Interview with Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friend’s Jac Yarrow

Posted on Aug 18, 2023 | By Kevin Thomas

A ‘Great Big Broadway Show’ is on its way to the Gielgud Theatre this autumn, when Stephen Sondheim’s Old Friend’s takes to the stage. Featuring a star-studded cast, which includes Broadway legends Bernadette Peters and Lea Salonga, the celebration of the renowned composer and lyricist is set to be a theatrical feast for both first-time theatregoers and aficionados alike.

The show also features a plethora of West End favourites including Bonnie Langford (42nd Street, 9 to 5), Joanna Riding (The Girls, Carousel), and Jac Yarrow, who is perhaps best known for playing the title role in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.

We caught up with Jac before rehearsals to find out a bit more about the show and how he feels about being involved. Jac told us: “It's really nice to be part of a show that’s going to be a limited run. Where else are you going to get to see this calibre of performers on stage in the same show altogether?”

Stephen Sondheim is one of the most prolific musical theatre writers of all time. His enormous body of work includes Company, Into the Words, Sweeney Todd and Merrily We Roll Along. During his illustrious career, he also worked with the likes of Leonard Bernstein and Jule Styne, writing lyrics for both West Side Story and Gypsy.

Jac Yarrow’s love for the music of Sondheim blossomed from an early age. He said: “I’m very lucky because my parents love theatre, so as a kid I got taken to a lot of the shows. I didn’t see any Sondheim until I was, I think, maybe seven or eight. I was in a drama group every Saturday. The older group got to do Sweeney Todd and I remember vividly seeing that weird, sort of, grotesque cartoon on the front of the vinyl and the sheet music and wondering what it was about.”

He immersed himself in researching the show. “I just became absolutely obsessed with it. I'd never heard anything like it. I didn't realise that musicals could be dark and, you know, comedic and adult.”

As time went on and Jac’s musical education continued and he became engrossed in the work of the master songwriter: “I just fell in love with, kind of, the endless research and the amount of times you could listen to his scores and just constantly learn and find something new.” He continues: “It's sort of like a love affair that evolves as you get older. You, sort of, grow up with his music. I don't think many other composers write like that. He's got such an emotional depth to all of what he does; he manages to hit the nail on the head with the music and the lyrics.” He continues: “Sometimes they're set against the backdrop of an upbeat tune that’s, kind of, a weird juxtaposition, but it's his unique way of making you feel so many different things at the same time. I think he's just got his own secret recipe for that sort of thing.”

An incredible creative team have also been assembled for the production, with direction by Matthew Bourne, choreography by Stephne Mear and great friend of Sondheim, Julia McKenzie ‘Side by Side’ consulting on all aspects of the piece.

When Old Friends was staged last year, it sold out within just a few hours leaving thousands of disappointed fans unable to get tickets. Now audiences will have another chance to see this unforgettable theatrical event.

Jac told us: “People should come to see this show because you're never going to get to see all of those incredible people on the same stage again. Bernadette Peters is the master interpreter of Sondheim's music, so to get to see her live in action alone is worth the price of the ticket. It's one for people who don't know much about Sondheim or about theatre and want to learn more, but it's also for the people who are musical theatre enthusiasts and are diehard Sondheim fans. It will just give you everything that you want.”