stephen Sondheim.

Performers include Kim Criswell, Michael Xavier, Turlough Convery and Maria Friedman with the BBC Singers accompanied by the BBC Concert Orchestra conducted by the orchestra's American Principal Conductor Keith Lockhart.

Kim Criswell, Maria Friedman and Michael Xavier performing Sondheim Inside Out

Kim Criswell, Maria Friedman Michael Xavier and Turlough Convery will be performing Sondheim Inside Out in concert on Sunday 10th November at 3:00 pm at the Queen Elizabeth Hall (Southbank Centre).

They will be covering the best hits from the best shows: Company, Follies, A Little Night Music, The Frogs, Sweeney Todd and Sunday in the Park with George under the direction of Jonathan Butterell, accompanied by the BBC Concert Orchestra conduced by Keith Lockhart.

 Tickets for Sondheim Inside Out   

Sondheim, Weidman & Doyle in Conversation about Road Show

The new Sondheim musical Roadshow is due to start previews at the Menier Chocolate Factory on 24th June and runs from 6th July-17th September.

Road Show is the third collaboration between Sondheim and book writer John Weidman (Pacific Overtures and Assassins)

You can hear Stephen Sondheim, John Weidman and John Doyle (the director) talk about the show at the Menier on the  25th June at 8:00 pm. You are also invited to put your questions to the panel.

All tickets £15.00 (limited to 4 per customer)

LATEST NEWS:  Afraid this has sold out within a few hours of the tickets going on sale!

Cast for Sondheim's Company at Southwark Playhouse in February

Southwark Playhouse is staging a revival of Sondheim’s 1970 musical Company in February. It is their first musical production since it was founded in 1993 and will run from 9th February to 12th March 2011 (previews from 2nd February).

The cast are Rupert Young (Merlin, Shameless, Afterlife and Never So Good) as Bobby, Siobhan McCarthy (Donna in Mamma Mia!) as Joanne, Cassidy Janson (Avenue Q) plays Amy with  Mark Curry, Greg Castiglioni, Matthew White, Leigh McDonald, Steve Serlin, Julia Nagle, Adam Venus, Laura Main, Poppy Roe, Michelle Bishop and Katie Brayben.
 
.Company is all about Bobby who is a 35-year-old bachelor living in New York. When five married couples throw a surprise party for him in his apartment it opens up discussions in song examining the pros and cons of marriage – but will he ever discover happiness? The score includes “Marry Me a Little”, “Being Alive”, “Ladies Who Lunch”, “Side by Side” and “You Could Drive a Person Crazy”.

The forthcoming Southwark Playhouse production will be directed by Joe Fredericks (associate director on Once Upon a Time at the Adelphi) with musical direction and arrangement by Oliver Jackson and choreography by Sam Spencer-Lane.

The Southwark Playhouse’s location in the vaults beneath London Bridge Station is the perfect space to create an intimate production with a New York warehouse feel.

Company will also receive a major revival in Christmas 2012 at Sheffield Theatres when Daniel Evans stars in Jonathan Munby’s production.

Tickets at: http://ambassadorstickets.com

Sondheim's Road Show headed for Menier Chocolate Factory next year

As reported by TheatreSpy back in June  Stephen Sondheim & John Weidman’s Road Show will be directed by John Doyle (Sweeney Todd and Company on Broadway) and presented at the Menier Chocolate Factory next year

Road Show is the third collaboration between Sondheim and book writer John Weidman (Pacific Overtures and Assassins), but is not their first attempt with this material which has also been called Gold, Wise Guys and Bounce.

It tells the story of brothers Addison and Wilson Mizner and their adventures across America from the Alaskan Gold Rush to the Florida property boom in the 1930s.

The production opened in Off-Broadway’s Public Theatre in 2008 when it was directed by the Scot John Doyle.

Daniel Evans to star in Sondheim’s Company

The fabulous Daniel Evans is now the artistic director of Sheffield Theatres but he is going back to his roots to star in a new production of the Stephen Sondheim musical Company which will play at the Crucible Theatre, Sheffield over the 2011 Christmas season.

Apparently he asked Sondheim if he could play the lead part of Bobby when he was in New York starring in Sunday In The Park With George.  Presumably a request he reinforced when he appeared in the special Proms Sondheim Tribute Concert which Dame Judi Dench appeared in and which the man himself attended.

Evans was one of the leads in Merrily We Roll Along at the Donmar Warehouse ten years ago and is due to reunite with that production’s cast for a concert version at the Queen’s Theatre as part of Sondheim’s 80th birthday celebrations on 31st October. The cast will be Lucy Bradshaw (Terry), Daniel Evans (Charley Kringas), Anna Francolini (Gussie), David Lucas (Bunker/Mr Spencer), James Millard (Joe Josephson), Julian Ovenden (Younger Frank Shepherd), Grant Russell (Older Frank Shepherd), Samantha Spiro (Mary Flynn), Mary Stockley (Beth), Emma Jay Thomas (Meg Kincaid), Shona White (Miss Gordon/Mrs Shepherd) .

If you can’t wait until Xmas 2011 there is a production of Company at the Queen’s on 7th November starring Paul Bentley(Larry), Clare Burt (Susan), Anna Francolini (Marta), Rebecca Front (Sarah), Teddy Kempner (David), Adrian Lester (Robert), Clive Rowe (Harry), Michael Simkins (Paul), Gareth Snook (Peter) and Sophie Thompson (Amy).

Dame Judi Dench Sondheim Tribute at Proms this Saturday

Dame Judi Dench is performing at the Royal Albert Hall in the BBC Proms this Saturday 31st July at a concert being conducted by David Charles Abell dedicated to the music of Stephen Sondheim (who will also be there).

The concert is entitled Sondheim at 80 and it will be broadcast live on BBC Radio 3 from 7:30pm-9:30pm or you can watch it on BBC 2 at 8:00 pm. Sondheim will give a live interview to Katie Derham during the interval for broadcast on BBC 2 that evening and his  pre-concert talk will be broadcast on BBC Radio 3 during the interval.

Dame Judi will sing the classic Send in the Clowns from A Little Night Music which she appeared in at the National Theatre in 1995.

Other performers taking part include Bryn Terfel, Simon Russell Beale, Daniel Evans, Maria Friedman, Caroline O’Connor, Julian Ovenden and Jenna Russell (who is due to open at Regent Park’s Open Air Theatre next month as the Baker’s Wife in Sondheim and Lpine's  Into the Woods). Dame Judi Dench is supplying the voice of the giant for this production, but she will not be appearing in the show which gives tales from the Brothers Grimm some dark and humorous twists

The music includes numbers from Follies, Sunday in the Park with George, Into the Woods, Company, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum and Sweeney Todd.

Sondheim at 80 Donmar Warehouse Productions

As well as presenting a revival of Sondheim’s 1994 musical Passion (which Sondheim himself is getting involved with)  the Donmar Warehouse are also presenting four more events (two at the Queen's Theatre) to mark his 80th birthday.

SONDHEIM AT THE DONMAR

Thursday 16th September 2010 at 18:00 at the Donmar Warehouse Michael Grandage and Sam Mendes in conversation about staging Sondheim at the Donmar

STEPHEN SONDHEIM IN DISCUSSION

Monday 11th October 2010 at 18:00 at the Donmar Warehouse Stephen Sondheim will be interviewed by Variety critic David Benedict about his life and career.

And two one off concert performances at the Queen's Theatre which had originally been intended for the Donmar’s own space but there is more room at The Queen’s.

The presentations are staged by Donmar associate directors and Rob Ashford and Jamie Lloyd, with musical direction by Gareth Valentine, lighting by David Plater and sound by Terry Jardine.

MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG with Lucy Bradshaw (Terry), Daniel Evans (Charley Kringas), Anna Francolini (Gussie), David Lucas (Bunker/Mr Spencer), James Millard (Joe Josephson), Julian Ovenden (Younger Frank Shepherd), Grant Russell (Older Frank Shepherd), Samantha Spiro (Mary Flynn), Mary Stockley (Beth), Emma Jay Thomas (Meg Kincaid), Shona White (Miss Gordon/Mrs Shepherd).  Sunday 31st October 2010 at 15:00 and 19:30

COMPANY with Paul Bentley (Larry), Clare Burt (Susan), Anna Francolini (Marta), Rebecca Front (Sarah), Teddy Kempner (David), Adrian Lester (Robert), Clive Rowe (Harry), Michael Simkins (Paul), Gareth Snook (Peter) and Sophie Thompson (Amy). Sunday 7th November 2010 at 15:00 and 19:30



Tickets for the Queen’s shows go on sale on Monday 12th July. Call the Delfont Mackintosh box office on 0844 482 5162.

Casting for Sondheim's Assassins at Union

As previously mentioned, part of the celebrations for Sondheim’s 80th birthday earlier this year will see the Union in Southwark reviving his musical Assassins from 30th June to 24th July 2010.

The cast has now been announced and it includes: Glyn Kerslake, John Barr, Adam Jarrell, Joe Alessi, Nick Holder, Alison Larnder, Leigh McDonald, Paul Callen, Marc Joseph, Nolan Frederick and Lisa Stoke as well as Davis Brooks, Neil Canfer, Anthony Delaney, Hannah Bingham and Holly Easterbrook.

Sondheim revivals scheduled for Menier Chocolate Factory

The Menier Chocolate Factory’s David Babani has been talking about some Sondheim revivals he has planned there.

Future productions include Maria Friedman directing Stephen Sondheim's Merrily We Roll Along  and the Sondheim and John Weidman musical Road Show which hopefully will be directed by John Doyle.

Road Show is the third collaboration between Sondheim and book writer John Weidman (Pacific Overtures and Assassins), but is not their first attempt with this material which has also been called Gold, Wise Guys and Bounce. It tells the story of brothers Addison and Wilson Mizner and their adventures across America from the Alaskan Gold Rush to the Florida property boom in the 1930s.

The production opened in Off-Broadway’s Public Theatre in 2008 and was directed by Scot John Doyle who has also directed recent New York productions of Sweeney Todd and Company for Sondheim.

The new musical Paradise Found is currently running at the Chocolate Factory with Trevor Nunn’s Aspects of Love due to start previews on 7th July.

Secret Sondheim at Jermyn Street

With Stephen Sondheim celebrating his 80th birthday earlier this year, the Jermyn Street Theatre is hosting a celebration of his lesser known works, devised and directed by Tim McArthur.

Secret Sondheim runs from 6th-24th July and includes songs from the less well known shows including Anyone Can Whistle and Evening Primrose, and rarely performed numbers from hit shows including Into the Woods and Sweeney Todd.

The cast of five will include West End actresses Laura Armstrong and Valerie Cutko, and McArthur himself.

You can book tickets at www.jermynstreettheatre.co.uk

The Donmar Warehouse is also presenting a series of concerts as part of Sondheim's celebrations.

Maria Friedman directing Sondheim's Merrily We Roll Along at Menier

Maria Friedman is going to direct Sondheim’s Merrily We Roll Along at the Menier Chocolate Factory later this year.

  

The musical is also due for an airing at the Donmar Warehouse: as part of their Sondheim 80th Birthday Celebrations they are presenting a concert performance on  Sunday 7th November 2010 at 19:30.  The cast is yet to be announced.

  

As well as appearing in the Merrily We Roll Along in 1992 at the Leicester Haymarket, Maria Friedman is on the soundtrack from that production with Gareth Snook, Louise Gold and  Jacqueline Dankworth. More recently she directed the piece with students from the Central School.

Cameron Mackintosh to revive A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum?

Comedian Omid Djalili has said he has been in talks with Cameron Mackintosh about appearing in A Funny Thing Happened On the Way to the Forum, which has music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. Last year he played Fagin in Mackintosh’s production of Oliver! which is still running at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane.

Djalili said he was being considered for the role of Pseudolus, which was played by Zero Mostel in the original 1962 Broadway production and film. He added “the musical would have to be a very tight version to do well. It can be very Mel Brooks-like, very fast-paced and very funny if it’s done properly, but it can be done horribly too.”

He is currently waiting to see when Mackintosh wants to revive it, but said it would not be before next year at the earliest.

Menier’s A Little Night Music to Close Early on Broadway

The Menier Chocolate Factory’s production of Stephen Sondheim's A Little Night Music, starring Catherine Zeta-Jones, Angela Lansbury and Alexander Hanson (from the London production)  will close on Broadway on 20th June.  The musical had been booking  to 29th Aug 2010.

A Little Night Music is nominated for four 2010 Tony Awards including Best Revival of a Musical, Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical (Catherine Zeta-Jones), Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical (Angela Lansbury) and Best Sound Design of a Musical (Dan Moses Schreier & Gareth Owen).

Sondheim’s Assassins at Union Theatre

As part of the celebrations for Sondheim’s 80th birthday earlier this year, the Union in Southwark will revive his musical Assassins from 30th June to 24th July 2010.

I saw the London premiere of this production which was directed by Sam Mendes at the Donmar Warehouse in 1992 and it lends itself perfectly to a small space like the Union.

The show is a revue-style portrayal of men and women who attempted (successfully or otherwise) to assassinate Presidents of the United States including John Wilkes Booth (Abraham Lincoln), Lee Harvey Oswald (John F Kennedy), Charles Guiteau (James Garfield), John Hinckley (Ronald Reagan) and Giuseppe Zangara (Franklin D Roosevelt).  The book is by John Weidman who worked with Sondheim on Pacific Overtures).

Amongst the other events being staged in London as part of Sondheim’s birthday celebrations are: this weekend’s The Night of 1000 Voices concert at the Royal Albert Hall, a dedicated BBC Prom, and revivals of Passion , Merrily We Roll Along and Company at the Donmar and Into the Woods at Regent's Park Open Air Theatre.

Sondheim on South Bank Show Revisited this Sunday

Stephen Sondheim's 80th birthday which was on 22nd March will be celebrated in a special edition of the The South Bank Show Revisited due to be broadcast on Sunday 25th April at 10.15 pm. Melvyn Bragg travelled to Stephen Sondheim’s home in Manhattan and carried out the interview on the eve of his 80th birthday.

Sondheim talks movingly about his childhood, his parents’ divorce and Oscar Hammerstein becoming "like a surrogate father". He describes his big break which was writing the lyrics for West Side Story (something he wasn't over keen to do but was advised by Hammerstein that it might be good experience for him to work with Leonard Bernstein and Jerome Robbins!)  Sondheim also talks in depth about the construction of his music.

This will be the third time that Stephen Sondheim has been the subject of The South Bank Show: the first was in 1980 when working on Sweeney Todd: the second in 1984 when The South Bank Show invited him to take a master class with students of the Guildhall School Of Performing Arts and the third time he was interviewed on their profile of Broadway Hal Prince who is Sondheim’s long-term collaborator. (Hal Prince is currently co-directing a brand new musical: Paradise Found which is due to open at the Menier Chocolate Factory on 19th May).

The South Bank Show Revisited includes clips from the current Broadway productions of A Little Night Music starring Angela Lansbury and Catherine Zeta Jones and West Side Story.

Maureen Lipman Joins Panel at Sondheim Award Ceremony

Maureen Lipman joins the judging panel for The Stephen Sondheim Society Student Performer Of The Year Competition & The Stiles and Drewe Best New Song of 2010 Awards which will be hosted by Hannah Waddingham at The Queen's Theatre on Sunday 6th June at 15:00.

Hannah Waddingham has recently appeared in Spamalot and A Little Night Music and is due to play the Witch in Sondheim’s Into The Woods at the Open Air Theatre Regent’s Park in August.  She will also be performing at the ceremony.

Trevor Nunn told "no name, no Follies"

When Sweet Charity, starring Tamzin Outhwaite,  ends its run at the Theatre Royal Haymarket at the end of this year, Trevor Nunn is to direct four productions there and has included the Stephen Sondheim musical Follies on the list of shows he wants to present as part of the season.

But he will need to sign a major box-office name before he will get the green light for Follies as it will cost £2 million.

Proms Concerts Dedicated to Sondheim and Rodgers & Hammerstein

Musical theatre will be strongly represented at this year’s BBC Proms, with one concert featuring the work of Stephen Sondheim and another the work of Rodgers & Hammerstein.

The Sondheim prom will take place at the Royal Albert Hall on July 31st. Stephen Sondheim is due to attend saying “Obviously I’m flattered and honoured. More important, I’m excited because I’ve never been to a prom. I visit London a lot, but seldom during the prom season.”

The Sondheim prom will feature the BBC Concert Orchestra but more details are yet to be disclosed by the BBC. The official launch of the 2010 BBC Proms takes place next week.

At the same time details of the Rodgers & Hammerstein concert on 22nd August will be announced. It is understood to feature arrangements from films including Oklahoma!, The Sound of Music, Carousel and South Pacific, with musical theatre performers singing with the John Wilson Orchestra (who appeared last year as part of a show celebrating the music of MGM musicals.)