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‘Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends’ L.A. Review: Songwriting Depth and Skilled Diva Turns Make the Broadway-Bound Revue a Retrospective Joy

Bernadette Peters and Lea Salonga soar in the ensemble revue 'Stephen Sondheim's Old Friends,' now at L.A's Ahmanson and soon to captivate Broadway.

But while it’s just the two of them, you get to soak in the complementary wisdom of having these two as the twin marqee attractions — one being the actress most long-associated with the titular composer (Peters, who has this as her seventh Sondheim show), and the other, also a musical theater legend, having had virtually no prior association with him (Salonga, who’d only done “Sweeney Todd” in Manila and Singapore). Salonga’s most surprising moments, for most of the audience, probably come during the five-song mini-suite devoted to “Sweeney Todd.” This show, which originated with a London gala followed by a recent West End run, is so packed with Brits in the cast that most viewers will probably assume it’s someone from across the pond pulling off the comedy of Mrs. Lovett’s Cockney-isms, not someone better known for projecting a sense of regality — so this is a case where it helps to keep the Playbill open to be sure who you’re admiring. (As an addendum: One of the show’s countless real treats is the entr’acte that kicks off while everyone is still re-finding their seats, a jazz-orchestra treatment of the overture from “Merrily We Roll Along,” led by music director Annbritt duChateau, that ends too quickly.

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