NEW YORK (AP) — The nice theater composer Stephen Sondheim liked puzzles, and when he died in 2021, he left one for his good pal, British super-producer Cameron Waterproof coat. He left him an unfinished present.
The 2 males conceived of a revue of Sondheim’s songs through the pandemic they usually each started lists of tunes they wished. However with the loss of life of his pal, it was as much as Waterproof coat to make the present actual.
“I did say to him, ‘I really want to concentrate on the music,’” recollects Waterproof coat. “I want it to be personal, but we never really got that far with the construction of it.”
Sondheim died in November 2021. Between Christmas that 12 months and New Yr’s, Waterproof coat created the skeleton of what can be “Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends,” which has landed on Broadway starring Tony Award-winners Bernadette Peters and Lea Salonga.
Previous associates create ‘Old Friends’
The ultimate rundown has a few of Sondheim’s most memorable songs, like “The Ladies Who Lunch,” “I’m Still Here,” “Send in the Clowns,” “Losing My Mind,” “Everything’s Coming Up Roses” and “Children Will Listen.”
“I wanted the songs to reflect the fun I’d had with him,” says Waterproof coat. “We’re each klutzy, we will’t dance, we will’t sing, we make horrible puns.
“We were silly together, and I think we loved being silly, making each other laugh. We never had a conversation in 45 years where we didn’t make each other laugh even when we were grumpy.”
Waterproof coat had produced two Sondheim revues earlier than — “Side by Side” in 1976 and “Putting It Together” in 1993. He wished the third to emphasise that Sondheim, who had a status for brainy lyrics and sophisticated melodies, was truly an accessible author.
“The great thing with ‘Side by Side’ is for the first time people saw the songs shorn of the books, and they were all like little playlets. And you realize, ‘Oh my God, they live in their own world’ and therefore anyone can understand it. You didn’t need to have an intellectual passport to enjoy Steve’s work.”
‘Phantom of the Opera’ and ‘Les Misérables’
“Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends” is only one of a number of initiatives the tireless Waterproof coat is overseeing as one of many final nice theater impresarios, one who champions Sondheim in addition to Andrew Lloyd Webber.
There is a revitalized, multiyear North American tour beginning in November of “The Phantom of the Opera” and two excursions of “Les Misérables” — one a worldwide area live performance tour and the opposite a conventional staging going by way of North America.
A brand new manufacturing of “Miss Saigon” will launch a U.Okay. tour within the fall and there is a contemporary revival of “Oliver!” — The Customary newspaper referred to as it “exceptional” — that opened earlier this 12 months in London, which might find yourself on Broadway.
Waterproof coat has a knack for returning to former triumphs, stripping them down after which constructing them up once more, including contemporary new expertise and delighting a brand new era.
“Most of my shows have turned out to be really good shows. They are, then, worth reinventing,” he says. “I don’t want it to ever become Madame Tussauds.”
Holding the exhibits contemporary
Waterproof coat, would not do intestine renovations to his revivals, simply makes them extra nimble with tweaks. Like the brand new “Phantom,” which diminished its orchestra from 27 gamers to 14. The velocity could also be faster, too.
“For those who hearken to a forged album of 40 years in the past — as an example ‘Les Miz’ — to trendy ears, properly that sounds a bit gradual. We’ve received used to doing supplies barely quicker,” he says.
“Have we changed the material? Have we cut it? No, it’s just treating it as if it’s brand new. And you go into it with a group of talented people and you create the show in the moment. What happened 10, 20, 30 years ago doesn’t matter. To keep the shows fresh, you’ve got to create it as it is today.”
Bonnie Langford, who was the unique Rumpleteazer in “Cats,” and has recognized Waterproof coat for many years, recollects seeing him backstage when she appeared in “Old Friends” within the West Finish.
“I just couldn’t get over his enthusiasm after all these years. He was still so excited,” she says. “He can be like a little boy in a candy shop sometimes. He was having the time of his life, and I found that so endearing for someone who’s been in the business a long time. He just loves theater and shows.”
‘Oliver!’ has a brand new lease on life, too
Waterproof coat has introduced “Les Misérables” to Broadway 3 times however would not plan to convey both present iterations to Broadway. He desires regional theaters to do it, even when meaning leaving cash on the desk.
“I’ve got more than enough money, but the show needs to get back into the capillaries of the entertainment business and be great shows to bring new generations of audiences and actors into the profession.”
If that is the plan for “Les Miz,” he is plotting the return to New York of his new “Phantom,” two years after the present ended its 35-year Broadway run.
His reimagining of “Oliver!” is a full-circle second. He was an assistant stage supervisor — and understudied Phil Collins — in a touring firm of “Oliver!” in 1965.
This time he labored with famous choreographer Matthew Bourne to “come up with a modern contemporary spin on it.” Waterproof coat even wrote a number of scenes to strengthen the connective tissue.
“I don’t mind changing it, but you don’t change it unless it’s at least as good. And maybe in a few instances you come up with a better idea,” he says. “I’ve always had a very good instinct. for what’s missing.”
Waterproof coat have to be received over first by the dialogue and the plot, not the songs. “I have to fall in love with the words — the characters — first. I want the music to be great, but if I don’t love the story and the characters, I don’t feel I’ve got anything to add to them,” he says.
He loves traditional authors, taking work by Charles Dickens, Victor Hugo, Giacomo Puccini, P.L. Travers or Gaston Leroux and placing their tales to hovering scores, luxurious costumes and units.
“All the great musicals were mostly driven by the passion of the authors against the customary wisdom of saying, ‘I don’t think that’ll work. No, no, no.’ And then they become the classics,” he says, laughing.
