A tribute to Sondheim

Written By Annie Bruce

"Phone rings / door chimes / in comes company." It's a foreign concept these days! But even with everyone participating and watching remotely, I felt in good company with musical theater nerds from across the globe on Sunday night. In honor of Stephen Sondheim's 90th birthday, which took place a few weeks ago, Broadway.com organized a tribute concert celebrating his brilliant work that aired on Sunday night. What was supposed to be a live broadcast mixed with pre-taped performances turned into a strictly pre-recorded tribute, after some technical difficulties. The show must go on! And I have to admit, some of my favorite moments of the evening came from the clever tweets from celebrities and fans alike, as we waited for the curtain to open. If you missed the broadcast (which you can watch in its entirety), here are some of the top performances of the night:

Celebrities, they're just like us.: Alright, we'll start with the one you've probably already heard about -- an epic Zoom performance of Ladies Who Lunch from Company featuring Meryl Streep, Christine Baranski and Audra McDonald. In bathrobes. Drinking alcohol. Rolling their eyes. Me, my brother and our respective significant others SCREAMED.
Where to find? Go to 1:58:48 in the video.

The grown-ups are here and they're singing acapella: There was a real shift in energy the second Mandy Patinkin and Bernadette Peters appeared on screen during their separate performances. When they both began to sing without accompaniment, our jaws dropped. Mandy performed a wistful Lesson #8 from Sunday in the Park with George (which he also sang outside in an empty park) and Bernadette wrapped the whole night up with No One is Alone from Into the Woods, a song she doesn't sing in the show but that she always loved.
Where to find? Go to 00:53:45 in the video for Mandy and 2:11:12 for Bernadette.

It's all about THE PROPs (even from home): Broadway eagle eyes (i.e. my brother) noticed right away that as Chip Zien, another original cast member from Into the Woods, gave a touching tribute and began to sing No More, his iconic hat from the production was sitting on the piano. After he finished the beautiful song, he grabbed it and clutched it to his heart.
Where to find? Go to 1:12:49 in the video.

Star power: I didn't know much about Elizabeth Stanley or the Sondheim show A Little Night Music, but after her STUNNING rendition of the highs and lows of The Miller's Son, it won't be easy to forget. I can't say much more -- it's just incredible.
Where to find? Go to 00:48:51 in the video.

Make 'em Laugh:: There are a lot of funny Sondheim songs! But you wouldn't really know that after the livestream, which leaned heavily into more obscure or melancholy ballads (of which there are many to choose from). So two of my favorite performances of the night leaned into humor with Alexander Gemignanit's desk-chair-choreography-filled Buddy's Blues from Follies and Neil Patrick Harris' Witch's Rap from Into the Woods, featuring his adorable kids.
Where to find? Go to 1:37:12 in the video for Alexander and 00:12:01 for Neil.

Bonus Sondheim and Sondheim-adjacent content:

Annie Bruce
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