About a week into quarantine in 2020, Andrew Fox woke up with a hair metal version of "The Ladies Who Lunch" singing in his head, so the pajama-clad composer hopped onto Facebook Live and shared it, accompanying himself on piano with a few lighting bolt graphics in play. Not long after, he called up friend and fellow composer Justin Friello and said, "I have this idea..."
That idea was new arrangements of Stephen Sondheim tunes in unexpected styles. Friello, who considers himself as a Sondheim-purist, was convinced when Fox challenged him to do a number from Sunday in the Park With George inspired by another of his faves, Dave Matthews Band. Initially, Fox and Friello planned a 13-song concert, but the pandemic forced a switch to video. Along with a host of music and video collaborators, the Sondheim, In the Style Of... series was born. Watch the latest video above, an orchestral-pop rendition of "Another Hundred People" from Company, featuring Friello with songstress Eleri Ward (who last year made a name for herself with her album of Sufjan Stevens-inspired Sondheim arrangements).
In addition to that glam-rock "The Ladies Who Lunch," we hear there's also a funkadelic version of "Beautiful" from Sunday in the Park With George called "Bootyful" floating around (we're ready). For now, though, check out the first five videos from the series below.
Michael Hunter's One-man Band, Live-looping "There Is No Other Way" from Pacific Overtures
Andrew Fox's Pop-punk "Being Alive" from Company
Justin Friello's DMB-inspired "Lesson #8" from Sunday in the Park With George
Andrew Fox and Scott Interrante's New Wave Synthpop "Johanna (Quartet) from Sweeney Todd
Kaho Kidoguchi and Dan Keller's Retro J-Pop "Everybody Says Don't" from Anyone Can Whistle
The video series is mixed, mastered, and edited by Tom Rosato of Zena Mastering and Andrew Berkowitz. Find the whole playlist here.