Cameron Mackintosh ,the London theatre owner and impresario, nixed the idea of having a host introduce artists performing at Tuesday’s one-night only Old Friends tribute show ,honoring the legacy of musical theatre genius ,Stephen Sondheim who died ,aged 91 last November.“All you need are Steve’s words and music ,and our cast.They speak ,or rather sing,for themselves, “ Mackintosh explained to Deadline before the star-studded event began in London’s, Stephen Sondheim Theatre.Worked like a treat.Thirty minutes saved ,because Old Friends wasn’t lumbered with a host.In any case, no one needed to introduce actress,Julia McKenzie when she walked onto the stage, for it was she who ,with Mackintosh producing, was part of an ensemble that super-spread Sondheim in the West End over four decades ago with a revue entitled ,Side By Side by Sondheim.
She’s one of the composer and lyricist’s foremost interpreters.Within two seconds of McKenzie’s entrance, she was able to sing the words ‘Side by side,” before the place erupted.Audience on its feet.
Scribbled in a notebook is the phrase ,McKenzie stopped show before it started. When a show begins on such a high ,where can it go?There were no worries on that score.We got comedy,pizzazz,pathos and musical magic.
During the interval someone was heard to utter “every number is history making.”For once ,that was no idle boast , even though there is a tendency to over gush at these kind of affairs.But, hey it’s not every night you get to hear Judi Dench uncover ,new,heartfelt meaning in Sondheim’s Send In the Clowns from A Little Night Music.
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