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Three-time Tony recipient Bernadette Peters may be the quintessential Stephen Sondheim muse, but there was a time where she had never even seen a Sondheim show (if you can believe it). Then one day in 1976, she was in London and she went to the revue show Side by Side by Sondheim. "I could get the music out of my head for days and days and days, I was humming and singing this fabulous music. And that was actually my first introduction to Steve." It was the first but it's certainly not been the last. Peters is currently on Broadway, getting ready to open up another Sondheim revue: Stephen Sondheim's Old Friends. The show opens April 8 at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, in a limited engagement until June 15.

In the video above, learn from Peters and the show's cast about why the musical isn't just for Sondheim devotees, it's also "an incredible introduction into his canon of music."

The cast of Old Friends also includes Tony winner, Lea Salonga, Jacob Dickey, Kevin Earley, Jasmine Forsberg, Kate Jennings Grant, Bonnie Langford, Tony winner Beth Leavel, Tony nominee Gavin Lee, Olivier nominee Jason Pennycooke, Olivier winner Joanna Riding, Jeremy Secomb, Kyle Selig, Maria Wirries, Daniel Yearwood, Paige Faure, Alexa Lopez, Greg Mills, and Peter Neureuther. Langford, Lee, Pennycooke, Riding, and Secomb are all reprising their work from the London bow.

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Photos: Old Friends Meets The Press

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The concert began as a one-night-only affair at London's Sondheim Theatre May 3, 2022, an evening that was filmed and later broadcast on BBC Two. The evening was brought back for a limited West End run at the Gielgud Theatre beginning October 3, 2023, with Peters making her official West End debut. A live album was released of the 2022 concert. The Broadway bow was preceded by a West Coast run at Los Angeles' Center Theatre Group.

As in the West End, the concert features the songs of Stephen Sondheim and is devised by producer Cameron Mackintosh. Matthew Bourne is back to provide musical staging and direction, leading a creative team that also includes artistic consultant Julia McKenzie, choreographer Stephen Mear, music supervisor Alfonso Casado Trigo, music director Annbritt duChateau, arranger Stephen Metcalfe, set designer Matt Kinley, projection designer George Reeve, costume designer Jill Parker, lighting designer Warren Letton, and sound designer Mick Potter. Orchestrations are by Jonathan Tunick, and David Lober serves as production stage manager.

Manhattan Theatre Club is joining Mackintosh's CMI and Daryl Roth to present the tribute concert's Broadway bow.

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Photos: Lea Salonga, Bernadette Peters, Beth Leavel, More in Stephen Sondheim's Old Friends

Next Slide  

You may also like

• 
  Photos: Grief Camp at Atlantic Theater Company
• 
  Photos: Smash Opening Night on Broadway
• 
  Photos: Titanique Off-Broadway