The lights of Broadway shine a little brighter this season with the arrival of Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends, a musical revue that is more than just a celebration of a legendary composer—it’s also a deeply personal tribute from one of theater’s most enduring producers, Cameron Mackintosh. As one of the last great impresarios of the stage, Mackintosh has long been a steward of timeless musicals, but this latest endeavor might be his most heartfelt yet.
The journey to Old Friends began not as a grand theatrical vision, but as a simple conversation between two old friends during the uncertainty of the COVID-19 pandemic. Mackintosh and Sondheim, both confined by the world’s pause, began discussing the idea of a new show built around Sondheim’s vast songbook. What started as a shared creative exercise soon became a passion project. But tragedy struck in November 2021, when Sondheim passed away at the age of 91, leaving their concept unfinished.
For Mackintosh, the loss was not just professional—it was personal. “I did say to him, ‘I really want to concentrate on the music,’” Mackintosh recalled. “I want it to be personal, but we never really got that far with the construction of it.”
In the quiet days between Christmas and New Year’s that followed Sondheim’s death, Mackintosh began assembling the bones of what would become Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friends. It was his way of processing grief, a labor of love driven by memory and a desire to honor the man he had laughed with, learned from, and worked beside for 45 years.
Now on Broadway, Old Friends is not just a showcase of Sondheim’s greatest hits—it’s an emotional homage to their friendship. With a powerhouse cast led by Tony Award-winners Bernadette Peters and Lea Salonga, the show features iconic numbers such as “Send in the Clowns,” “The Ladies Who Lunch,” “I’m Still Here,” “Children Will Listen,” and “Everything’s Coming Up Roses.”
Mackintosh was intentional in his song selection. “I wanted the songs to reflect the fun I’d had with him,” he explained. “We’re both klutzy, we can’t dance, we can’t sing, we make terrible puns. We were silly together, and I think we loved being silly, making each other laugh. We never had a conversation in 45 years where we didn’t make each other laugh—even when we were grumpy.”
This marks Mackintosh’s third Sondheim revue, following Side by Side by Sondheim in 1976 and Putting It Together in 1993. But Old Friends stands apart, not only because of the timing but also because of the message. Though Sondheim is often celebrated for his intricate wordplay and complex compositions, Mackintosh’s mission this time is to highlight the accessibility and emotional richness of his work.
“Sondheim had a reputation for being brainy, but I wanted people to see how universal his music is,” said Mackintosh. “His songs are about love, loneliness, hope, disappointment—all the things that make us human. They’re not just clever; they’re deeply felt.”
The structure of Old Friends reflects that vision. Rather than following a traditional narrative arc, the revue flows from one song to another, each number illuminating different facets of Sondheim’s genius. The result is a tapestry of emotions that feels at once nostalgic and timeless, intimate and grand.
It’s also a testament to Mackintosh’s theatrical instincts. Few producers today have his combination of showmanship, storytelling acumen, and genuine love for the art form. Over the decades, he has been the force behind iconic productions like Les Misérables, The Phantom of the Opera, Miss Saigon, and Cats. His name alone carries weight in the theater world, and with Old Friends, he’s once again showing why.
But perhaps more than anything, this show is about legacy—Sondheim’s, yes, but also Mackintosh’s. At a time when the industry is evolving rapidly, with new technologies and changing audience expectations, Old Friends reminds us of the enduring power of live performance and human connection. It’s a gift to fans, to Broadway, and to Sondheim himself.
“Stephen always said the music would outlive us,” Mackintosh noted. “But I think what also lives on is the joy he brought to so many. And I hope this show captures just a bit of that.”
Indeed, as audiences rise for standing ovations night after night, it’s clear that Old Friends resonates far beyond nostalgia. It taps into something deeper: the shared experience of joy, loss, and laughter—the very things that defined Sondheim and Mackintosh’s friendship.
And as for the impresario himself, now in his late seventies, Mackintosh shows no signs of slowing down. With a slate of productions in development around the world, he continues to shape the future of global theater while honoring its past. In many ways, Old Friends feels like a passing of the torch—not just to new audiences, but to a new generation of theater-makers inspired by the giants who came before them.
For Mackintosh, it’s all part of the puzzle—one he and Sondheim began solving together, and which he now continues to piece together, one song at a time.