Following the triumph of Old Friends at the 2023 WhatsOnStage Awards where it won the Best Theatre Event Award, and the unforgettable all-star gala performance to celebrate the life and work of the great Stephen Sondheim at the theatre named after him in May 2022, Stephen Sondheim's Old Friends, devised and produced by Cameron Mackintosh, will open for 16 weeks only from 16 September 2023 - 6 January 2024 at the Gielgud Theatre with many of that Gala cast.
Old Friends all-star cast will again include Bernadette Peters who is appearing in a West End run for the first time in her legendary career and Lea Salonga who is appearing for the first time in 27 years. Co-stars include several of the fabulous Gala company, including Christine Allado, Janie Dee, Bonnie Langford and Jeremy Secomb, joining them will be Beatrice Penny-Touré, Joanna Riding, and Jac Yarrow with further exciting casting to be announced soon.
The thrilling, joyously staged Gala of Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends sold out within a couple of hours last year leaving thousands of disappointed fans unable to get tickets, so a simultaneous screening took place at the Prince Edward Theatre. Now by popular demand, audiences will have another chance to see the never to be forgotten and one of the most talked about theatrical events of the year.
__Assisted Performances__
Audio Described: 2.30pm - Saturday 11 November 2023
Captioned: 2.30pm - Saturday 18 November 2023
Sondheim may have acquired the reputation of being the high priest of well-heeled Manhattan angst, but this show offers a reminder of what fun company he can be too. The irreplaceable Janie Dee reprised the pert bossa nova parody The Boy From . . . , Joanna Riding was memorably flustered on Getting Married Today, and the sight of Damian Humbley, Gavin Lee and Jason Pennycooke upstaging each other with feather dusters on Everybody Ought to Have a Maid was an absolute joy. If you care about musical theatre, you cannot miss this show.
One night just wasn’t enough. Happily, Cameron Mackintosh’s all-star revue tribute to the late Stephen Sondheim, a one-off event in 2022, has returned for a full run. Gone are celebrity cameos (Judi Dench, Damian Lewis), but in their place is a slicker and a more evidently company endeavour, with noted stage names generously trading the spotlight.
2023 | West End |
West End |
2025 | Broadway |
Original Broadway Production Broadway |
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