Musical theatre greats to be performed at Sunderland's Fire Station, from Gypsy to West Side Story

Bishopwearmouth Choral Society is now in its 75th year, making the group the longest continually running choral society in the North East.

Made up of more than 50 singers, who perform three concerts a year, their latest performance will mark a new home in the city.

They’ll be performing at The Fire Station auditorium, a move which they hope will attract even more people to their shows.

The first concert in their new home will be An Evening at the Theatre with Stephen Sondheim, featuring lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and music by Stephen Sondheim, Leonard Bernstein, Mary Rogers, Richard Rogers and Jule Styne.

There will be plenty of familiar tunes in there from the undoubted giant of American musical theatre.

The show celebrates the large body of work Sondheim produced from the outset of his career, when he was a lyricist for Jule Styne’s show Gypsy, and more famously Leonard Bernstein’s West Side Story.

The American composer also had a whole raft of shows in his own name, for example: A Little Night Music, Follies, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum and Company.

A spokesperson for the choral society said: “These songs live on in their own right as little masterpieces. Astonishingly this revue, created in the mid 1970’s, was written before the emergence of his greatest works, in the form of Sweeney Todd and Into the Woods, so we’ve added more material to bring things up to date, and we’ve also rewritten the libretto which connects all the songs together.

"Sondheim’s treatment of his dim view of humankind can be both incredibly funny and incredibly sad as the context of the song changes within the drama. The songs you hear tonight will make you laugh and make you cry – they are about life. They are often provocative, racy, slightly outrageous.

"It’s no surprise that now much of his work finds itself in opera houses where the complexity of his music can be taken on board more easily not only by opera companies but also by their audiences."

The show will consist of four singers, who also introduce the songs and put them in their context as well as delivering some funny anecdotes, two pianists, and Bishopwearmouth Choral Society.

Soloists on the night will be: Laurie Ashworth, Sally Johnson, Nick Hurndall Smith, Terence Ayebare with pianists: Eileen Bown and David Murray.

Bishopwearmouth Choral Society is well established, having given its first performance in 1949 and new members are always welcome.

The group rehearses on Wednesday evenings at Sunderland Minster from 7.30pm - 9.30pm and anyone interested in joining can just turn up on the night.

:: An Evening at the Theatre with Stephen Sondheim takes place at The Fire Station on Sunday, June 25 at 7.30pm. Tickets are priced £20 each and are available from the Fire Station at sunderlandculture.org.uk