Stephen Sondheim's Old Friends (West End) London Reviews and Tickets
Show-Score Member Reviews (70)
See it if you're a Sondheim fan (even if not) this is a treat from the musical Gods, one showstopping number after another delivered by top performers
Don't see it if you're looking for traditional musical. This is a semi-staged tribute to the great composer & lyricist that celebrates his greatest songs. Read more
See it if you love Sondheim performed by a truly remarkable lineup of stage performers
Don't see it if you hate joy Read more
See it if If you love Sondheim -an absolute masterpiece and must see for love Sondheim fans. Really love this
Don't see it if If your are not a fan of love Sondheim
See it if You want to hear Sondheim songs sing beautifully
Don't see it if You want a storyline
See it if If you are a musical theatre fan, this is a MUST. Incredible cast and a tribute put very well together in memory of the legend Soneheim.
Don't see it if GO AND WATCH IT.
See it if You have never seen the wonderful Bernadette Peters live before. If you have, you probably don’t need to be told to see her again.
Don't see it if You dislike the work of a genius composer and lyricist beautifully staged and performed by a great cast. Read more
See it if You’re a musical theatre fan, or just want to here some great showtunes performed by some of the best in the business
Don't see it if You’re not into musical theatre
See it if you love Sondheim or any of the performers. What a treat to see Lea and Bernadette. But the rest of the cast was great, too. I loved it!
Don't see it if you don't like Sondheim or musical revues. That's the only reason I can imagine. Anyone else would be delighted by it.
Critic Reviews (14)
“Whether you are an old friend of Sondheim or a new one, you will leave the theatre moved, thoroughly entertained and surely breathless for a revival or three.”
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"This celebration of the late Stephen Sondheim assembles three generations of big guns from musical theatre – including Broadway legend Bernadette Peters, making her West End debut – to fire a selection of greatest hits at a receptive audience. Devised by Cameron Mackintosh, and focusing on works he has produced, it’s a partial, loving, starry spin through a dazzling back catalogue. Sondheim’s versatility and wit shine through."
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“If you want to see a large number of Stephen Sondheim songs performed by talented people in an ultimately cosy and conservative revue, see ‘Old Friends’. If you want to understand why Sondheim was regarded as so brilliant that his nickname was literally God, see one of his musicals.”
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"If you care about musical theatre, you cannot miss this show."
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“Each song has its brilliance but the overall impact of the show – beautifully played by the orchestra, under conductor Alfonso Casado Trigo – springs from the way it knits together a lot of moments into a satisfying whole. It is both a tribute to Sondheim and an exploration of the qualities of curiosity, intelligence, humour and high seriousness that made him a giant of the theatre.”
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“There’s never a doubt that the creatives are gathered to honour the man of the title, whose life is pictorially documented on the way to a giddy rendition of the ‘Old Friends’ that the cast and their audience by then have become.”
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“ ‘Old Friends’ isn’t just a virtuosic display... it’s both celebration and requiem. Peters notes in her introduction that Sondheim wanted as many people as possible to see his work, and I can’t think of a better platform. This ‘great big Broadway show’ deserves to be a great big West End hit.”
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“Some numbers translate better than others to a format in which their context is necessarily abbreviated; equally, while some renditions penetrate, others teeter on the brink of splashy self-indulgence...There’s much, more more, in an evening that offers up its riches like a lavish chocolate box of hard and soft centres. Sondheim fans will savour every mouthful.”
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