Bernadette Peters and a glorious cast sing Sondheim

When Bernadette Peters elegantly opens her umbrella in the new Stephen Sondheim revue “Old Friends,” she’s becoming Dot, the Georges Seurat muse she famously played in “Sunday in the Park with George.” 

But she might also be using it as a shield against a typhoon of tears, so verklempt the audience is from seeing the Broadway legend back on the boards in that beloved part, if only for a moment.

That lush and emotional all-company song, called “Sunday,” is one of 42 numbers in “Old Friends,” a supremely entertaining and altogether divine celebration of Sondheim’s legacy created by producer Cameron Mackintosh that opened Tuesday at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre. 

It’s a rare and special experience to watch performers of the calibre of Peters and co-stars like Lea Salonga backed by a sensational 14-piece orchestra in an intimate room that seats just 600. 

That the glorious wall of sound is a massive selection from the late composer’s shows including “A Little Night Music,” “Sweeney Todd,” “Company,” “Follies” and “Into the Woods” makes the close confines all the more exciting for fans.

And, I suspect, the concert will also absorb many Sondheim neophytes who don’t know Bobby from the Baker’s Wife.

The vibe of here is different — more lively than usual — perhaps because it comes from London where musical performances lean larger. 

For this piece, directed with flair by Matthew Bourne, I like that. Sondheim tributes so often tend toward the grandiose and stuffy. But “Old Friends,” as well as making your mascara run, bursts with joy and humor.  

Peters, for example, is a riot as the “bump it with a trumpet!” stripper Mazeppa from “Gypsy” and when she dons Little Red’s hood for “I Know Things Now” from “Into the Woods.”

Just as deftly, the Tony winner shatters us with two soft songs she’s sung many times on Broadway, “Losing My Mind” and “Send In The Clowns.” Peters played Sally in “Follies” and Desiree in “Night Music” on Broadway more than a decade ago, but the meaning and potency have only deepened.

Peters and Salonga — with pipes so powerful a car alarm goes off in New Haven — are joined by 17 other actors. All of them, splendid. 

Great fun for the musical geeks is getting the chance to see the show’s West End players, many of whom are making their Broadway debuts after long London careers.

Joanna Riding masters the panicked patter of a nervous bride in “I’m Not Getting Married Today,” and sturdy Jeremy Secomb is the Sweeney of your dreams — or, rather, nightmares.

I was especially tickled by Bonnie Langford, another Brit, thrillingly belting out the defiant anthem “I’m Still Here” from “Follies.” This is, after all, just the second time she’s been on Broadway since she made her first bow as a child in “Gypsy” with Angela Lansbury in 1974. And she’s still here!

However, it’s not only Britannia that rules. The Yanks pull their weight, too.

Beth Leavel wails an acidic and funnier-than-normal “Ladies Who Lunch.” And I was knocked over by Jacob Dickey’s strong and luxurious baritone as the Big Bad Wolf in “Hello, Little Girl.” I hadn’t seen him before now, but hope to again very soon.

If Peters’ most forceful numbers are infused with intense pain and desire, Salonga — known for her clean dramatic singing in “Miss Saigon” and “Les Miserables” — surprises us with wacky comedy and barmaid brassiness. 

I wouldn’t immediately peg her for a conniving Mrs. Lovett or pit bull Madam Rose. “The Worst Pies in London” and “Everything’s Coming Up Roses” are big swings for this actress, but she bats both out of the Friedman. More Eponine-y is her tortured “Loving You” from “Passion.”    

After an evening of hurt, heart and hilarity, the moving climax is a slideshow of images of Sondheim, who died in 2021, next to his old friends as the cast wails gorgeous arrangements of “Not a Day Goes By” and “Being Alive.” 

Sondheim and a fantastic company of actors, standing side by side by side.