Loving You: The Untold Sondheim

Sondheim's list of 'Songs I Wish I’d Written (At Least In Part)' sparks memories and insights from Broadway's finest musical talents.

Hosts Martin Milnes and Peter E. Jones sit down with a powerhouse line-up of Broadway giants to explore the private, generous, and highly sentimental side of Stephen Sondheim. 

Sondheim's esteemed friends and colleagues John Kander, Richard Maltby Jr, David Shire, Jonathan Tunick and Maury Yeston offer an unprecedented and unique view of Sondheim's musicianship, artistry and love of his friends' work.

From glittering 1960s parties to intimate evenings drinking wine and listening to records in Sondheim's study, we learn, including through unpublished Sondheim emails, the respect and support this legendary composer-lyricist offered his peers.

Hear how a young Jonathan Tunick was hired to orchestrate Company over 10 scotches, the true origins of the song "Being Alive," and how Steve's list of 'Songs I Wish I'd Written (At Least In Part)' served as his ultimate love letter to his peers.

CHAPTERS:

00:00 - Introduction: John Kander on Sondheim's Compassion and Generosity 

05:16 - "Songs I Wish I'd Written": Exploring Sondheim’s Famous List 

08:29 - Falling in Love Over Music: Peter E Jones and Stephen Sondheim 

10:50 - The Prince Parties and Early Broadway Struggles: Maltby & Shire 

17:35 - Sondheim's Secret Sentimentality 

24:04 - Jonathan Tunick: Orchestrating the Genius of Stephen Sondheim 

30:12 - "He Played What He Wrote": The Unique Process of Orchestrating Sondheim 

35:29 - Maury Yeston: Sondheim’s Generosity and Modesty 

43:42 - Peter E. Jones' Song On The List: "Bluellow"
46:31 - John Kander: A 70-year Friendship

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: Phoebe Murdoch, Chris Traves
Directed, Devised and Written by Martin Milnes

CAST AND VOICE ACTORS
Alistair McGowan, Eddie Andrews, Rebecca Ridout, Nathanael Hodgkiss, Taaron Jeram, Jude Peters, Melissa Redman, Mitchell Walsh, Jonathan Christopher, 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

Songs Produced & Mastered by: Chris Traves

Musical Direction: Gareth Valentine

Piano Accompaniment: Sam Young

Sondheim Instrumental Tracks: Provided by Broadway Studio Orchestra

Music of Stephen Sondheim: Played by Colm Molloy

"Comedy Tonight": Played by Gareth Valentine

"How Does the Wine Taste?" (Vamp): Composed by Harold Karr

"Make A Wish" (Overture): Composed by Hugh Martin

"A Hero's Love" (from The Sap of Life): Played by David Shire
"Matchmaker, Matchmaker": Played by Steve Ross

"Marlowe's Theme" (from Farewell, My Lovely) & "Salsatian" (from Saturday Night Fever): Composed by David Shire

FEATURED SONGS & VOCAL PERFORMANCES

"Travel" (by Maltby & Shire): Sung by Chloe Hopcroft, Nic Myers and Kit Pakapom

"New Words" (by Maury Yeston): Sung by Lauren Jones

"The Golden Willow Tree" (by Aaron Copland): Sung by Bruce Graham

"Home" (by Kander and Ebb): Sung by Mildred Natwick and the original Broadway cast of 70 Girls, 70

"I'll Never Go There Anymore" (by Moose Charlap and Eddie Lawrence): Screeched by Moose Charlap on the original composers' demo tape

"Hard Hearted Hannah" (by Milton Ager, Jack Yellen, Bob Bigelow and Charles Bates): Sung by Belle Baker
"To Be Alive" and "How Do You Do I Love You?": Sung by Richard Maltby Jr and played by David Shire

Excerpt from "Bluellow" (by Peter E. Jones): Sung by Lauren Jones and Shane O'Riordan

In this unprecedented tribute to legendary Broadway composer Stephen Sondheim, hosts Martin Milnes and Peter E. Jones open a deeply personal window onto the Sondheim they knew and loved. 

Peter – known affectionately as PJ – was Stephen Sondheim's former partner and first love. For 30 years, PJ remained at Steve's side as his lifelong trusted ally. Martin was Steve's close friend in the last six years of his life, bonding over a shared passion for obscure old movies.

Together, PJ and Martin draw back the curtain on Stephen Sondheim's life away from spotlight; sharing the 'Steve' which only his friends got to see. 

They share intimate memories from inside Stephen Sondheim's New York townhouse at 246 East 49th Street, including the famous "Six O'Clock Slot" – a cherished time when Sondheim loved to entertain guests with pure conversation and drinks. 

And previously unheard stories of celebrity visitors, including Judy Garland, Barbra Streisand, and Bradley Cooper.

Stephen Sondheim's passion for Golden Age movies is uncovered, as well as the profound difference between his carefully curated public persona and the private optimist his friends knew.

As a finale, Martin and PJ welcome a very special guest: Dame Julie Andrews.

As a global musical theatre icon famed for landmark Broadway roles including Eliza Doolittle in My Fair Lady and Queen Guinevere in Camelot, Dame Julie was a peer and lifelong friend of Stephen Sondheim. She recalls shared holidays - and how she would always "weep at Sondheim".

Subscribe to Loving You: The Untold Sondheim on Apple and all good podcast apps to get every episode the moment it is released.

CHAPTERS:

00:00 - Introducing Stephen Sondheim: The man behind the legend

08:10 - Stephen Sondheim’s first love: Peter E Jones

11:59 - The "Six O'Clock Slot": Inside Sondheim’s New York townhouse

14:03 - Famous Faces: Judy Garland, Barbra Streisand & Bradley Cooper

18:05 - Sondheim's Obsession with Golden Age Cinema

29:28 - The Public Persona vs. The Private Optimist

34:07 - Sondheim, Bernstein and Robbins: Making West Side Story

38:17 - Professional Jealousy & The Complexities of Being an Icon

43:00 - Sondheim’s Early Years: A Complicated Childhood
47:20 - Julie Andrews: A Six-Decade Friendship

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 association with: Creative Kin 

Mixing and Mastering: Phoebe Murdoch, Chris Traves
Directed, Devised and Written by Martin Milnes

Cast & Voice Actors

Newscasters: Samuel Black, Maya Post, Jonathan Bruce-King, James Gower Smith, Rebecca Ridout, Bruce Graham, Yeukayi Ushe, Elen Mon Wayne, Susan Fleet and Jonathan Christopher
Julie & Steve's Alderney Photographer: Alan Milnes
Credits: Mehran James McCullough

Music & Score
Original Podcast Score: Composed by Peter E. Jones
Instrumental Tracks (Sondheim and Bernstein): Provided by Broadway Studio Orchestra
Music of Stephen Sondheim: Played by Colm Molloy
"Too Many Mornings": Played by Gareth Valentine
Party Pianist: Steve Ross (Played "How About You?" by Burton Lane and Ralph Freed)

Featured Songs & Vocal Performances:
"Some Enchanted Evening" (Rodgers & Hammerstein) & "Luck Be A Lady" (Frank Loesser): Sung by Barbra Streisand
"If You Hadn't, But You Did" (Jule Styne, Betty Comden and Adolph Green): Sung by Martin Milnes
"You're Just in Love" (Irving Berlin): Sung by Ethel Merman
"Soliloquy" (Rodgers & Hammerstein): Sung by John Raitt
"Epiphany" (Stephen Sondheim): Sung by Len Cariou
"I Have a Love" (Bernstein & Sondheim): Sung by Dame Julie Andrews and Carol Burnett
"Then You May Take Me to the Fair" (Lerner and Loewe): Sung by Dame Julie Andrews
"As Time Goes By": Written by Herman Hupfeld
"Something Good": Composed by Richard Rodgers
"33 Sondheim Numbers in 5 Minutes": Performed by Ferris and Milnes (Official music video available on YouTube)

Acknowledgements & Permissions
Lena Horne Audio: Used by kind permission of Ms. Horne's granddaughter, Jenny Lumet, and her daughter, the late Gail Lumet Buckley.
Special Thanks to: Joshua Ellis, James L. Nederlander, and Christina Selby.

Discover the Stephen Sondheim his friends knew and loved.

Premieres on 5 March 2026

Loving You: The Untold Sondheim is an unprecedented new podcast series that paints an intimate and candid portrait of the man behind the myth.

Hosted by Stephen Sondheim’s close friend, Martin Milnes, and his first love, Peter E Jones, this series offers a deeply personal look at Sondheim’s life. Through exclusive, never-before-released emails and informal chats, we draw back the curtain on the genius who changed musical theatre forever.

Season 1 features celebrity voices from Steve’s inner circle, including 

Julie Andrews, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Patti LuPone, Mia Farrow, Ronan Farrow and Maria Friedman. 

Whether you are a lifelong fan or new to his work, this is Sondheim as he was known by those who loved him best.

"I have to say that I absolutely adored him. If he had said, ‘Would you marry me?’ I think I would've seriously considered it because he was so darned attractive in an amazing way." — Julie Andrews

Subscribe to Loving You: The Untold Sondheim in your podcast app to get every episode the moment it is released.

CHAPTERS:

00:00 The Personal Side of Broadway Giant Stephen Sondheim

00:34 Meet the Hosts: Steve’s Friend Martin Milnes and First Love Peter E Jones

00:50 An Unprecedented Tribute: Friends, Encouragers and Partners

01:09 Exclusive Insights: Unpublished Emails and Untold Stories

01:29 Loving You: A Podcast by Sondheim’s Friends, with Sondheim’s Friends

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 Insta at Instagram.

CREDITS

Hosts and Producers: Martin Milnes and Peter E. Jones

Executive Producer: Jason Caffrey

Produced in association with: Creative Kin 

Audio Engineer: Chris Traves
Original Score: Peter E. Jones
Devised, Directed and Written by Martin Milnes