Stephen Sondheim's Old Friends Reviews
The New York Times- Recommended
"...Whether onstage, online, in cabarets or, like ?Old Friends,? on Broadway, all such compendiums play their own game of Sondheim Scrabble. Though there are many hundreds of songs in the catalog, compilers must pick from the same limited subset of favorites, arranging them in various concatenations and outcroppings. Occasionally a 10-point rarity turns up, but most of the choices are deeply familiar to those who have followed the man?s work."
New York Post- Highly Recommended
"...I was especially tickled by Bonnie Langford, another Brit, thrillingly belting out the defiant anthem ?I?m Still Here? from ?Follies.? This is, after all, just the second time she?s been on Broadway since she made her first bow as a child in ?Gypsy? with Angela Lansbury in 1974. And she?s still here!"
Chicago Tribune- Highly Recommended
"...As directed and choreographed by Matthew Bourne, no less, the two-act show clocks in at some 2 hours and 45 minutes, instead of the usual 90 minutes. With that kind of running time ? nirvana for us addicts, perhaps a heavy lift for those dragged to the show by a partner ? there is time aplenty to explore some 40 numbers. The company has 19 listed performers, although it?s clear that Peters and Salonga are the stars. The orchestra numbers some 14 pieces. And although Matt Kinley has designed a unit set, not so different at first from what you would expect, the environment of shows like ?Sweeney Todd? and ?West Side Story? does rather creep on you before retreating again into the wings as the show moves on to another masterwork."
The Observer- Recommended
"...My advice: Give up the idea of trying to over-analyze any and every Sondheim revue (there will be more to come) and just sit back and let the songs wash over you. Best of all, pour yourself a glass of vintage port, re-visit the superb recordings that distinguish the world of theatre music and marvel at the myriad ways he intended to be interpreted. Sondheim lives forever on vinyl."