Let's discuss the upcoming Sondheim revivals

[ljay889]

I am making this thread for fans to discuss all aspects of upcoming productions.

 

MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG 1/12/2019-04/07/2019

Roundabout Theatre Company will present resident company Fiasco Theater's production of Merrily We Roll Along, directed by Fiasco Co-Artistic Director Noah Brody.

The George Furth and Stephen Sondheim musical will begin performances January 12, 2019, in Roundabout's Laura Pels Theatre in the Harold and Miriam Steinberg Center for Theatre Off-Broadway.

ROAD SHOW 07/24/2019-07/27/2019

Closing out the Encores! Off-Center season is Stephen Sondheim and John Weidman's Road Show, directed and choreographed by Will Davis.
 
ASSASSINS 04/2020-06/2020

Music and Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim 

Book by John Weidman

Based on an Idea by Charles Gilbert, Jr. 

Directed by John Doyle


COMPANY *Anticipated, TBA

Marianne Elliott directs Company, Stephen Sondheim and George Furth’s legendary musical comedy about life, love and marriage.

Final West End performance: 30 March

For me, I am probably least excited about Merrily. I was not a huge fan of Fiasco's Into The Woods, I just could not connect with it. I'm assuming Merrily will also be played on a piano and toy instruments, and it's just not my cup of tea. I will certainly see the production, and I am hoping to be pleasantly surprised. Ideally, I would have liked for Maria Friedman's revival to make it's way to New York.

I am very excited for Road Show. I have been regularly listening to the score lately, and I was surprised to see the Encores! Off-Center production announced just as I am enjoying the score all over again. I enjoyed the original Doyle production at the Public, but not even Doyle could make a convincing case for bringing this story to the stage. I am glad that a fresh and daring director will get to interpret this work. While the story is not very engrossing, the score has some real Sondheim standouts, some first rate numbers, and some underrated gems that deserve a relisten. Also, the Tunick orchestrations are a delight, and I am curious if he will be expanding its size for City Center.

As for Company, what else is there to say? This needs to be on Broadway, asap. I am expecting that Craig, LuPone, and Bailey will transfer with the production, especially being that LuPone is only interested in transferring with it if particular cast members join her. Hopefully we will know more about a transfer soon.

[IdinaBellFoster]

I cannot wait for COMPANY revival to transfer with LuPone (god willing).

I wish the MERRILY revival was the Maria Friedman production...

[JBC3]

Love the London refresh of COMPANY (saw it three times last month), but I will go to my grave that as good as he is, Jonathan Bailey would be even better if he toned it downs in a few sections (to provide contrast), as well as tweaked a few line readings to get more laughs and meaning from them.

[qolbinau]

I definitely miss the days of the buzz here when things like LuPone's Gypsy, A Little Night Music and Follies were happening.

I'm quite disappointed that Roundabout are producing such a buzzless event....I can only speculate that it's due to pure cost saving that they haven't managed to get any exciting cast involved. I hope they manage to get two good leads for the Encores! Road  Show. 

Besides the London Company (which will hopefully go down as one of the best Sondheim revivals ever) there are almost no shows left now to revive. Only three are reviveable I'd guess:

* Assassins (no way would it happen in this political climate)

* Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (the James Corden revival is pretty much a guaranteed hit if he ever gets the time)

* Company (Maybe Roundabout should beat LuPone to the chase and stage a Fiasco version in the summer! Kidding).

Where is the new Sondheim show??

[Sauja]

If we're counting shows he wrote lyrics for, we also have West Side Story coming in next year. 

 

I confess that I'm someone who love Merrily with unreserved passion. I don't think it's a problematic piece that needs a strong directorial hand. I honestly think the backwards storytelling is hugely effective and loved the Encores production a few years ago. But I won't be seeing the Roundabout Merrily. I deeply hated the Fiasco Into the Woods. I just don't care how clever you are: if you don't have great singers, don't do Sondheim.

 

As far as what else CAN be revived...he doesn't have that huge of a catalog, and we've done most of them in the past ten years. Anyone Can Whistle, The Frogs, Saturday Night, and Do I Hear a Waltz will never work commercially, I would guess. Pacific Overtures is also super unlikely to break out, same as Passion and Road Show. We've had a host of Gypsy productions, will have our second WSS in a decade, and have done Follies, Company, Into the Woods, Sunday, A Little Night Music, and Assassins all in the past 15 or so years (some more than once). I wouldn't be surprised if another Into the Woods is the next major effort. I do suspect we'll see the (wonderful) London Company in these parts. And I suspect we will not see, sadly, the even more wonderful London Follies.

[ljay889]

Recently, Sondheim said that Elliot is actually looking at Assassins.

Also, from October, regarding his new musical with Ives.

"Sondheim states that he is a third through finishing act two, and Ives has finished act two. At the earliest, it could be ready for next April (he means, 2019, right?) if they meet the deadline, but he's not sure if they'll make the deadline. They've considered about 50 titles, but still aren't completely satisfied with one. "

[lachri5]

David Ives recently had a new play in DC, and I got to ask him about the Bunuel musical. He said the book is finished, Sondheim has 2/3 of the songs and don't worry "it will surface".

[ljay889]

lachri5 said: "David Ives recently had a new play in DC, and I got to ask him about the Bunuel musical. He said the book is finished,Sondheim has 2/3 of the songs and don't worry "it will surface"."

Oh, thank god!!! Thank you for sharing that. 

[ggersten]

Is anybody looking forward to the George Furth 2019 revivals?

[ljay889]

If thats a dig at the thread title, both book writers are fully credited in the original post.

[Broadwayxxx]

is the Corden funny thing revival still a possibility? is it still being planned?

[LuPita2]

I have never seen "Merrily We Roll Along".  I am looking up tickets, and don't recognize anyone in the cast.  I understand many people on here did not like Fiasco Theater's staging of "Into The Woods". Did it just look cheap?  Were the people not strong singers?  This is a wonderful score and I would be very disappointed if the singers didn't do it justice.  

[Lou2]

Elliott won't do Assassins... at least not for 2019 season. She's already got her work cut out for her with Death of A Salesman. Plus she likes to take on totally diverse projects. Doubt she'll do another Sondheim anytime soon, unfortunately.

[VintageSnarker]

Sauja said: "As far as what else CAN be revived...he doesn't have that huge of a catalog, and we've done most of them in the past ten years. Anyone Can Whistle, The Frogs, Saturday Night, and Do I Hear a Waltz will never work commercially, I would guess. Pacific Overtures is also super unlikely to break out, same as Passion and Road Show. We've had a host of Gypsy productions, will have our second WSS in a decade, and have done Follies, Company, Into the Woods, Sunday, A Little Night Music, and Assassins all in the past 15 or so years (some more than once). I wouldn't be surprised if another Into the Woods is the next major effort. I do suspect we'll see the (wonderful) London Company in these parts. And I suspect we will not see, sadly, the even more wonderful London Follies."

I could see the argument for an opera company doing a short run of Do I Hear A Waltz but it's hard enough to make opera commercially viable that I don't think doing a lesser known Sondheim show would really move tickets. I missed the CSC Passion (though I love the cast album) and I've never seen Follies or Pacific Overtures on stage so I'd be open to seeing those but without amazing casting or buzz they seem like risky productions. I don't really need to see Gypsy, Sweeney Todd, or A Little Night Music anytime soon, though I love them and I'm not really in the mood for Forum. I think the smart choices for revivals already happened in one form or another (Company, Into the Woods, Sunday in the Park with George, NYCC Assassins). I think they're the safest bets to revive again but I don't know if there's an audience given the recent productions. But in the next 5 to 10 years? Sure. 

I don't know that I'm going to love the way they do it but the West Side Story revival makes a lot of sense, at least in the context of Sondheim shows that could be revived. 

[SomethingPeculiar]

Broadwayxxx said: "is the Corden funny thing revival still a possibility? is it still being planned?"

No, it died as soon as Corden was announced to take over The Late Late Show. (Though maybe the producers approached other stars after him?)

We won't see Corden on Broadway until he's done with his talkshow, which could be a few more years if he gets tired of it and wants to return to acting, or decades if he loves it. I doubt CBS would accommodate a hiatus or a move to NYC for 2-6 months to work around a Broadway show.

[gypsy101]

lachri5 said: "David Ives recently had a new play in DC, and I got to ask him about the Bunuel musical. He said the book is finished,Sondheim has 2/3 of the songs and don't worry "it will surface"."

this is great to hear, i’ve been wondering about it lately. i wonder when they’ll announce a title!

[uncageg]

I just passed on an invite to MERRILY... at Roundabout. For now, I am good with having seen the City Center production. And on the night Sondheim and original cast members sang at the curtain call.

Although I find the music for Road Show to sound the same most of the way through, I really want to see a production of it.

I have never seen a live production of COMPANY. I have watched the last Broadway revival several times and love it. Not crazy about the concept for this new one but i still plan to see it.

[Wick3]

I have tickets to see Merrily but I'll admit I'm not that excited about it. I saw the city center encores production from 2012 and Friedman's production in Boston (west end transfer) last year and liked Friedman's more. I'm curious if that will ever make it to NYC (even in off-bway). 

As for Company transferring, I do hope it transfers. I can see Lupone transferring and am hoping Bailey transfers too. I think Craig is great but in order for the show to recoup they may need a bigger name (above the title type fame) to play Bobbie.

[JBC3]

I could get excited about Groffsauce in Forum since Corden is out.

[GeorgeandDot]

I think Melissa McCarthy would be perfect for A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.

[ljay889]

I’mGeorgeandDot said: "I think Melissa McCarthy would be perfect for A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum."

Wow! That’s a fantastic idea. 

[ljay889]

On BBC Radio today, Sondheim again confirmed that he's still working on the Bunuel musical and is about half way done with the score.

[qolbinau]

Lou2 said: "Elliott won't do Assassins... at least not for 2019 season. She's already got her work cut out for her with Death of A Salesman. Plus she likes to take on totally diverse projects. Doubt she'll do anotherSondheim anytime soon, unfortunately."

I came comments RE: this (from an October interview, also with Patti & Sondheim). Unless there is other information, Sondheim and Weidman explicitly have asked Elliott to do Assassins but yes whether she will actually do it is another matter.

How funny was it when Sondheim was somewhat suggesting that there are no Broadway box office draws anymore, including Patti! Awkward.

Also, of Arthur Laurents, Sondheim said "he was a vindictive fella". I know this was common knowledge but I hadn't heard Sondheim explicitly say this before. 

Score of new show only 50% done?? So longggg to go.

[Theatrefanboy1]

So is the gypsy revival with Imelda now dead? It was supposed to come in fall 2019. But I havent heard anything. And now I really cant see them bring over another Sondheim revival. With company already pretty well set.

Im hoping Richard fleeshman transfers with Company. Honestly the show was good. But the second half was its saving grace. Patti appeared way way too old for that role. Though she really did well at all the Ladies who lunch.

Id be down for an in the round or stripped version of A Little Night Music. (Julie Andrews and Cate Blanchett. Will be what I continue to root for)

I also agree that there should be way more discussion about an assassins revival. Jonathan Groff. Alice Ripley. Could be interesting.

[ljay889]

We had an extremely stripped down version of Night music in 2009/2010 with Nunn's production. The next major production of that show needs to be large and lavish again.