On April 26, to celebrate Stephen Sondheim’s 90th birthday, some of his best leading ladies got “together” (not really) to perform the best version of The Ladies Who Lunch from his iconic musical, Company. Meryl Streep, Christine Baranski, and Audra Mcdonald all performed from their homes. The date also marked the 50th anniversary of Company’s opening, so the performances are extra meaningful. The video went viral yesterday, so I imagine some of you may have seen it. Who cares? Let’s watch it again.
The performance was part of a 2.5-hour-long livestream called Take Me to the World. The event included some of my favorite performers of all time (Patty LuPone, Sutton Foster, Kelli O’Hara, Iain Armitage, AND Randy Rainbow? Am I dreaming?). In spite of some technical difficulties (the running chat with the video is hilarious), they eventually got it working, and the full recording is below, courtesy of Broadway.com. The lineup is after the video below, and it’s like something I dreamed up. It’s reminding me of so many Sondheim musicals I had forgotten. I know what I’m streaming this week!
0:18 – Stephen Schwartz – “Prologue” (Follies)
3:28 – Broadway Musicians – “Overture” (Merrily We Roll Along)
8:47 – Sutton Foster – “There Won’t Be Trumpets” (Anyone Can Whistle)
12:47 – Neil Patrick Harris – “The Witch’s Rap” (Into the Woods)
16:26 – Kelli O’Hara – “What More Do I Need?” (Saturday Night)
19:56 – Judy Kuhn – “What Can You Lose?” (Dick Tracy)
23:53 – Katrina Lenk – “Johanna” (Sweeney Todd)
27:11 – Aaron Tveit – “Marry Me a Little” (Company)
30:59 – Iain Armitage (because I can’t resist him and he’s my friend’s son) – “Finishing the Hat” (excerpts)
32:58 – Beanie Feldstein & Ben Platt – “It Takes Two” (Into the Woods)
36:25 – Brandon Uranowitz – “With So Little to Be Sure Of” (Anyone Can Whistle)
41:04 – Melissa Errico – “Children and Art” (Sunday in the Park with George)
46:20 – Randy Rainbow – “By the Sea” (Sweeney Todd)
49:21 – Elizabeth Stanley – “The Miller’s Son” (A Little Night Music)
54:21 – Mandy Pantinkin – “Lesson #8” (Sunday in the Park with George)
59:05 – Maria Friedman – “Broadway Baby” (Follies)
1:02:36 – Lin-Manuel Miranda – “Giants in the Sky” (Into the Woods)
1:05:46 – Lea Salonga – “Loving You” (Passion)
1:08:28 – Laura Benanti – “I Remember” (Evening Primrose)
1:14:06 – Chip Zien – “No More” (Into the Woods)
1:19:27 – Josh Groban – “Children Will Listen/Not While I’m Around” (Into the Woods/Sweeney Todd)
1:25:13 – Brian Stokes Mitchell – “The Flag Song” (Assassins)
1:28:04 – Michael Cerveris – “Finishing the Hat” (Sunday in the Park with George)
1:33:28 – Linda Lavin – “The Boy From…” (The Mad Show)
1:37:10 – Alexander Gemignani – “Buddy’s Blues” (Follies)
1:41:08 – Ann Harada, Austin Ku, Kelvin Moon Loh & Thom Sesma – “Someone in a Tree” (Pacific Overtures)
1:50:59 – Raúl Esparza – “Take Me to the World” (Evening Primrose)
1:53:55 – Donna Murphy – “Send in the Clowns” (A Little Night Music)
1:58:47 – Christine Baranski, Meryl Streep & Audra McDonald – “The Ladies Who Lunch” (Company)
2:03:31 – Annaleigh Ashford & Jake Gyllenhaal – “Move On” (Sunday in the Park with George)
2:08:14 – Patti LuPone – “Anyone Can Whistle” (Anyone Can Whistle)
2:11:46 – Bernadette Peters – “No One Is Alone” (Into the Woods)
2:17:49 – Ensemble – “I’m Still Here” (Follies)
April 28, 2020 at 7:30 am
You probably know that I watched the entire show. It was awesome! I did love The Ladies Who Lunch, those three were spectacular in their fuzzy white robes. Other highlights for me: of course NPH and his kids who were adorable, Children Will Listen by Josh Groban Marry Me A Little by Aaron Tveit – of course Mandy Patinkin was his amazing self. Lin-Manual Miranda is always stellar and I was following his twitter account during the show as the comments moved way too fast for me. I would have loved to hear more than the overture from Merrily We Roll Along but that is a personal preference. I will probably watch it all again this week and I know just where to find it!
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April 28, 2020 at 5:12 pm
I have it on repeat, too. There are a few performances I’m skipping on replay, but there are a number of big faves!
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April 28, 2020 at 7:34 am
Later today listening.
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April 28, 2020 at 5:12 pm
You will not be disappointed!
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April 28, 2020 at 10:30 am
I could not find the link to this yesterday–only the teaser about it, so very happy to see it today. Thanks, Donna!
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April 28, 2020 at 5:13 pm
I had to look for the official link so it didn’t get taken down.
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April 28, 2020 at 2:30 pm
I have been listening to this in gobbets over the course of the past two days. Everyone did a fabulous job. It has also reminded me that I want to get my boys to a production of ‘Sweeney Todd’ once such things become possible again. My kids are OK with the macabre and they have grown up listening to the Lansbury/Cariou production their entire lives.
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April 28, 2020 at 5:15 pm
It’s not for everyone, but I am a huge fan of the Tim Burton movie version. Rewatched it last weekend. Found it on Amazon Prime for $3.
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April 29, 2020 at 11:07 am
Visually and in terms of acting performance, it is definitely a fun movie. The vocal performances are somewhat lacking but it’s still an enjoyable movie.
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April 29, 2020 at 1:19 pm
Agreed, though the kid has a lovely voice.
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