By 1812Blockhouse
The superlatives have been flowing in recent days following the death on Friday of Stephen Sondheim.
The New York Times eulogized Sondheim as the “Titan of the American Musical.” And no wonder. His influence was omnipresent on Broadway.
As shared on Wikipedia, Sondheim started his theatre career by writing the lyrics for West Side Story (1957) and Gypsy (1959) before becoming a composer and lyricist. Sondheim’s best-known works include A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1962), Company (1970), Follies (1971), A Little Night Music (1973), Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (1979), Merrily We Roll Along (1981), Sunday in the Park with George (1984), and Into the Woods (1987).
One of the many tributes taking place in honor of the composer was a performance in Times Square featuring one hundred signers including Lin-Manuel Miranda, Josh Groban, and Sara Bareilles. Their selection to honor Sondheim?
“Sunday” from the musical “Sunday In The Park With George.”
That work was the result of a collaboration between Sondheim and Mansfielder James Lapine. Lapine wrote the book and Sondheim provided music and lyrics; the pair would work together again on Into The Woods and other musicals.
In 2016, we wrote about Lapine, who received the Pulitzer Prize for his work on Sunday In The Park With George. That post can be read here.
The performance in Times Square can be viewed below.
