By Matthew Wexler
High school theater’s top honors, The Jimmy Awards, descend on New York City each spring with dozens of hopefuls and their jewel-toned wardrobe and character shoes in tow, belting to win a Best Performer award and jumpstart a Broadway career. While incredible talent emerges, the event’s group numbers reverberate like a show choir on crack.
Imagine if they gathered 40 years later—with decades of pent-up enthusiasm—and you’ve got Sondheim’s Old Friends’ opening group number, “Comedy Tonight.”
Many of Broadway and the West End’s most notable talent have convened for this Cameron Mackintosh-devised Sondheim lovefest, with the late composer looming from the sidelines via towering panels by scenic designer Matt Kinley. The haunting quality rarely dissipates, despite plenty of stage business, courtesy of director Matthew Bourne and choreographer Stephen Mear, whose staging reaches within a hair of Sweeney Todd’s razor blade.
The two above-the-title leading ladies—Bernadette Peters and Lea Salonga—live up to their obligatory ballad duties for which they’re known. Peters weepily emotes “Send in the Clowns” while Salonga yearns her way through “Somewhere.” But when the ladies let loose, the evening shines.
Peters’ kooky mash-up of “I Know Things Now” and “Bounce” from the rarely produced Road Show befits her comic timing, while Salonga’s tackling of “The Worst Pies in London” and “Everything’s Coming Up Roses” proves her prowess as an actor as well as vocalist. The rest of the ensemble has its shining moments—sometimes glaring—such as Bonnie Langford’s showbizzy “I’m Still Here,” which begs for a moment of contemplative stillness.
While a polished and professional reflection of Sondheim’s canon, the evening emits a hazy reminder that his brilliance as a composer, lyricist, and collaborator lay in his storytelling efficiency. Nary a syllable was unintentional. Perhaps some old friends should remain in the past.
1MC Takeaway
Former Aladdin Jacob Dickey is one to watch. Though he understudied several roles in the recent revival of Company, it’s time to take center stage. And for those hungry for a contextualized Sondheim moment, look no further than Joanna Riding (underutilized in this production). The YouTube video of her in the London revival of Follies went viral for a reason. Watch it to the end:
RELATED: PHOTOS: First Look at Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends
