Breaking Down the Different Stephen Sondheim Revues

Do you have a burning Broadway question? Dying to know more about an obscure Broadway fact? Broadway historian and self-proclaimed theatre nerd Jennifer Ashley Tepper is here to help with her new series, Broadway Deep Dive. Every month, BroadwayWorld will be accepting questions from theatre fans like you. If you're lucky, your question might be selected as the topic of her next column!

Submit your Broadway question in the comments here!

This time, the reader question was: Other than Old Friends, what are the other Sondheim revues and what makes them different?

Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends will start previews at Manhattan Theatre Club’s Friedman Theatre in March. The Sondheim revue will play a pre-Broadway try-out at Los Angeles’ Center Theatre Group before making its Broadway debut.

This marks the theatre world’s fifth major Sondheim revue and the first since the theatre legend passed away in 2021. 

At the time that Side by Side by Sondheim premiered on Broadway in 1977, the main stem had seen only six musicals with full Sondheim scores: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1962), Anyone Can Whistle (1964), Company (1970), Follies (1971), A Little Night Music (1973), and Pacific Overtures (1976). 

Side by Side by Sondheim, with a name inspired by the song “Side by Side by Side” from Company, originated in the UK. Prolific television producer and director Ned Sherrin, who worked in theatre as well, crafted the revue, which began its life as a one-night benefit. Cameron Mackintosh came on board to produce and the piece made its London debut in 1976. In 1977, Side by Side by Sondheim flew across the pond to the Music Box Theatre, eventually moving to play the now-demolished Morosco as well. The Broadway run was produced by Hal Prince. 

The first Sondheim revue culled songs from Sondheim’s work writing both music and lyrics as well as work he’d penned with collaborators including Leonard Bernstein, Mary Rodgers, Richard Rodgers, and Jule Styne. Side by Sondheim featured some of Sondheim’s best known songs to date as well as lesser known gems like "Can That Boy Foxtrot”, which had been cut from Follies, and “I Never Do Anything Twice”, which Sondheim wrote for the film The Seven-Per-Cent Solution. Sherrin himself originated the role of the Narrator, who guided the audience through the sections of the evening, where songs were largely grouped by theme or by show. Audiences learned more about Sondheim’s craft as a composer-lyricist. The entire original British cast also originated their roles on Broadway, and Side by Side by Sondheim became one of the only Broadway shows ever where the entire cast were all nominated for Tony Awards.  

The next major Sondheim revue hit New York only four years after Side by Side by Sondheim opened. This was Marry Me a Little, the two-hander that utilized cut songs from Sondheim musicals, plus songs from the then-unproduced Sondheim musical Saturday Night. Marry Me a Little told the story of two single people in their separate New York City apartments, initiated by Saturday Night’s title song: “What can you do on a Saturday night, alone?”

The original production of Marry Me a Little featured one cut song from Forum, one cut from Whistle, two cut from Company, seven cut from Follies, three cut from Night Music, and three from Saturday Night—plus a song that Sondheim wrote for a play called The Girls of Summer, and a song from the unproduced and unfinished musical The Last Resorts. Marry Me a Little was a fully sung-through show with no dialogue or narration, which premiered off-off-Broadway in 1980 and transferred to off-Broadway in 1981. The show has had a strong regional life and several revised productions have included slightly different song lists. Conceived by Craig Lucas and Norman René, the show, like its predecessor, also took its title from a Company song. 

The third Sondheim revue was Putting It Together, which premiered in the UK in 1992, off-Broadway in 1993, and on Broadway in 1999. Between Broadway’s first Sondheim revue, Side by Side by Sondheim in 1977 and its second, Putting It Together in 1999, five additional full Sondheim scored shows premiered on Broadway: Sweeney Todd, Merrily We Roll Along, Sunday in the Park with George, Into the Woods, and Passion—plus Assassins off-Broadway. Putting It Together was devised by Sondheim and Julia McKenzie who had been one of the original stars of Side by Side by Sondheim. It was originally thought of as an update to Side by Side by Sondheim. But unlike Side by Side, which featured narration, Putting It Together had a plot and songs were incorporated into the scenario that was devised. 

Putting It Together’s score by the time the show reached Broadway comprised over 30 songs, including those from Sondheim’s early career and those from shows that had premiered since Side by Side. There were songs from both the movie Dick Tracy and the lesser known musical The Frogs which had yet to play Broadway. Putting It Together’s original Broadway cast included John Barrowman, Carol Burnett, Kathie Lee Gifford (Burnett’s alternate), George Hearn, Ruthie Henshall, and Bronson Pinchot.

Seventeen years later, Sondheim on Sondheim came to Broadway. A different kind of revue, this one was framed by Sondheim himself narrating via audio recording and video, telling stories about craft and career. The multimedia revue was conceived by longtime Sondheim collaborator James Lapine, the show was based on a 2000 London show called Moving On, which was conceived by original Side by Side cast member David Kernan. 

In its Broadway premiere, Sondheim on Sondheim starred Barbara Cook, Vanessa Williams, Tom Wopat, Leslie Rodriguez Kritzer, Norm Lewis, Erin Mackey, Euan Morton, and Matthew Scott. The song list was the most extensive of any so far, culling material from 62 years of Sondheim work, from the best known to the least known and earliest Sondheim had written as a student. While Marry Me a Little and Putting It Together had included only Sondheim music and lyrics, Sondheim on Sondheim, like Side by Side by Sondheim, included work that Sondheim had penned with a variety of collaborators. 

When Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends hits Broadway soon, it will join this illustrious group as the fifth major Sondheim revue. This revue is the first one to premiere since Sondheim’s passing in 2021. Unlike its four predecessors, Old Friends has a relatively large cast of 19. The cast is led by Bernadette Peters and Lea Salonga. Broadway is ready to celebrate Sondheim again!