Stars reveal their favourite Sondheim numbers to celebrate composer’s birthday

Today, March 22, marks Stephen Sondheim’s birthday.

The late, great composer has his works celebrated across the world. More specifically in the UK, productions of his last musical Here We Are (at the National Theatre) are in rehearsals, and a revival of The Frogs will arrive in the coming months with Kevin McHale. Meanwhile, the Bridge Theatre is gearing up to stage Into the Woods later this year, and Northern Ireland Opera will revive Follies.

We asked some of the cast of the upcoming Here We Are, plus some extra stars, to tell us their favourite Sondheim numbers!

Chumisa Dornford-May (Fritz in Here We Are)

To choose a favourite Sondheim song seems completely impossible. His repertoire is so expansive and varied that every single show has a place in my heart. However, one that particularly resonates with me is “Move On” from Sunday in the Park with George. It’s such a beautiful representation of what it’s like to love someone and know that you’re unable to be together. There’s no longer any animosity, there’s just connection and support from a person that knows you so well. It’s perfect! Makes me cry every time.

Richard Fleeshman (Soldier in Here We Are)

It would be “Move On” from Sunday in the Park with George. It’s my partner’s favourite song. She introduced me to it and that whole musical, which is astonishing, but that song especially always reminds me of her.

Harry Hadden-Paton (Bishop in Here We Are)

It has to be “Finishing the Hat” from Sunday in the Park with George. When Mandy Patinkin came to see My Fair Lady on Broadway he wrote to me – “Look, you made a hat.” His seal of approval, followed by being cast by James Lapine in his musical, has given me the confidence to come to the National Theatre to do this show.

Joaquin Pedro Valdes (set to play Cinderella’s Prince / The Wolf in Into The Woods)

My favourite Sondheim track would have to be “Finishing The Hat”, with “Take Me To The World” as a close second. Sondheim has the singular and unmatched ability to take to song and lyric, all the deep, complex, broken and vulnerable emotions of the human experience. This song, within the story’s context or even as a stand-alone, sings about all the pain, the frustration, the yearning, the hoping and the determination to create and to discover.

As an actor, I’m at the service of great writing and can only hope to be as articulate as the characters and roles I play. Stephen Sondheim gives us not only music but words to play with and fly.

After Pacific Overtures at the Menier, and a special all-Filipino revival of Into The Woods in Manila later this year with Lea Salonga and Arielle Jacobs, I seem to be living my Sondheim dreams.

Kevin McHale (set to play Xanthias in The Frogs)

I’ll never forget the first time I heard “Rose’s Turn”—it was watching Chris Colfer shoot the number on Glee (I know). Since then, I’ve seen so many incredible performers take it on, and like so many Sondheim songs, it resonates differently with everyone. But I’ll always have a soft spot for it because I first heard it watching little Kurt Hummel belt his heart out, and it cracked something open in me.

Into the Woods is my favourite Sondheim show, and “Giants in the Sky” brings back a lot of memories, too. It’s such a fun one to sing, especially at Mary’s Crisis in NYC.

“Being Alive” from Company, I mean this is a SONG. My boyfriend has shown me so many different versions over the years, we’ve seen all the auditions! If you’ve got the vocals, this song is the one. Also, Barbra’s version? Absolutely unreal.

I also have to shout out a 3-way tie between “A Little Priest”, “Getting Married Today”, and “Sunday”. These three couldn’t be more different, but together they capture the breadth of Sondheim’s work: his dark humor, his sincerity, his wit. He truly has a song for every mood and emotion, and that’s what makes his work so timeless.

Let us know your favourite Sondheim number on social media!