The Complete Story of Stephen Sondheim’s Final Musical, ‘Here We Are’

The latest in pop-culture news, recaps, and reviews, plus close reads, profiles, interviews, and more from Vulture.com. [Brand Logo]( theater [The Final Sondheim]( The complete, from-beginning-to-end story of how Stephen Sondheim, David Ives, and Joe Mantello created the musical Here We Are. Photo: Daniel Dorsa In June 1982, [Stephen Sondheim](, still reeling from the flameout of the original Broadway production of [Merrily We Roll Along]( seven months earlier, had his first meeting with the Off Broadway playwright and director James Lapine. The future collaborators soon were comparing their tastes not just in plays but in movies, Sondheim’s greatest cultural passion after music. Lapine had recently seen and liked [The Exterminating Angel](, the 1962 classic by the Spanish Mexican director [Luis Buñuel](. Sondheim was a fan of Buñuel’s 1972 [The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie](. Lapine thought it might be a possible project. They set up a screening, but nothing came of it. When they reconvened at Sondheim’s Turtle Bay townhouse after Labor Day, Lapine arrived with a bunch of random images to see if they might strike any creative sparks. The last in the pile was a postcard of Georges Seurat’s A Sunday on La Grande Jatte — 1884. It inspired a torrent of riffing, and a week later Lapine brought Sondheim the first five pages of what would become Sunday in the Park With George. [read more]( The Latest TV Recaps • The Real Housewives of Atlanta: [The Emancipation of Drew]( • Winning Time: [The System]( • The Real Housewives of New York City: [Exit Wounds]( [Learn more about RevenueStripe...]( Stories We Think You’ll Like [Leslie Odom Jr. Returns, in a Red-Hot American Satire The actor is back on Broadway for Purlie Victorious, a show more skeptical than the one that made him famous.]( By Jackson McHenry [Fall TV Can’t Stop Looking Backward This season, streaming embraces a model that makes it safer to tell stories about the past.]( By Kathryn VanArendonk [The AMPTP’s No Good, Very Bad Week Bad tweets, potential labor-law violations, and a new crisis PR firm.]( [Will the Real Adele Fans Please Stand Up? Adele told off Vegas security for trying to stop a twink from dancing.]( By Jason P. Frank [Colman Domingo Owns Bayard Rustin’s Power In the trailer for Obama-produced Netflix film Rustin.]( By Zoe Guy [Shakira to Receive Video Vanguard Award at MTV VMAs She’ll also perform on the stage for the first time in 17 years.]( By Justin Curto [The Search for the Next Will and Kate The Crown’s casting director on how the show found the right pair to bring an interior life to these tabloided young royals.]( By Jackson McHenry [Learn more about RevenueStripe...]( Vulture Recommends We consume it all so you don’t have to. This Wednesday, August 30, at noon, head over to the comments section on Vulture’s latest [Only Murders in the Building]( recap for a live conversation with recapper Tom Smyth. Ask and answer all of your burning questions, like: Who do you think the killer is? Has there been a seemingly innocuous line or scene this season that you think will be important later? Are pork chops a good first-date food? [Read more from Vulture]( A newsletter of TV and movie recommendations. [Sign up]( to get it every week. [Get the Newsletter]( [logo]( [facebook logo]( [instagram logo]( [twitter logo]( [unsubscribe]( | [privacy notice]( | [update preferences]( This email was sent to {EMAIL}. Was this email forwarded to you? [Sign up now]( to get this newsletter in your inbox. [View this email in your browser.]( You received this email because you have a subscription to New York. Reach the right online audience with us For advertising information on email newsletters, please contact AdOps@nymag.com Vox Media, LLC 1201 Connecticut Ave. NW, 12th Floor Washington, DC 20036 Copyright © 2023, All rights reserved