Happy New Year!
As we enter 2025, a 2024 conversation catch-up
Happy new year, everyone!
Today, a look back at each of our 2024 conversations, handily gathered here in one place. New Year’s Day seems like the perfect time to pour yourself a hot drink, sit somewhere cosy, and dive into any of these that you might have missed… It has been a joy to talk about Sondheim with so many wonderful people in our first nine months—and we have some very exciting conversations to come this year too.
The conversations below are presented in chronological order.
A Conversation with Ann Hould-Ward
Ann Hould-Ward is a world-renowned costume designer, whose numerous accolades include a Tony Award in 1994 for her work on Beauty and the Beast. Counted among her many theatrical credits are the original Broadway productions of both Sunday in the Park with George
A Conversation with Bonnie Langford
Few people can claim they were singing Sondheim’s lyrics professionally at the age of nine—but Bonnie Langford can. She starred as Baby June in Gypsy alongside Angela Lansbury, in the West End and on Broadway. Since then, her career has been one of astonishing breadth, on both stage and screen. She was the original Rumpleteazer in Andrew Lloyd-Webber’s
A Conversation with Ramona Mallory
Ramona Mallory enjoys a unique status within the performance history of Sondheim works. In 2009, she starred as Anne Egerman in the first Broadway revival of A Little Night Music—a role created by her mother, Victoria Mallory, in 1973. Ramona’s father, Mark Lambert, is the show’s original Henrik. Since starring in that production, alongside Angela Lansb…
A Conversation with Jeremy Secomb
Now that some time has passed since Old Friends, what stands out to you in particular about that production?
A Conversation with Melissa Errico
“One of Sondheim’s deepest-hearted yet lightest-touch interpreters.” That’s how The New York Times describes Melissa Errico, in its glowing review of her new album, Sondheim In The City. The Wall Street Journal described her 2018 disc, Sondheim Sublime
A Conversation with Mark Lambert
It is a rare and wonderful thing to speak to someone who originated a Sondheim role on Broadway. I recently had the pleasure of speaking to Mark Lambert, who in 1973 brought Henrik Egerman into the world, in the first production Sondheim’s A Little Night Music
A Conversation with Tracie Bennett
It was a real thrill to speak to Tracie Bennett about Here We Are and much more besides. Tracie is the only person in the world to have performed in the first professional production of Sondheim’s first and last musicals. She also appeared as Carlotta in the National Theatre’s
A Conversation with Joaquin Pedro Valdes
It was a real pleasure to speak to acclaimed actor Joaquin Pedro Valdes, who recently starred as Manjiro in the phenomenal Menier Chocolate Factory production of Pacific Overtures. Joaquin’s other recent roles include Light Yagami in the English-language premiere of
A Conversation with Ron Raines & Jeff Berger
On June 27, 28 and 29, Jonathan Tunick will conduct an all-star cast in his brand-new orchestration of A Little Night Music at David Geffen Hall, Lincoln Center. I was delighted to speak to Jeff Berger, producer of A Little Night Music in Concert, and Ron Raines, who will be playing Fredrik Egerman. Jeff has represented Jonathan Tunick for nearly four d…
A Conversation with Zoe Ennis
Zoe Ennis is a content creator, actor, podcaster, and business student. Using the handle @Basically_Broadway, she has more than 400,000 followers on Instagram, and thousands more on TikTok. I thought that it would be fascinating to speak to Zoe about building such a large online community centred on musical theatre, and about her own relationship with t…
A Conversation with Colleen Fitzpatrick
It was a real honor to speak to Colleen Fitzpatrick about Sondheim. Colleen featured in the original cast of Into the Woods (1987), as understudy for the Baker’s Wife and both stepsisters. Her Sondheim credits since that time include the original productions of both
A Conversation with Madeleine Morgan
On June 9 this year, Madeleine Morgan was crowned Stephen Sondheim Society Student Performer of the Year 2024. The competition’s grand final, hosted by Bonnie Langford, saw 12 remarkable young performers light up the stage at London’s Sondheim Theatre. You can read our write-up of that day
A Conversation with Olivia Bloom
Olivia Bloom is an emerging performer on the Sondheim scene in London. Having performed in the Sondheim Society Presents: Alex Young & Friends at the Phoenix Arts Club, and at a range of prestigious London cabaret venues including the Crazy Coqs and Toulouse Lautrec, Olivia is thrilled to be making her solo cabaret debut with
A Conversation with Joanna Riding
It was such a thrill to speak to Oliver Award-winning actress Joanna Riding about Sondheim. We discussed the secrets that her characters carry, her time as Sally Durant Plummer in Follies, the challenge and thrill of performing “Getting Married Today” in
A Conversation with Grace O'Keefe and Jordana Belaiche
Grace O'Keefe and Jordana Belaiche are bringing their cabaret comedy séance Summoning Sondheim to London and Edinburgh this August. Ahead of these shows, it was great talk to both Grace and Jordana about the show, and about Sondheim more generally. Grace is co-creator of five-star Fringe sell-out
A Conversation with Will Blum
I’m thrilled to share our recent conversation with actor and director Will Blum. Blum’s Broadway credits include Beetlejuice in Beetlejuice, Dewey Finn in School of Rock, Elder Cunningham in The Book of Mormon, and Roger in Grease. Recent Sondheim roles include George in
A Conversation with Brett Boles
It was really great to speak to Brett Boles recently! Brett is an award-winning musical theatre songwriter and music director. A HUGE number of people know Brett as the creator of The M Tea, which across TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and Youtube reaches hundreds of thousands of people with short, dynamic videos that demystify the songwriting process and h…
A Conversation with Gerard Alessandrini
Forbidden Broadway, which has been ribbing the Great White Way since 1982, makes a triumphant return to New York City this month with its latest show, Merrily We Stole a Song. Ahead of this latest (Sondheim-filled, naturally) production, I had the pleasure of speaking to none other than the creator of
A Conversation with Gabe Mollica
In July, comedian Gabe Mollica posted a video about his correspondence with Stephen Sondheim online, and went somewhat viral. The five-minute clip is an excerpt from his show Solo: A Show About Friendship, which he has performed all over the world. The full clip in question, and links to Gabe’s social media pages, are included at the bottom of this inte…
A Conversation with Ann Morrison
Ann Morrison made her Broadway debut as Merrily We Roll Along’s original Mary Flynn. Needless to say, it was a genuine honor to speak to her. Our conversation begins below:
A Conversation with Tedd Firth
I’m so pleased to share our conversation with musical director, pianist and arranger Tedd Firth today. Tedd regularly works with performers including Bernadette Peters, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Marilyn Maye, and Melissa Errico (whose Sondheim Hub conversation you can read
A Conversation with DeAndre Simmons
It was wonderful to meet American bass DeAndre Simmons ahead of his starring role as Sweeney Todd with San Diego Musical Theatre. DeAndre has a wealth of experience in operatic, symphonic, and musical theatre contexts, and I was really keen to find out how he approaches a role like Sweeney from these perspectives. He also discusses the time he spent wor…
A Conversation with Katie Kawko & Sophia Rubino
Katie Kawko and Sophia Rubino are the producer and associate producer of 54 Below’s The Stephens: Sondheim and Schwartz, which takes place on October 4th (and is being livestreamed for those not in NYC) and features a whole host of fantastic performers. I was keen to find out what goes into putting on an event like this, and about Katie and Sophia’s own…
A Conversation with Travis Moser
It was really great to meet cabaret, concert, and recording artist Travis Moser recently. In 2020, Travis released his EP, So Many People: The Sondheim Sessions, and a second all-Sondheim volume is now in the works. I loved finding out more about these projects, about Travis’s relationship with Sondheim’s body of work, and about the art of cabaret more …
A Conversation with Josefina Gabrielle
I’m thrilled to say that our guest this week is Josefina Gabrielle, who later this month will be appearing as part of an all-star cast in Sondheim on Sondheim at Alexandra Palace, London. We spoke about that very special show, as well as her time as Gussie in
A Conversation with Julie Klausner
“Read everything Julie Klausner writes and listen to everything Julie Klausner says. She is hilarious, wise, and smarter than you. I adore her.” So said Amy Poehler about this week’s guest—and after spending an hour with Julie Klausner, I could not echo these words more whole-heartedly. Klausner is perhaps best known for creating, writing, and starring …
A Conversation with Joe Iconis
Theater artists who break the mold often cite Stephen Sondheim as an influence, but few articulate that connection quite as thoughtfully as Joe Iconis. It was a real pleasure to talk to Joe, who is perhaps best known as the composer-lyricist of Be More Chill
A Conversation with Grace Yurchuk
It was such a joy to speak to composer & singer-songwriter Grace Yurchuk about her creative process, Stephen Sondheim, navigating and harnessing social media, and a whole lot more besides. We discussed her new live album, Just Between Us, and the Julius Caesar
A Conversation with Jennifer Ashley Tepper
I’m so happy to share this conversation with Jennifer Ashley Tepper—historian, author, producer, and Creative and Programming Director at 54 Below. Her new book, Women Writing Musicals: The Legacy That the History Books Left Out, is released on November 19. It was wonderful speaking with Jennifer about some of these remarkable women, her various roles a…
A Conversation with Richard Schoch
Today I am delighted to share our interview with Richard Schoch, whose book How Sondheim Can Change Your Life is released on November 19. Richard is Professor of Drama at Queen’s University Belfast, where he teaches classes on Sondheim and acting for musical theatre. Richard is the author of eight books, including
A Conversation with Anastasia Barzee
From classical musician to celebrated stage and screen actress, Anastasia Barzee's journey into musical theatre began almost by accident. After entering the University of Miami's musical theatre program, she discovered her passion for the art form through formative encounters with works like Frank Loesser’s
A Conversation with Ellie Nunn
It was such a pleasure to speak to Ellie Nunn, currently starring as Truly Scrumptious in the UK tour of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. We talked about her solo show, Ellie Nunn Sings Sondheim At People, her own route into Sondheim’s work, teaching as a sacred profession, and much more. I loved this conversation, which begins below:
A Conversation with Isaac Bernier-Doyle
I recently had the pleasure of sitting down with Isaac Bernier-Doyle, artistic director of London’s Upstairs at the Gatehouse, to talk, among other things, about the theatre’s upcoming production of Road Show. For anyone less familiar with this musical, this conversation makes for a
A Conversation with Matthew Gardiner
I was thrilled to speak to Matthew Gardiner, artistic director of Signature Theatre in Arlington, Virginia, about this particular theater’s deep relationship with the works of Stephen Sondheim, their current production of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
A Conversation with Paul Foster
I’m so pleased to introduce this conversation with director Paul Foster, one of the UK’s most thoughtful interpreters of Sondheim’s work. Paul directed the recent Sondheim on Sondheim at London’s Alexandra Palace, and has a wealth of Sondheim-related experience stretching much further back too. Paul’s perspective is fascinating, and it was a pleasure to…