Stephen Sondheim at The Strathmore

For those who don't really know who Stephen Sondheim is, but might recognize the name, he is the arguably one of the greatest, if not the greatest Broadway musical composer there is.  He has had a part in some of the greatest muscials of this century.  You might recognize one or two:  Saturday Night, West Side Story, Gypsy, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Anyone Can Whistle, Do I Hear a Waltz?, Company, Follies, A Little Night Music, The Frogs, Pacific Overtures, Sweeney Todd, Merrily We Roll Along, Sunday in the Park with George, Into the Woods, Assasins, Passion, Bounce and Road Show.

On November 14th I was able to attend the Sunday at Strathmore with Stephen Sondheim with my sister-in-law, Margaret.  I had been looking forward to it for a long time and it did not disappoint.  This was a talk or interview with Stephen and a Washington Post Theater Critic, Peter Marks.  It lasted about two hours and the time just flew by.  The house was packed and everyone was rapt with attention and enjoyment at listening to Stephen talk about his craft and his life in the theater.  Stephen was witty, self depracating, smart, generous about his collaborators and while he didn't talk about his personal life, he did share lots of wonderful ancecdotes about some of the muscials he had worked on.  He graciously answered Peter's questions, and also many questions from the audience (we were given cards to write our questions and give them to the ushers before the show started).  I was trying to tell my friend Jill about the event earlier this evening during a phone call and I kept bouncing around from topic to topic as I was remembering snippets of his conversation and I am sure I totally confused her.  I know I will remember it much more coherently later on as I have time to think about the afternoon, but I wanted to share what an exciting experience it was.  I certainly hope we haven't heard the last from Stephen, even though he is long past the age where most of us would consider retiring.   

Stephen turned 80 on March 22nd of this year, and Broadway honored him with two birthday concerts at Lincoln Center with the New York Philharmonic and stars from his shows singing their character's songs.  PBS will air the birthday concert on the night before Thanksgiving, November 24th.  This is something I won't be missing!  In addition, a revue of his work played for about 3 months this spring and summer, starring the amazing Barbara Cook, who is also an octogenarian, Tom Wopat, Vanessa Williams, Norm Lewis, Leslie Kritzer, Euan Mortan, Erin Mackey and Matthew Scott at the Roundabout Theater (formerly Studio 54).  I was lucky enough to be able to see it, and I can tell you, it was a wonderful, amazing experience.

The production included the live performances of the great cast and was interspersed with footage, both current day and footage of old intervies, such as his Merv Griffin Show appearances, etc., of Sondheim talking about his shows, his work, his life.  It was very effective and a wonderful way to include Stephen in every show.  I never "got" the song "Franklin Shephard, Inc." until I saw it performed live in this show.  This just confirms my belief that there is nothing else like live theater.  No other medium can compete.  I must confess, I have the soundtrack to this show and I crank it in the car stereo and sing along with all the songs.  I can only imagine what those people sitting next to me at stop lights must be thinking, LOL!

In September of this year, the Henry Miller Theater was renamed the Stephen Sondheim Theater and it's opening show is The Pee Wee Herman Show!  What a fun way to open a new theater.