Home ›› 28 Nov 2021 ›› Show Biz
Legendary Broadway songwriter Stephen Sondheim, widely credited with revolutionizing American musical theatre, died Friday at the age of 91.
Sondheim -- a lyricist and composer known for works including “West Side Story” and “Sweeney Todd” -- died suddenly in his Connecticut home the day after celebrating Thanksgiving with friends, his attorney F Richard Pappas said.
The publicist for the ongoing Broadway production of Sondheim’s musical “Company” at the Bernard B Jacobs Theatre, Rick Miramontez, confirmed the news to AFP.
“We have lost the Shakespeare of musical theatre,” said Marianne Elliott, the director of “Company,” in a statement shared on the production’s Twitter page.
Before the show, Elliott and the cast took to the stage to join the audience in a standing ovation for the songwriter. Outside the theatre, one attendee wrapped up against the cold of a New York November, Mike Morris, said: “It’s the end of an era. This is a person who revolutionized American musical theater.”
Another theater-goer, Austin Philemon, called Sondheim “a monumental figure in music theater history.”
“He’s going to be remembered for hundreds of years,” he added.
Born on March 22, 1930 in New York City, Sondheim was involved in musical theatre from an early age, even though both of his parents worked in the fashion industry.
