Loving You: The Untold Sondheim

In the second of two deeply special episodes, Peter E. Jones shares the story of his life and love with Stephen Sondheim – for the first time in over 25 years. In what will be PJ’s official – and only – record of events, he shares the honest and accurate story of how their love transformed both their lives.
“I know the love – the deep, deep, deep love – that Steve had for PJ. He always said, ‘I’ll never be able to love, I’ll never be in love.’ And then it was unlocked, and he was in love.’ – Maria Friedman
30 years on, what can Maria and Mia’s observations tell PJ about the relationship? What was the incredible gesture made by Steve to PJ – which, at the time, PJ didn’t even realise was so special? And reflecting on a lifetime of love and friendship with Steve, what would PJ say to Steve now?
“We had something that never went away. There were times when it made things complicated, but I learned so much from it.” –  Peter E. Jones
CHAPTERS: 
00:00 Maria Friedman: ‘He was in love’
02:08 Steve & PJ - The Story So Far ...
04:16 ‘Passion’ and ‘Peyton Place’
11:15 Maria and Mia
17:56 ‘To PJ, With Love’
20:06 'Just Another Love Story’
31:00 ‘No One Has Ever Loved Me’
34:26 ‘Sunset Boulevard in a Weird Twist’
45:44 PJ & Steve: ‘Songs I Wish I’d Written’
50:01 ‘Bluellow’ from ‘Peyton Place’ by Peter E. Jones
58:13 PJ: ‘You are your choices’
 
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CREDITS
Hosts and Producers: Martin Milnes and Peter E. Jones
Executive Producer: Jason Caffrey
Produced in partnership with: Creative Kin 
Mixing and Mastering: Chris Traves
Directed, Devised and Written by Martin Milnes
 
CAST AND VOICE ACTORS
Matt Bartlett, Mehran James McCullough.
DRAMATIC RE-ENACTMENTS
Written by: Martin Milnes
Produced by: Peter E. Jones
 
MUSIC AND SCORE
Original Score Composed by: Peter E. Jones
Music and Lyrics of Stephen Sondheim: Courtesy of The Stephen Sondheim Trust
Sondheim Instrumental Tracks: Provided by Broadway Studio Orchestra
Music of Stephen Sondheim: Played by Colm Molloy
Theme from Now, Voyager (Steiner): Played by the National Philharmonic Orchestra, conducted by Charles Gerhardt
 
FEATURED SONGS & VOCAL PERFORMANCES
Excerpts from Passion (Sondheim): Sung by Maria Friedman, Jere Shea and Marin Mazzie
‘Numbers’ from Numbers (Peter E. Jones): Sung by James Martin, Angela Parks, Diann Hinson and Peter E. Jones
‘Bluellow’ from Peyton Place (Peter E. Jones): Sung by Lauren Jones and Shane O’Riordan. Produced by Chris Traves with Musical Direction by Gareth Valentine and piano accompaniment by Sam Young

In the first of two deeply special episodes, Peter E. Jones shares the story of his life and love with Stephen Sondheim – for the first time in over 25 years. In what will be PJ’s official – and only – record of events, he shares the honest and accurate account of how their love transformed both their lives.
“PJ was the love of his life. The first person that he really, really, really deeply loved – and wanted it to work out. Big time.” – Mia FarrowHow did a letter from a 24-year-old songwriter lead to Stephen Sondheim falling in love – for the first time in his life? What made this a unique meeting of minds and hearts? And what did Mia Farrow observe about Steve and PJ’s love – which only now PJ can understand for himself?
 
“He saw what I couldn’t see in me, certainly. He saw an individual. He saw aspects of himself, I would say, of lacking self-worth but being talented” – Peter E. Jones
 
CHAPTERS:
00:00 Mia Farrow: ‘PJ was the love of his life’
02:00 Introducing Steve & PJ
05:10 PJ in Wyoming and Denver: ‘A Little Songwriter’
15:02 A Letter to Stephen Sondheim
20:14 Meeting Steve at 246
29:39 A Weekend In The Country
38:47 A Meeting Of Minds 
43:10 Steve’s Inner Circle
54:05 PJ & Mia: ‘The Valley Of Regret’
 
Subscribe to Loving You: The Untold Sondheim on Apple and all good podcast apps to get every episode the moment it is released.
 
SUPPORT THE SHOW:
► SUBSCRIBE to Loving You: The Untold Sondheim in your podcast app and be sure to get every episode the moment it is released.
► RATE & REVIEW Leave a review in your podcast app and tell other Sondheim fans why they should listen.
► SHARE Don't keep it to yourself! Share Loving You: The Untold Sondheim with other Sondheim fans you know.
► FOLLOW Loving You: The Untold Sondheim on Instagram.
 
CREDITS
Hosts and Producers: Martin Milnes and Peter E. Jones
Executive Producer: Jason Caffrey
Produced in partnership with: Creative Kin 
Mixing and Mastering: Chris Traves
Directed, Devised and Written by Martin Milnes
 
CAST AND VOICE ACTORS
Alistair McGowan, Eddie Andrews, Charlotte Page, Arthur Magee, Victoria Ward, Jonathan Christopher, Mehran James McCullough – and featuring Steven Clar as himself (by special arrangement with Claire Stevens).

DRAMATIC RE-ENACTMENTS
Written by: Martin Milnes
Produced by: Peter E. Jones
 
MUSIC AND SCORE
Original Score Composed by: Peter E. Jones
Music and Lyrics of Stephen Sondheim: Courtesy of The Stephen Sondheim Trust
Sondheim Instrumental Tracks: Provided by Broadway Studio Orchestra
Music of Stephen Sondheim: Played by Colm Molloy
 
FEATURED SONGS & VOCAL PERFORMANCES
‘Beautiful Briny’ (Sherman & Sherman): Sung by Mike Sammes
‘Perfect Strangers’ (Rodgers & Charnin): Sung by Jane Powell and Hugh O’Brian.
Excerpts from Passion (Sondheim): Sung by Donna Murphy and Peter E. Jones

Stephen Sondheim longed to be a father. Sadly, this dream was denied him. Yet although Steve never had children of his own, he was a father figure to countless loved ones – and their children. Join Sondheim’s chum Martin Milnes and Steve’s first love Peter E. Jones as they chat to the children – and parents – whose lives were touched by Steve’s love.
“He was terribly into magic. Steve would put on these little magic shows for us. Traditional magic tricks: the wand with the handkerchiefs coming out.” – Walter E. SondheimWhat did Steve’s half-brother Walter accidentally discover about his family history? What was the common bond shared by mother and son Mia and Ronan Farrow in their friendships with Steve? And what has Steve’s love meant to Maria and her children?
“He found a lot of lost souls, lost people searching, and gave them a meaning and a way forward. It gave them an opportunity to find and make friends with themselves as fallible, fractured people.” – Maria Friedman 
00:00 Dame Julie Andrews: ‘Oh, Steve! I’m pregnant!’
02:40 Martin & PJ: Steve’s Regret
04:12 Walter E. Sondheim: ‘Steve’s really my half-brother!’
15:02 Jamie Bernstein: ‘But we didn’t lose Steve!’
24:38 Mia Farrow: ‘The Old Woman in the Shoe’
27:38 Ronan Farrow: ‘This Extraordinary Polymath’ 
35:10 Mia Farrow: ‘I’ll never have anyone remotely like that’
38:38 Maria Friedman: ‘Stephen Song-Guy The Sandwich Man’
48:50 Walter E. Sondheim: ‘We’re going to see Uncle Steve!’
 
Subscribe to Loving You: The Untold Sondheim on Apple and all good podcast apps to get every episode the moment it is released.
 
SUPPORT THE SHOW:
► SUBSCRIBE to Loving You: The Untold Sondheim in your podcast app and be sure to get every episode the moment it is released.
► RATE & REVIEW Leave a review in your podcast app and tell other Sondheim fans why they should listen.
► SHARE Don't keep it to yourself! Share Loving You: The Untold Sondheim with other Sondheim fans you know.
► FOLLOW Loving You: The Untold Sondheim on Instagram.
 
CREDITS
Hosts and Producers: Martin Milnes and Peter E. Jones
Executive Producer: Jason Caffrey
Produced in partnership with: Creative Kin 
Mixing and Mastering: Chris Traves
Directed, Devised and Written by Martin Milnes
 
CAST AND VOICE ACTORS
Daniel Cane, Arthur Magee, Tess Hollins, Rebecca Ridout, James Gower-Smith, Mehran James McCullough

DRAMATIC RE-ENACTMENTS
Written by: Martin Milnes
Produced by: Peter E. Jones
 
MUSIC AND SCORE
Original Score Composed by: Peter E. Jones
Music and Lyrics of Stephen Sondheim: Courtesy of The Stephen Sondheim Trust
Sondheim Instrumental Tracks: Provided by Broadway Studio Orchestra
Music of Stephen Sondheim and Leonard Bernstein: Played by Colm Molloy
‘How Are Things In Glocca Mora?’ (Lane & Harburg) and ‘Somewhere’ (Bernstein & Sondheim): Played by Steve Ross as Herbert Sondheim

FEATURED SONGS & VOCAL PERFORMANCES
‘No One Is Alone’ (Sondheim): Sung by Chip Zien and Kim Crosby
‘Lucky To Be Me’ (Bernstein, Comden & Green): Sung by Lauren Bacall, accompanied by Leonard Bernstein

The world views Steve as an icon – and to many an icon is 'intimidating'. Steve’s presence and reputation seemed to bring theatrical giants to their knees ... but was this label as a scary intellectual really warranted? Join Sondheim’s chum Martin Milnes and Steve’s first love Peter E. Jones for a unique investigation. With the aid of a glittering cast – including Patti LuPone, Mia Farrow, Christine Baranski, Maria Friedman, Adam Guettel, Ronan Farrow and Dame Judi Dench – can Martin and PJ solve the Sondheim mysteries which for decades have baffled and been misunderstood?
 
“His being socially uncomfortable would read to people as if he was mean, or off-putting. It was never that. He just wasn’t a mean guy. The most talented people are the least mean.” – Adam Guettel
Why did Steve object to Mia’s striped socks? How did Christine overcome her fear of singing in front of Steve? And what answers can PJ provide Patti about her bumpy moments with Sondheim ‘The Genius’?
 
“But can I just tell you one thing, now that Steve has passed, that has people laughing their ass off?” – Patti LuPone
CHAPTERS:
00:00 Christine Baranski: ‘That’s what it meant to me’
05:06 ‘Intimidating’ & ‘Prickly’: Debating The Myth
11:25 Andre, Maria & Frank: Understanding Steve
17:31 The Cocktail Party & Adam’s Callers
22:53 Steve & Mary and Mia’s Socks
26:22 Rivalries: Menotti, Lenny and Gilbert
30:43 Introducing Laurence Guittard
32:08 Steve & Larry: ‘An unanswerable question’
43:57 In Praise of ‘Winterset’ 
49:24 Patti LuPone: ‘Steve Sondheim is yelling at me!’
1:00:26 A Black Onyx Heart: Our Investigation Concludes
 
Subscribe to Loving You: The Untold Sondheim on Apple and all good podcast apps to get every episode the moment it is released.
 
SUPPORT THE SHOW:
► SUBSCRIBE to Loving You: The Untold Sondheim in your podcast app and be sure to get every episode the moment it is released.
► RATE & REVIEW Leave a review in your podcast app and tell other Sondheim fans why they should listen.
► SHARE Don't keep it to yourself! Share Loving You: The Untold Sondheim with other Sondheim fans you know.
► FOLLOW Loving You: The Untold Sondheim on Instagram.
 
CREDITS
Hosts and Producers: Martin Milnes and Peter E. Jones
Executive Producer: Jason Caffrey
Produced in partnership with: Creative Kin 
Mixing and Mastering: Chris Traves
Directed, Devised and Written by Martin Milnes
 
CAST AND VOICE ACTORS
Dame Judi Dench, Yeukayi Ushe, Melissa Redman, Jonny-James Kajoba, Sarah Simmons, Ann Wakefield, Jonathan Christopher, Rebecca Ridout, James Gower-Smith, Mehran James McCullough.

DRAMATIC RE-ENACTMENTS
Written by: Martin Milnes
Produced by: Peter E. Jones
 
MUSIC AND SCORE
Original Score Composed by: Peter E. Jones
Music and Lyrics of Stephen Sondheim: Courtesy of The Stephen Sondheim Trust
Sondheim Instrumental Tracks: Provided by Broadway Studio Orchestra
Music of Stephen Sondheim: Played by Colm Molloy
‘Well, Did You Evah?’ (Porter) and ‘Isn’t It Romantic?’ (Rodgers & Hart): Played by Steve Ross

FEATURED SONGS & VOCAL PERFORMANCES
‘Everybody Wants To Do A Musical’ (Strouse & Maltby): Sung by Christine Baranski
‘Celebration’ (Schmidt & Jones): Sung by Keith Charles
‘Teresa! Oh, Little Word So Glibly Spoken’ from The Mountebanks (Gilbert & Guittard): Sung by Martin Milnes, produced by Chris Traves, with Musical Direction by Gareth Valentine
‘Love Duet’ from Winterset (Guittard): Sung by Rebecca Pitcher and Chad Johnson, with Musical Direction by Jack Lee and piano accompaniment by Jean Browne

What was it like to collaborate with Stephen Sondheim writing musical masterpieces? For actors, how did it feel to work with Steve, interpreting
that art? And what is Steve’s legacy to those close personal friends who were also his dearest colleagues? Join Steve’s chum Martin Milnes, and first love Peter E. Jones, for a series of poignant and intimate chats, as Sondheim's book writers and definitive performers reveal the personal sides to Sondheim’s genius.
“His book writers were his family. They were his brothers, his sisters, his children, his family. They were the gold star. You do not get between him and them.” – Maria Friedman
Discover how Steve’s collaborations with James Lapine and John Weidman developed into enduring friendships; Steve’s lunchtime visit to a high school which became a formative experience for Lin-Manuel Miranda; and how Dame Judi Dench felt about singing ‘Send In The Clowns’ for Steve’s 80th birthday. 
“I would email him the dumbest stuff like an ice-cream truck in Queens that plays ‘Send In The Clowns’ – to which his response was ‘Very upsetting. Thank you so much.’” – Lin-Manuel Miranda
CHAPTERS:
00:00 Side By Side: Millicent Martin & Julia McKenzie
06:58 Introducing Steve’s Collaborators
10:02 ‘Stepbrothers’: James Lapine & John Weidman
25:26 ‘What was it like?’: Lin-Manuel Miranda
31:42 ‘The care that went into it’: Jeremy Sams
38:46 ‘Send In The Clowns’: Len Cariou and Dame Judi Dench
Subscribe to Loving You: The Untold Sondheim on Apple and all good podcast apps to get every episode the moment it is released.
 
SUPPORT THE SHOW:
► SUBSCRIBE to Loving You: The Untold Sondheim in your podcast app and be sure to get every episode the moment it is released.
► RATE & REVIEW Leave a review in your podcast app and tell other Sondheim fans why they should listen.
► SHARE Don't keep it to yourself! Share Loving You: The Untold Sondheim with other Sondheim fans you know.
► FOLLOW Loving You: The Untold Sondheim on Instagram.
 
CREDITS
Hosts and Producers: Martin Milnes and Peter E. Jones
Executive Producer: Jason Caffrey
Produced in partnership with: Creative Kin 
Mixing and Mastering: Chris Traves
Directed, Devised and Written by Martin Milnes
 
CAST AND VOICE ACTORS
Alistair McGowan, Karcsi Wright, Jérôme Giquel, Nathalie Mrgudovic, Mehran James McCullough.

DRAMATIC RE-ENACTMENTS
Written by: Martin Milnes
Produced by: Peter E. Jones
 
MUSIC AND SCORE
Original Score Composed by: Peter E. Jones
Music and Lyrics of Stephen Sondheim: Courtesy of The Stephen Sondheim Trust
Sondheim and Bernstein Instrumental Tracks: Provided by Broadway Studio Orchestra
Music of Jule Styne: Played by Colm Molloy