Here We Are Tickets

Set a Brunch Date With Tickets for Here We Are

Musical theatre fans have been waiting for the UK premiere of Here We Are, legendary composer Stephen Sondheim’s final show, posthumously produced with his permission. Good news - the wait is finally over! This darkly comic, ‘‘cool and impossibly chic” (New York Times Critic’s Pick) new musical about a disastrous brunch was a smash-hit when it debuted Off-Broadway in 2023, and promises to delight London audiences when it opens on the National Theatre’s Lyttelton stage this summer. So make a reservation for an unforgettable brunch date - book tickets now!

What is the musical Here We Are about?

When Leo and Marianne Brink are surprised by a number of unexpected guests - including Marianne’s rebellious anti-capitalist sister Fritz, entertainment executive Claudia, her plastic surgeon husband Paul, and Raffael, ambassador to the (fictional) country of Moranda - the reluctant hosts decide to go out. After all, it’s the perfect day for brunch, and they know just the place: Cafe Everything.

The restaurant has excellent reviews, top-tier service, and a menu that offers anything you could want. But as a series of ever-stranger occurrences interrupt the group before they can order, and their interpersonal relationships grow more complex, the day takes a bizarre turn. Have they bitten off more than they can chew? And will they ever get to order?

This macabre, darkly funny new musical is “Good enough to eat!” (New York Theatre Times). Based on two surrealist films by Spanish-Mexican director Luis Buñuel, Here We Are is a weird and wonderful journey into the privilege, wealth and ignorance of the upper-crust, told with Sondheim’s “characteristic brilliance [and] clever wordplay” (The Guardian).

Who are the cast and creative team of Here We Are?

Olivier winner Tracie Bennett (Carousel, La Cage aux Folles) and Tony winner Denis O’Hare (American Horror Story, Assasins) reprise their respective roles as Woman and Man from the New York City run, and are joined by a multi-award winning, superstar cast.

Tony, Emmy and SAG Award winner Jane Krakowski (30 Rock, Nine) plays Marianne, with Olivier Award winner Rory Kinnear (Quantum of Solace, Othello) as Leo, Emmy winner Martha Plimpton (The Good Wife, Top Girls) as Claudia, Emmy and Tony Award winner Jesse Tyler Ferguson (Modern Family, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee) as Paul, Tony winner Paulo Szot (&Juliet, Evita) as Raffael, and Chumisa Dornford-May (Phantom of the Opera, Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812) as Fritz. Completing the cast are Richard Fleeshman (Company, Coronation Street) as Soldier, Harry Hadden-Paton (Downton Abbey, My Fair Lady) as Bishop and Cameron Johnson (Guys and Dolls, Billy Elliot) as Colonel Martin.

Here We Are is directed by two-time Tony Award winner Joe Mantillo (Wicked, Assassins), who also directed the shows Off-Broadway debut. The book is by Tony-nominated playwright, screenwriter and novelist David Ives (All in the Timing, Venus in Fur), with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim (Into the Woods, West Side Story) and additional arrangements by Tony Award winner Alexander Gemignani (Sweeney Todd, Carousel).

The musical is based on the films The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie and The Exterminating Angel by BAFTA, Cannes Festival and Academy Award-winning director Luis Buñuel. Best known for his collaborations with surrealist painter Salvador Dali and his avant-garde, politically charged films such as Un Chien Andalou and That Obscure Object of Desire, Buñuel is widely considered to be one of the most influential filmmakers of all time

A Legendary Composer’s Final Bow: Sondheim’s Last Musical

Stephen Sondheim is one of the best-known composers of all time, and has had an enormous influence on 20th-century musical theatre. A mentee of Oscar Hammerstein II - of famous musical theatre writing duo Rogers and Hammerstein - Sondheim’s works include West Side Story, Into the Woods, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Sunday in the Park with George and Company.

Both Broadway and the West End have theatres named after Sondheim, and his numerous awards wins include eight Tonys, eight Grammys, an Academy Award, an Olivier Award, and the Pulitzer Prize. In 1993 Sondheim was awarded the Kennedy Center Honor and in 2015 he was awarded a Presidential Medal of Freedom.

Ives and Sonheim began work on the musical in 2014, workshopping it further in 2016 with a workshop cast including Sierra Boggess and Michael Cerveris Jr., and in 2021, with Broadway legends Nathan Lane and Bernadette Peters. Previously workshopped under the working titles All Together Now and Square One, the musical was renamed Here We Are, and premiered in 2023, almost two years after Sondheim’s death - the composer having granted permission for the work to be produced posthumously.

Tickets for Here We Are at the Lyttelton Theatre On Sale Now!

You won’t want to miss this stunning cast of award-winning performers as they bring to life one of history’s most iconic composers' final show! Here We Are is “musical-theatre ecstasy” (What’s On Stage) that will leave you hungry for more. So grab a menu and sit down for a wild and whacky brunch - book your tickets for Here We Are at the National Theatre - Lyttelton today!