There’s an edge of febrile hilarity in the National Theatre rehearsal room. The company of Here We Are, Stephen Sondheim’s final musical, are off-book and getting the first act on its feet. But hitting your cues in a show as intricate as this is tough, whoever you are.
Jane Krakowski fluffs an entrance and tries not to corpse. Martha Plimpton raises a glass a second after everyone else, and a cast-mate blows a raspberry from the sidelines. Jesse Tyler Ferguson is convinced it’s not him who is a beat off. “Do it exactly like Rory does,” suggests director Joe Mantello, and Rory Kinnear responds mock-haughtily: “That’s just a general note.”
