As the Broadway community continues to mourn the loss of legendary composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim, who passed away on November 26, at age 91, The Broadway League announced that the Committee of Theatre Owners will dim the lights of Broadway theaters in NYC for one minute on Wednesday, December 8, at exactly 6:30 pm, to commemorate his life and work.
“It is impossible to measure Stephen Sondheim’s impact on the world of musical theater,” said Charlotte St. Martin, President of The Broadway League. “During a career that spanned nearly 65 years, he created music and lyrics that have become synonymous with Broadway – from Gypsy and West Side Story to A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Follies, Into the Woods, Sweeney Todd, Sunday in the Park with George, and too many more to name. It is hard to imagine Broadway without him, but we know his legacy will live on for many years to come, including in this season’s revival of Company opening December 9.”
In 1985, Sondheim was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for Sunday in the Park with George. In 2008, he was honored with the Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement. He received Tony Awards as composer and/or lyricist for his work on A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1963), Company (1971), Follies (1972), A Little Night Music (1973), Sweeney Todd (1979), Into the Woods (1988), and Passion (1994), in addition to Tony nominations for his work on West Side Story (1958), Gypsy (1960), Do I Hear a Waltz? (1965), Pacific Overtures (1976), Merrily We Roll Along (1982), and Sunday in the Park with George (1984). His other Broadway credits include Assassins (2004), The Frogs (2004), several musical revues, and the play Getting Away with Murder (1996). His shows have toured extensively and continue to be produced all over the country and the world.
The Stephen Sondheim Theatre, formerly Henry Miller’s Theatre, at 124 West 43rd Street, was dedicated in March 2010, making him one of only three composers, along with George Gershwin and Richard Rodgers, whose name adorns a Broadway theater. His legacy will live on there, in his iconic work, and in all the people he touched with his kindness and genius.
