Stephen Sondheim's final musical Here We Are has assembled a starry, international cast for its upcoming U.K. debut, set to play London's National Theatre April 23-June 28, 2025. Opening night will be May 8. Tony winner Joe Mantello is again directing after staging the work's world premiere at Off-Broadway's The Shed last year.
Newly announced cast members include Tony winners Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Jane Krakowski, and Paulo Szot; Chumisa Dornford-May (The Great Comet); Richard Fleeshman (Company); Harry Hadden-Paton (Downton Abbey); Cameron Johnson (Guys and Dolls); and Martha Plimpton (Sweat). They join previously announced original Off-Broadway cast members Tracie Bennett (Follies) and Denis O'Hare reprising their work in the U.K. premiere, and Rory Kinnear (No Time to Die). Further casting, by Bryony Jarvis-Taylor, is to be announced.
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 said, is about “trying to find a place to have dinner.” The first deals with interruptions to dinner, the second is about “people who have dinner and can’t leave,” which “is my cheerful view of the world today.” 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.
Mantello seems to be reassembling his Off-Broadway creative team for the London bow, with set and costume designer David Zinn, choreographer Sam Pinkleton, lighting designer Natasha Katz, and sound designer Tom Gibbons all set to reprise their work. The musical features orchestrations by Jonathan Tunick and additional arrangements by Alexander Gemignani, who conducted the Off-Broadway premiere. Nigel Lilley will conduct the London production.
Tickets are available at NationalTheatre.org.uk.
