Here We Are, the final musical from late theatrical legend Stephen Sondheim, officially opened Off-Broadway October 22 and the reviews are in. See what the critics have to say below.
The two-act musical, running at The Shed's Griffin Theater through January 21, 2024, 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.
READ: How to Get Discount Tickets for the Final Stephen Sondheim Musical Here We Are
The Shed's all-star production 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.
Read the reviews below.
Chicago Tribune (Chris Jones)*
CitiTourNYC (Brian Scott Lipton)
New York Magazine/Vulture (Sara Holdren)*
New York Post (Johnny Oleksinski)
New York Stage Review (Frank Scheck)
New York Theater (Jonathan Mandell)
New York Theatre Guide (Joe Dziemianowicz)
The New York Times (Jesse Green)*
TheaterPizzazz (Carol Rocamora)
The Washington Post (Peter Marks)*
*This review may require creating a free account or a paid subscription.
Playbill will continue to update this list as reviews come in.
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 Robert Pickens and Katie Gell, 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
