April 1 - Stephen Sondheim To Make Guest Appearance, Premiere New Song, On Crazy Ex-Girlfriend

Broadway's legendary composer/lyricist Stephen Sondheim will be making a guest appearance next season on Rachel Bloom's musical romantic comedy television series "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend" in an episode which will premiere a song from his upcoming musical based on two films by Spanish director Luis Buñuel.

"Needless to say, all of us at 'Crazy Ex-Girlfriend' are thrilled that Stephen Sondheim has agreed to appear on the show," says Bloom, the co-creator, co-writer, co-executive producer and star of the hit CW series where she plays a successful New York lawyer, Rebecca Bunch, who moves to West Covina, California to rekindle romance with her childhood summer camp boyfriend Josh Chan, played by Vincent Rodriguez III.

Having completed its third season, the show has developed a loyal following of musical theatre fans because of its use of character- and plot-based songs to advance the story in every episode.

"I'm a big fan of the show," says Sondheim. "I admire how they're able to tackle serious subjects like mental health and gender issues through well-written and entertaining musical theatre songs encompassing many genres."

The episode will have Sondheim appearing as a piano bar entertainer named Andrew who gets hired to play at Home Base, the sports bar and restaurant that serves as one of the series' regular locations. A fantasy sequence will utilize a song from the Pulitzer Prize winner's current project, a collaboration with playwright David Ives.

"Their new musical is based on two avant-garde Buñuel films," explains Bloom. "'The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie' and 'The Exterminating Angel,' both of which have surreal plots involving a group of people intending to have dinner. Our episode draws up a parallel situation involving our characters and taking place at Home Base, using one of Stephen's wonderful songs from his Buñuel score."

"There's also a very funny situation," Sondheim adds, "where Josh keeps coming to hear my character play every night and always requests 'Memory,' so to try to expand his knowledge a little bit, my character plays him 'Everybody Has The Right To Be Happy' from ASSASSINS."

"Well, Josh doesn't know the context of the song and he thinks it's just the catchiest tune and the most upbeat lyric he's ever heard, so he starts encouraging everyone in the restaurant to learn the words and sing it along with him. It's very cute, but also a little discomforting."

BroadwayWorld wishes all of its readers a very happy April Fools' Day.

Photos: Walter McBride