Sondheim Appears at 9/25 Evening with Cook, LuPone, Etc.

Legendary composer/lyricist Stephen Sondheim, who served as an apprentice at Westport Country Playhouse in Westport, Connecticut 56 years ago, will return to the venerable Playhouse as guest of honor for "The Ladies Who Sing Sondheim."

The evening, a gala tribute performance of Sondheim's works, will take place on Monday, September 25. The benefit will be hosted by Joanne Woodward, artistic director emeritus of Westport Country Playhouse, and Paul Newman.

"The Ladies Who Sing Sondheim"'s star-studded talent includes Tony Award-nominee Laura Benanti (The Wedding Singer, Nine), and Tony Award-winners Kristin Chenoweth (Wicked, You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown), Barbara Cook (The Music Man, She Loves Me) and Patti LuPone (Sweeney Todd, Evita), with other names to join them. The performance will be directed by 2006 Tony Award-winning director John Doyle (Sweeney Todd, Company). Musical direction is by Mary-Mitchell Campbell.

Doyle said, "It is a true privilege to be invited to contribute to an evening honoring Stephen Sondheim. It is also just wonderful to be in the company of some of the finest ladies in musical theatre. The ladies who - sing Sondheim."

The benefit evening will begin with a cocktail reception with Sondheim at 6 p.m., performance at 7:30 p.m., and dinner with celebrity guests at 9 p.m.

Stephen Sondheim's career has spanned nearly 50 years since his Broadway debut in 1957 as the lyricist for West Side Story. Along the way he has won seven Tony Awards, a Pulitzer Prize in Drama, an Academy Award and a 1993 Kennedy Center Lifetime Achievement Award.  He wrote the music and lyrics for A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Anyone Can Whistle, Company, Follies, A Little Night Music, The Frogs, Pacific Overtures, Sweeney Todd, Merrily We Roll Along, Sunday in the Park with George, Into the Woods, Assassins, Passion and Bounce, as well as lyrics for West Side Story, Gypsy, Do I Hear a Waltz? and additional lyrics for Candide.  Film work includes Dick Tracy, Stavisky and Reds.  He is on the Council of the Dramatists Guild and the National Association of Playwrights, Composers and Lyricists, having served as its president from 1973 to 1981.

Funds raised through the evening will further artistic excellence at Westport Country Playhouse. Benefit tickets are $2,000 and $1,000 for cocktail party, performance and dinner; $500 for cocktail party and performance only. Corporate and individual sponsorships with seating for 10 are $25,000. Reservations are limited by the intimate size of the theatre.  Visit www.westportplayhouse.org for more information.