Phil Geoffrey Bond is the creator of Sondheim Unplugged, Feinstein’s/54 Below long-running series (10 years and counting) featuring some of Broadway and cabaret's most dynamic voices, accompanied by piano only, delving into the musical world of Broadway's master composer Stephen Sondheim. With fun facts and tidbits about the original productions woven between songs, this is an evening spent with “Old Friends.”

In this interview, Phil answered my call to share:

• How Sondheim Unplugged started
• What it is like to film this concert as opposed to having a live audience
• What Sondheim show made him fall in love with Sondheim
• Why he's proud to have this series as part of his legacy
• So much more

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Sondheim Unplugged is “Back in Business” as part of Feinstein’s/54 Below’s new streaming series, 54 Below Premieres. These curated concerts feature cinematic, four-camera HD shoots to bring the glamour and intimacy of Broadway’s Living Room directly to in-home screens.

Each show will be designed and directed especially for streaming by an award-winning production team, with audio and video that reflect the high standards of presentation that have made evenings at Feinstein's/54 Below New York's most unique cabaret experiences.

Sondheim Unplugged stream has been EXTENDED until January 23, 2021.

This edition of Sondheim Unplugged will feature Darius DeHaas, Natalie Douglas, Telly Leung, T. Oliver Reid, Nicholas Rodriguez, and Lucia Spina.

Phil Geoffrey Bond, Photo Credit: Christine Ashburn

1. Starting December 26, 2020 Sondheim Unplugged is back in business, but this time around streaming to our living rooms.

• What was it like to film this for streaming as opposed to live performance? First of all — “Back in Business…” I see what you did there. It was a wonderful experience. It’s a different medium, so we’ve made some changes to the show in order to better adapt.
• What were some challenges you faced? Not having a live audience to respond in real time was a big change for myself as host, but also for the vocalists. I just pretended we were making a feature film, which has its own challenges and rewards.
• How was the process easier? Well obviously, if I as host or a vocalist goes up, we can start again. And when we filmed, we did a few times. Sondheim is tricky, as everyone knows. You miss a syllable and all of a sudden it’s “Singer down! Singer down!”

2. Sondheim is musical theatre royalty. What was the first Sondheim show you saw that made you go, "I love his work”? When I was about 14, A Little Night Music was broadcast on PBS and I stumbled upon it and fell in love. I was just a kid living in the cornfields of Indiana. It was the 1990 NY City Opera production directed by Scott Ellis and starring George Lee Andrews, Maureen Moore, Sally Ann Howes, Regina Resnick, etc. It’s a brilliant production. I’ve been hooked ever since. I’ve actually been thrilled to welcome George Lee to the show on several occasions.

3. Since this is our first interview together, let's go back to the beginning of Sondheim Unplugged. How did you come to start this show? Sondheim Unplugged was born around the time of Sondheim’s 80th birthday in 2010. I watched all of the big tribute concerts and went to one at City Center. I thought it was just brilliant, but also wondered what would happen if we did a birthday tribute on a smaller scale. I thought perhaps just a trio and some great Broadway singers.

Then I thought, why not boil it all the way down and concentrate on the brilliance of the melodies and lyrics, so I decided to do it with just a piano. We were, knock wood, pretty successful out of the gate. It was just supposed to be four performances during the summer, but we’ve been running ever since.

4. What is something that you have learned about Sondheim or his work from doing this show? Well, I’ve learned a great deal about Sondheim and his life, of course. The show is very carefully researched and the script evolves as the man’s life and career evolves. I guess a big thing I’ve learned is how diverse his work is.

We often think of Sondheim as being clever, which he certainly is in spades. His songs are often like ingenious little puzzles (he loves puzzles and board games). But it transcends that — the work is just brilliant. People throw the word “genius” around a lot, but it’s spot on when discussing Stephen Sondheim.

5. Sondheim Unplugged has been playing Feinstein's/54 Below for 10 years. Why are you so proud to have this series as part of your legacy? Well, 54 Below opened in 2012 so we’ve been there for eight years. The first two years we were at The Laurie Beechman, where I used to be Director of Programming, as I was at 54 Below for the first few years.

I suppose I’m just pleased to have provided thousands of people with an outlet to revel in the brilliance of Sondheim. People come back to the show again and again since it changes every time we do it. Folks plan their trips to NYC around it. We’ve had visitors from all over the globe. It’s also been an honor to show off some really amazing vocalists whom I happen to be lucky enough to know.

6. What has been the biggest mishap to happen during a performance of Sondheim Unplugged? Oh - there have been missed entrances, missed lyrics, computers that go down, hems torn, etc. But I think the biggest one was probably when we did our Halloween edition - Into Sweeney Todd’s Woods, which featured songs from Sondheim’s spookiest shows. I got it into my head that it would be a good idea to have a smoke machine running when the house opened. So literally people were trying to eat dinner in a flood of fog which then set off the fire alarms. Suddenly, no fewer than three fire trucks and what seemed like twenty hot firemen flooded the space (that part was ok!). What struck me as funny is that, during all of this, strobe lights flashing and firefighters roaming the space, that audience just sat there and kept dining as if nothing was happening. Nothing like an audience full of New Yorkers!

7. Who would you still like to see perform in this series? Oh, I have dreams. Bernadette of course. Christine Baranski. How about Meryl Streep? Glenn Close? Might as well get Jesus Christ whilst we’re at it, hm? John Barrowman, Michael Ball…that would be awfully nice.

But aside from stars, I love stumbling across someone new who just GETS it…Gets Sondheim and is as in love with the catalogue as I am. Joe Goodrich, our MD, is like that. Many of our regular performers can just recite every song from every show like it’s written on the insides of their eyelids. It’s a part of their anatomy — the chemistry which makes them them. So I love finding like-minded people.

8. What are some of your hobbies outside of performing/producing? I’m a writer. I have a few short books out and a novel. I’d like Ryan Murphy to produce my novel, The Last Year at Low Tide, for the screen. Anyone? Anyone?

Phil Geoffrey Bond

9. Rapid Fire Questions:

• Favorite TV show? Carol & Company. It was around for two seasons, 1990 - 91, starring Carol Burnett and a comedy rep company who presented basically a one act play each week. It was magical.
• Favorite Musical? Sunday in the Park with George.
• Favorite Play? Tru, about Truman Capote. It was also the first Broadway show I saw. Starred Robert Morse at The Booth Theatre. He won the Tony. I met him at the stage door and I wrote him fan mail, which he answered. But also - Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Angels in America, Long Day’s Journey Into Night, The Man Who Came to Dinner, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf — you know, the big ones.
• Favorite cereal? Fruit Loops. But I NEVER eat them. Pure sugar.
• Favorite comfort food? Nachos.
• Coffee or Tea? How do you take it? Tea. Black. Every morning. Sometimes at night with a shot of Jameson.
• Favorite Game Show? Hollywood Squares circa the Joan Rivers years.
• Favorite Board Game? Backgammon.
• Go to Karaoke song? I have never and will never sing karaoke.
• Go to Emoji when texting? I don’t use Emoji’s. It’s just not part of my texting vocabulary.
• Boxers or Briefs? Some things should remain in the realm of mystery, no?

10. What is something you'd like my readers to know about you that we didn't get to cover in this interview? We’ve gone into the studio to create a series of Sondheim Unplugged cast albums! Lots of our regular performers and special guests who created roles in Sondheim musicals are on the bill!

Look for it next year from Yellow Sound Label as soon as we can get back into the studio to finish it! Also, we’ll be making our fourth appearance in London in July, 2021.

Phil Geoffrey Bond, Photo Credit: Christine Ashburn

More on Phil Geoffrey Bond:

Phil Geoffrey Bond created Sondheim Unplugged, the long-running, award-winning monthly series, in 2010 and has served as its producer and host ever since. His novel, The Last Year at Low Tide, is currently available on Amazon from Chess Books as well as his other titles - My Queer Youth, Small Town Confessions, The Fall of Mrs. Parsons, The Disney Diaries and All the Sad Young Men. Phil has served as Director of Programming for The Duplex Cabaret Theatre, The Laurie Beechman Theatre as well as Feinstein’s/54 Below, where he later became the Director of Original Programming. He resides in the Hudson River Valley.