Pittsburgh Arts, Regional Theatre, New Work, Producing, Copyright, Labor Unions,
New Products, Coping Skills, J-O-Bs...
Theatre industry news, University & School of Drama Announcements, plus occasional course support for
Carnegie Mellon School of Drama Faculty, Staff, Students, and Alumni.
CMU School of Drama
Monday, October 23, 2023
'Here We Are,' Stephen Sondheim's last musical, was a long time coming
NPR: When the great American musical theater composer Stephen Sondheim appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert in September 2021 to say he was working on a show with playwright David Ives, the theater world started buzzing.
I’m super excited for Here We Are and I’m happy that despite everything it has managed to stay alive. After Sondheim died I assumed that would be it for the musical. I was disappointed but that’s just how it goes sometimes. However I was wrong. The musical is coming to broadway and I cannot wait! There are so many fun and interesting parts about this musical. Also looking at the photos in the article was amazing. The costumes look so fun. I love how they contrast against the stark white of the set. I think it’s really interesting that the second act will have no music. I’m not sure how I feel about it yet or how it will go, however I’m willing to give it a try. The director also talks about “the fact that he was in his 80s working on a musical about going into a room that you can't get out of” and how that “must have preyed upon him.” I will be interested to see what the music sounds like. I often find that music can be a look into the composers mind.
I think everyone was extremely distraught and saddened by the news of Stephen Sondheim’s death as he was one of the greatest composers in theater history and widely respected throughout the community. While he left us with so many fantastic shows like Company, into the Woods, A Little Night Music, etc. I think no one wanted to accept the idea that there would never be another Sondheim show again. So when it became known that another one of his projects, his last project, would be show we were all intrigued. I did not know what this show was about until reading this article, and the production photos were very interesting and abstract. I would really love to see this show before it closes, I am not sure how long it will be running for though. I also am incredibly interested in knowing what the transition between act one and act two are with the shift and music to no music. I will be interested to hear what people have to say about this show.
2 comments:
I’m super excited for Here We Are and I’m happy that despite everything it has managed to stay alive. After Sondheim died I assumed that would be it for the musical. I was disappointed but that’s just how it goes sometimes. However I was wrong. The musical is coming to broadway and I cannot wait! There are so many fun and interesting parts about this musical. Also looking at the photos in the article was amazing. The costumes look so fun. I love how they contrast against the stark white of the set. I think it’s really interesting that the second act will have no music. I’m not sure how I feel about it yet or how it will go, however I’m willing to give it a try. The director also talks about “the fact that he was in his 80s working on a musical about going into a room that you can't get out of” and how that “must have preyed upon him.” I will be interested to see what the music sounds like. I often find that music can be a look into the composers mind.
I think everyone was extremely distraught and saddened by the news of Stephen Sondheim’s death as he was one of the greatest composers in theater history and widely respected throughout the community. While he left us with so many fantastic shows like Company, into the Woods, A Little Night Music, etc. I think no one wanted to accept the idea that there would never be another Sondheim show again. So when it became known that another one of his projects, his last project, would be show we were all intrigued. I did not know what this show was about until reading this article, and the production photos were very interesting and abstract. I would really love to see this show before it closes, I am not sure how long it will be running for though. I also am incredibly interested in knowing what the transition between act one and act two are with the shift and music to no music. I will be interested to hear what people have to say about this show.
Post a Comment