Stephen Sondheim loved movies. Here We Are, his final musical, is based on two surreal Luis Bunuel films: the 1972 The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie and the 1962 The Exterminating Angel.
In the first act a group of people try to find a restaurant; but wherever they go they are interrupted and have to leave before they have eaten. In the second act they are trapped in a house and cannot leave and nobody is allowed in. Starved for food and water, they feel they are dying.
The two films are witty satires and parables on the rich and amoral middle-classes and their eating habits and their fears of death and the violent times in which they live.
Sondheim began working on the musical in earnest in 2013. It remained unfinished at the time of his death at 91 in 2021. Playwright David Ives and director Joe Mantello continued working on it.
Here We Are finally had a full-scale production in New York in 2024. It is an extraordinary swansong, complex and confusing, challenging to director, actors and audience alike.
Audiences will wonder what is going on and what it all means. There is no plot. It’s surreal, it’s obscure. It might be a good idea to watch The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie and The Exterminating Angel before you see the musical.
Sondheim’s music and lyrics are instantly recognisable. A major weakness is there is no memorable song. But the biggest surprise is there are no songs in the second act. Sondheim explained: ‘Content dictates form. The absence of music is the score.’
Mantello’s production has plenty of style and is always very watchable. A lot of money has been spent on David Zinn’s impressive sets. Jane Krakowskis and Denis O’Hare stand out in a first-rate ensemble of actors.
One thing is absolutely certain and that is theatregoers, who are Sondheim aficionados, will definitely want to see Here We Are; and rightly so, flawed though it is. Sondheim was one of musical theatre’s greats.
To learn more about Robert Tanitch and his reviews, click here to go to his website. 
