Opening tomorrow at VAULT Creative Arts Waterloo Venue The Glitch, Jordana Belaiche and Grace O’Keefe will be performing in their self-described ‘campy love letter to Sondheim’. The cabaret show explores what it means to make art, the lack of a female musical theatre canon, and how we supposedly “Summon Sondheim” every time we’re in a theatre. So bring your Ouija boards and strap in, as we catch up for a pixelated pint before the show’s run begins, to talk all things Sondheim and Séance.

You can catch Summoning Sondheim at The Glitch in Waterloo, London, from tomorrow 26th March until April 7th at 7pm (60mins). Tickets are available through the Venue’s Online Box Office.

Across the pond? You can catch Summoning Sondheim at 54 Below, New York City, on October 23rd at 9:30pm (60mins). Tickets are available through the Venue’s Online Box Office.

Jake: Hi Grace & Jordana, Summoning Sondheim is your upcoming cabaret comedy séance that attempts to bring about the spirit of someone from musical theatre’s past… Tell us about that person and what inspired you to make the piece.

Grace & Jordana: Stephen Sondheim is a legend of musical theatre to so many theatre kids, including us. Often described as a God of theatre even in his own lifetime, he bridged the gap between Golden Age Musicals and contemporary MT. Importantly, he was more than just a great creative, he believed teaching was sacred and cared about fostering the next generation of musical theatre creatives. At its core, Summoning Sondheim is about his legacy as a mentor, a teacher, and a parental figure to so many of us who love and create musicals and “the art of making art”.

Jake: You describe the piece as a ‘campy love letter’ to Sondheim, tell us about the process of curating the show and what you were aiming for.

Grace & Jordana: We’ve been developing this show since February 2024, when we debuted our first WIP also at the Glitch Waterloo (before its recent remodel). Since then we’ve taken the show to Brighton, Camden, and Edinburgh Fringe and the Seven Dials Playhouse in the West End. Each run of the show has changed fairly significantly, between each iteration, we’ve done rewrites based on audience feedback and our own experience performing. It goes beyond a tribute to Sondheim, it is a séance with original music that channels the spirit of Sondheim to explore the deep, parasocial connection many of us have with those we have lost. While being a laugh a minute!

Jake: What are you hoping the audience might take away from the experience, if anything?

Grace & Jordana: We often get people in who are intrigued by the séance, but are unfamiliar with Sondheim’s work and leave saying they have a newfound respect and interest in him as both a person and an artist. And for those who are Sondheim lovers, I hope it gives them a chance to celebrate him and remember him. Everyone should leave with  an excitement and connection for the talent emerging in musical theatre, especially all the great women! Also, it’s madcap, and a comedy – so we want them to have a hoot.

Jake: Tell us about how the show has ended up being performed at The Glitch and about your relationships with the other creatives involved.

Grace & Jordana: It’s really exciting because the show’s journey started at the Glitch, so it feels very full circle to be back there for this big two week London run! Our next booked dates are in New York City at 54 Below, “Broadway’s Living Room”. The revamped Glitch is in the round, which is a very exciting challenging prospect for our director, the brilliant Bel Parker. Bel attended our first WIP without really knowing Sondheim’s work, but has fallen in love with Sondheim (he has that effect) over the course of directing and creating the show with us.  That perspective has allowed us to develop the show for a larger audience, so more people are introduced to Sondheim.

Jake: Given the themes of Binge Fringe, if your show was a beverage of any kind (alcoholic, non-alcoholic – be as creative as you like!), what would it be and why?

Grace & Jordana: Another vodka stinger.

A reminder… You can catch Summoning Sondheim at The Glitch in Waterloo, London, from tomorrow 26th March until April 7th at 7pm (60mins). Tickets are available through the Venue’s Online Box Office.

Across the pond? You can catch Summoning Sondheim at 54 Below, New York City, on October 23rd at 9:30pm (60mins). Tickets are available through the Venue’s Online Box Office.