Brian Cheney and Cathy Venable's 'Composer Series' Will Continue With a Tribute to Stephen Sondheim

Critically acclaimed artists Brian Cheney and Cathy Venable, performing together virtually from their homes for the last 12 months of the COVID-19 pandemic, have launched their latest concert series on Stageit entitled "Composer Series". After the success of their first composer programs featuring Leonard Bernstein, John Kander, W.A. Mozart, and Oliver Ostermann, they are primed and ready to pay tribute to Broadway legend, Stephen Sondheim Thursday 5/20 at 7pm EST.

Stephen Sondheim has been praised for having reinvented the American musical with shows that tackle unexpected themes that range far beyond the genre's traditional subjects with music and lyrics of unprecedented complexity and sophistication. His shows have been acclaimed for addressing darker, more harrowing elements of the human experience, with songs often tinged with ambivalence about various aspects of life. His best-known works as composer and lyricist include A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1962), Company (1970), Follies (1971), A Little Night Music (1973), Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (1979), Sunday in the Park with George (1984), and Into the Woods (1987). He is also known for writing the lyrics for West Side Story (1957) and Gypsy (1959).

Hailed by KUSC Los Angeles as the "next great tenor", Cheney embodies the definition of versatility. During this once in a lifetime global pandemic, Brian Cheney has performed over 30 concert programs ranging from Opera, Operetta and Art Song to Broadway, Movie and Disney Musicals. He leaves one thinking, "Is there anything he can't sing?"

Venable is a one woman tour de force having served as conductor and pianist for many productions including Associate Conductor for the first National Tour of Frozen. She has held similar positions in National Tours such as The Phantom of the Opera and The Sound of Music. A classically trained pianist, Venable has served as Assistant Conductor and rehearsal pianist with companies such as Salt Marsh Opera and Light Opera Oklahoma as well as playing in numerous Broadway pits.

Tickets for Composer Series - Stephen Sondheim are "pay what you can."