(Maureen Lee Lenker’s article appeared in Entertainment Weekly, 4/21; photo: EW; via Pam Green.)
It’s time for a virtual celebration of 90 years of Stephen Sondheim being alive.
EW can exclusively reveal that Broadway veteran Raúl Esparza will host a star-studded online special commemorating the legendary composer and lyricist’s birthday, “Take Me to the World: A Sondheim 90th Birthday Celebration.” It will stream this Sunday at 8 p.m. ET on Broadway.com and Broadway.com’s YouTube channel.
The concert will bring together some of Broadway and Hollywood’s best to honor Sondheim, with performances by Meryl Streep, Bernadette Peters, Patti LuPone, Audra McDonald, Christine Baranski, Donna Murphy, Kristin Chenoweth, Mandy Patinkin, Sutton Foster, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Kelli O’Hara, Aaron Tveit, Stephen Schwartz, and more. Katrina Lenk will also appear; she, alongside LuPone, was meant to star in a gender-flipped Broadway revival of Company (itself turning 50 this year) slated to open on Sondheim’s actual 90th birthday in March, but that was derailed due to the coronavirus crisis.
