After teasing the news with footage of the cast in the recording studio on Instagram earlier this week, Off-Broadway's Here We Are has revealed that it will release an original cast album, preserving the final score of Stephen Sondheim. Recorded at Power Station at BerkleeNYC, the album is expected to release this coming spring via Concord Theatricals Recordings. See more footage from the recording session above.
The musical is currently playing a world premiere engagement Off-Broadway at The Shed through January 21.
The starry cast features Francois Battiste, Tracie Bennett, Bobby Cannavale, Micaela Diamond, Amber Gray, Jin Ha, Rachel Bay Jones, Denis O’Hare, Steven Pasquale, David Hyde Pierce, and Jeremy Shamos. Understudies Bradley Dean, Adam Harrington, Bligh Voth, Adante Carter, Mehry Eslaminia, and Lindsay Nicole Chambers round out the company.
The two-act musical draws inspiration from the Luis Buñuel-directed films The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (1972) and The Exterminating Angel (1962), both set at surrealist dinner parties. The musical, Sondheim previously said, is about “trying to find a place to have dinner.” The first act deals with the interruptions to dinner. The second is about “people who have dinner and can’t leave,” which “is my cheerful view of the world today,” said the late maestro. The book is by David Ives, and music and lyrics are by Sondheim.
The musical has been in the works since at least 2014 and was developed by The Public Theater in 2016. In 2021, The New York Times reported that Sondheim and Ives had abandoned the project, but conflicting reports in the months after reported that the pair was not done with the idea. Sondheim died in 2021, but reportedly sanctioned a staging of the musical and considered his compositional work on the project completed before his passing.
The production features choreography by Sam Pinkleton, set and costume design by David Zinn, lighting design by Natasha Katz, sound design by Tom Gibbons, orchestrations by Jonathan Tunick, music direction and supervision by Alexander Gemignani, hair design by Wigmakers Associates, and casting by The Telsey Office. Tom Kirdahy, Sue Wagner, John Johnson, and The Stephen Sondheim Trust are producing, with Oscar Arce serving as associate producer. The Shed is the production's co-presenter.
Visit TheShed.org.
Company of Here We Are
Steven Pasquale, Amber Gray, Jeremy Shamos, Bobby Cannavale, Rachel Bay Jones, Francois Battiste, Micaela Diamond, and Jin Ha in Here We Are
Tracie Bennett, Denis O'Hare, Steven Pasquale, Amber Gray, Jeremy Shamos, Bobby Cannavale, Rachel Bay Jones, Francois Battiste, Micaela Diamond, Jin Ha, and David Hyde Pierce in Here We Are
Company of Here We Are
David Hyde Pierce and company of Here We Are
Micaela Diamond and company of Here We Are
Amber Gray, Steven Pasquale, Rachel Bay Jones, Jeremy Shamos, and Bobby Cannavale in Here We Are
Jeremy Shamos, Amber Gray, and company of Here We Are
Jin Ha and Micaela Diamond in Here We Are
Company of Here We Are
