B'way Reviews: Stephen Sondheim's Old Friends; BOOP! The Musical

Jasmine Forsberg, Beth Leavel, Bernadette
Peters, Kate Jennings Grant, Bonnie Langford, 
Lea Salonga, Maria Wirries, and
Joanna Riding in
Stephen Sondheim's Old Friends.
Credit: Matthew Murphy

Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends, which began life as a London tribute concert devised by uber-producer Cameron Mackintosh and then restaged for a commercial run in the West End, is so intoxicatingly entertaining, you won’t want to leave the Friedman Theater where Manhattan Theater Club is presenting it. Luckily, audio of Sondheim himself singing rare tunes such as “Love Is in the Air,” cut from A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, plays after the curtain calls, sending audiences out on a cloud of Sondheim-created bliss. What precedes are two and a half hours of the greatest highlights from Sondheim’s norm-shattering career with some of the brightest Broadway and London musical stars, staged with smooth-as-silk skill by Matthew Bourne. 

There have been three previous Sondheim anthology shows on Broadway (Side by Side by Sondheim, Putting It Together, and Sondheim by Sondheim), each with their own merits. All three featured relatively small casts from four to eight performers. Old Friends is subtitled “A Great Big Broadway Show” and it certainly lives up to that promise. Nineteen stellar performers are backed by a magnificent orchestra led with verve and precision by music director Annbritt duChateau. 

Jacob Dickey and Bernadette Peters in
Stephen Sondheim's Old Friends.
Credit: Matthew Murphy

With a stunning show like this, a critic’s job becomes especially difficult in choosing which gems to single out. Just over 40 delightful numbers are offered, all staged with imagination and ingenuity by Bourne (Matt Kinley’s versatile scenic design and Jill Parker’s tasteful costumes provide the perfect setting, taking us from the London slums of Sweeney Todd to the Parisian suburbs of Sunday in the Park with George.) The songs range from soulful solos to breathtaking ensemble pieces. 

Legendary leading ladies Bernadette Peters and Lea Salonga receive top billing, but the entire company is superlative. As you might expect, Peters packs maximum raw emotion into two famous arias of heartbreak which she has performed on Broadway—“Send in the Clowns” from A Little Night Music and “Losing My Mind” from Follies. But she also gleefully mocks herself, imitating her signature style with “Broadway Baby” which turns into a hilarious “Can you top this” competition with the ladies of the company popping up everywhere. Peters also scores laughs as a fresh-faced, yet cynical Little Red Riding Hood from Into the Woods and the veteran, seen-it-all stripper Mazeppa from Gypsy. Salonga stretches herself admirably, turning in a ravenously wicked Mrs. Lovett, a powerhouse Mama Rose, and delivering piercingly sensitive renditions of “Loving You” from Passion and “Somewhere” from West Side Story.

Interview: Orchestrator Doug Besterman's B'way Triple Play

Doug Besterman has three
shows running on Broadway this season.

After 31 Broadway shows, three Tony and two Drama Desk Awards, orchestrator Doug Besterman is achieving a rare feat: three shows running simultaneously in one season. Death Becomes Her opened to rave reviews in November at the Lunt-Fontanne and two dissimilar shows: Smash and Boop! The Musical are now in previews at the Imperial and the Broadhurst respectively. Besterman made his Broadway debut working in collaboration with James Raitt on the 1994 revival of Damn Yankees. He has won Tonys for his work co-orchestrating with Ralph Burns on Fosse and Thoroughly Modern Millie and won a solo Tony for The Producers. His numerous other credits include A Bronx Tale, It Shoulda Been You, Dracula, Seussical, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, and many more.

Film credits include the live action version of Beauty and The Beast, and Frozen. TV credits include the Marc Shaiman/Scott Witman compositions for Smash, Schmigadoon, ABC’s version of Annie, The Sound of Music Live, and Peter Pan Live

I managed to snag a chat with the very busy Besterman to discuss his present shows, past hits and what exactly an orchestrator does.

What exactly does an orchestrator do?

It’s a great question. The composer of the show will write a score. They’ll generally deliver that score in a form that can be played on the piano. They may be various other folks on the music team who contribute to that score such as dance arrangements, vocal arrangements, transition music, an overture, that sort of thing. In the end, they have a set of songs and material on piano sheet music. Then I take that piano music and flesh it out for whatever the ensemble is for that project. For a Broadway show, it could anywhere from nine to 19 musicians. On a film it might be 40 to 100 musicians. I’m translating that music into whatever is required for the instrumentation for that project. 

B'way Update: BOOP! Sets Dates and Theater; West Bank Cafe to Close

BOOP! The Betty Boop Musical has announced dates and a theater for its Broadway run after a hit engagement in Chicago. The tuner about the 1930s cartoon character will begin previews March 11 at the Broadhurst Theater in advance of an April 5 opening. Other cartoon, comic book or comic strip characters to serve as the basis of Broadway or Off-Broadway musicals include Little Orphan Annie, Li'l Abner, Charlie Brown and the Peanuts gang, Superman, Donnesbury, Spider-Man, Spongebob Squarepants, and the Addams Family. 

Boop! features a book by Bob Martin (The Drowsy Chaperone), music by David Foster, lyrics by Susan Birkenhead (Jelly's Last Jam), and direction and choreography by Tony winner Jerry Mitchell (Kinky Boots). Complete Broadway casting will be announced at a later date.

BOOP! The Betty Boop Musical in
Chicago

West Bank Cafe to Close: The West Bank Cafe, and its Laurie Beechman cabaret theater, located at W. 42nd Street and Ninth Ave., will close its doors in August. The venue was popular with theatergoers and theater professionals due to its fine food, affordable prices and convenient location to Broadway and Theater Row. Just last week, I had an after-theater meal there last week after attending Ain't Done Bad at the Signature Theater Center. The number of elegant, affordable places for a nice meal before or after the theater is dwindling. All too often I am forced to grab a slice of pizza before a curtain.

The West Bank opened in 1978 and its basement Laurie Beechman Theater opened in 1983. The Beechman, named for the late singer and actress, played host to many cabaret artists including Joan Rivers who would would try out new material there. She played her last performance before her death in 2014 at the Beechman. A young Lewis Black was named playwright-in-residence. Howard Stern broadcast his third annual birthday radio show from the theater. Tennessee Williams, Arthur Miller and Bruce Willis were among the West Bank regulars. T

"Due to the high cost of conducting business and the continuing fallout from the pandemic, we can no longer afford to remain open," owner Steve Olsen stated. "We are forever eternally grateful for the support we have received from our Hell's Kitchen and theatre communities throughout our illustrious 46-year history on Theatre Row, and for the personal relationships and shared history we have forged with our customers and friends."

The popular West Bank Cafe will
close its doors in August.

B'way Update: Left on Tenth, Boop!, CSC, Etc.

Juliana Margulies and
Peter Gallagher will star in
Left on Tenth.
Credit: Mary Ellen Matthews

Left on Tenth, Delia Ephron's new play based on her best-selling memoir, has announced dates, a theater and additional casting. The comedy-drama begins previews on Sept. 26 at the James Earl Jones Theater prior to an Oct. 23 opening. Joining previously announced Julianna Margulies and Peter Gallagher will be Obie winner Peter Francis James (Funny Girl, Hillary and Clinton) and Kate MacCluggage (The 39 Steps). Five-time Tony winner Susan Stroman (The Producers, Contact) will direct.

“Working on Left on Tenth has been a thrilling journey, collaborating with the incomparable Delia Ephron and bringing her story to life with the extraordinary talents of Julianna Margulies and Peter Gallagher,” said Stroman. “It's an experience that seamlessly blends the magic of her storytelling with the brilliance of these actors.”

Left on Tenth is a romantic comedy about second chances in life and love. When she least expects it, Delia, beloved novelist and screenwriter of You’ve Got Mail, makes a surprising connection with a man from her past and falls into her own romantic comedy. What starts with an unlikely spark blossoms into a love story that seems to defy all odds in the face of life’s challenges. Left on Tenth celebrates the messy, beautiful true story of two people with the courage to open their hearts again.

Jasmine Amy Rogers in Boop!
The Betty Boop Musical in Chicago
Credit: Matthew Murphy/Evan Zimmerman

Boop!: Boop! The Betty Boop Musical will open on Broadway in April 2025 at a Shubert theater TBA after a hit run in Chicago last year. Based on the Max Fleischer cartoon character of the 1930s, Boop! features a book by Bob Martin (The Drowsy Chaperone), music by David Foster, lyrics by Susan Birkenhead (Jelly's Last Jam), and direction and choreography by Tony winner Jerry Mitchell (Kinky Boots).

CSC Season: CSC has announced its season for 2024-25. First up is Our Class, Tadeusz Slobodzianek's drama of ten classmates--five Catholic and five Jewish--over several tumultous decades, seen last season at BAM presented by Arlekin Players Theater (Sept. 12-Nov. 3). Arlekin Players continue with a revival of The Merchant of Venice, starring Drama Desk winner Richard Topol as Shylock (Nov. 22-Dec. 22). Igor Golyak directs both.

In the spring, CSC presents a revival of Alice Childress' Wine in the Wilderness, originally scheduled for spring 2024. Tony winning actress La Chanze makes her directorial debut of this 1969 work about a Harlem artist and the woman who inspires him (March-April).

In May-June 2025, CSC will co-present with NAATCO and Transport Group, a revival of William Inge's 1955 Bus Stop about a group of strangers stranded in a Midwestern diner during a snowstorm, with an all-Asian cast. The 1955 production starred Kim Stanley and Elaine Stritch. Marilyn Monroe and Don Murray headlined the 1956 film version. The last Broadway revival was in 1996 and starred Billy Crudup and Mary-Louise Parker.

B'way Update: The Cottage, Jerry Mitchell Is Busy, Betty Boop, La La, etc.

Eric McCormack will return to Broadway 
this summer in The Cottage.

A new comedy entitled The Cottage will play the Hayes Theater on Broadway this summer. Inspired by the light comedies of Noel Coward, the play by Sandy Rustin will be directed by Tony winner Jason Alexander (Seinfeld, Jerome Robbins' Broadway) and star Emmy winner Eric McCormack (Will and Grace, The Music Man 2000 revival, Gore Vidal's The Best Man), and Tony nominees Laura Bell Bundy (Legally Blonde) and Lili Cooper (Tootsie, Spongebob Squarepants). Previews begin July 7 prior to a July 24 opening. Set in the English countryside in 1923, the plot concerns Sylvia Van Kipness who decides to reveal her love affair to her husband and her lover's wife. The play had a developmental workshop at Manhattan Theatre Club in 2017 and regional productions including The Barter Theater in Abington, Va., and Queens Theater in the Park.