Putting It Together: How the Cast of Here We Are Navigated Sondheim's Last Show, Without the Composer

When Amber Gray was asked to audition for Here We Are, the final musical from Stephen Sondheim, going in was a no-brainer. "I knew then that it was a piece of theatre history, just even to go in for it. And it's a total honor and pleasure," she tells Playbill on the opening night of Here We Are at Off-Broadway's The Shed. See how the cast of Here We Are put together Sondheim's newest musical in just five weeks in the video above.

The show brings back some of Sondheim's favorite actors who he personally worked with, such as David Hyde Pierce and Denis O'Hare, and some new actors new to the maestro, such as Grey and Micaela Diamond. Here We Are has been in development by Sondheim and book writer David Ives for a decade. After Sondheim's death, Ives and director Joe Mantello finished the work, which is based on two films from avant-garde filmmaker Luis Buñuel: The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (1972) and The Exterminating Angel (1962). Here We Are opened October 22 at The Shed, where it will run until January 21, 2024. Read what the critics have to here.

In the musical, a group of rich individuals try to find a place to have brunch. After many unsuccessful attempts that take them well into the evening, they finally find a place to eat, but then discover that they can't leave the establishment because, well, the world is ending.

Here We Are has an all-star cast: Steven Pasquale, Denis O'Hare, Francois Battiste, Tracie Bennett, Bobby Cannavale, Micaela Diamond, Amber Gray, Jin Ha, Rachel Bay Jones, David Hyde Pierce, and Jeremy Shamos. Understudies Bradley Dean, Adam Harrington, Bligh Voth, Adante Carter, Mehry Eslaminia, and Lindsay Nicole Chambers round out the company.