NEW YORK — Some of Broadway’s best gathered in Times Square on Sunday to pay a very fitting tribute to one of the greats of musical theater.
Performers including Lin-Manuel Miranda, Laura Benanti and Josh Groban packed Father Duffy Square to honor Stephen Sondheim, who died Friday at the age of 91.
The legendary lyricist and composer, whose works included “West Side Story,” “Sweeney Todd” and “Into the Woods,” was influential to generations of artists.
On this Sunday… on an island… @Lin_Manuel reading the words of the late great #StephenSondheim… pic.twitter.com/wAb10IFlye
— Frank DiLella (@fdilella) November 28, 2021
The event’s attendees sang a rendition of “Sunday” from Sondheim’s classic musical “Sunday in the Park with George.”
“No matter what part of the music business we are all in, everybody here, at some point, was brought there by the music of Stephen Sondheim,” Groban explained. “And so, you know, as we grieve the loss of one the great masters of all time, what else can we do but to celebrate him with his music?”
Benanti, meanwhile, said Sondheim’s death felt “like the end of something really important.”
“This one really hurts,” she said. “But the good news is, I look around at all these other theaters. None of these shows would exist if it weren’t for him.”
“I don’t think a single composer living today could say they haven’t been influenced by him,” she added. “And his music will live forever.”
Sondheim won nine Tony Awards and a Pulitzer Prize. He is survived by his husband.