| Take Me to the World: A Sondheim 90th Birthday Celebration | |
|---|---|
| Genre | Musical benefit concert |
| Directed by | Paul Wontorek |
| Opening theme | "Prologue" fromFollies |
| Ending theme | "I'm Still Here" fromFollies |
| Composer | Stephen Sondheim |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Original language | English |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
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| Producer | Raúl Esparza |
| Production location | Virtual |
| Animator | Ryan Casey |
| Editors |
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| Camera setup | Single-camera |
| Running time | 143 minutes |
| Production company | Broadway.com |
| Original release | |
| Network | Syndication |
| Release | April 26, 2020 (2020-04-26) |
| Related | |
| Sondheim! The Birthday Concert | |
Take Me to the World: A Sondheim 90th Birthday Celebration was a virtual concert celebrating the 90th birthday of Broadway composerStephen Sondheim. The event also served as a fundraiser for Artists Striving to End Poverty (ASTEP).[1]
Hosted byRaúl Esparza,[1] whose appearances were curtailed due to technical difficulties, the concert featured many celebrities with ties to Sondheim singing his songs, alongside others offering birthday greetings between performances.[2][3][4]
The April 26, 2020livestream date coincided with the 50th anniversary of the opening night of the original Broadway production ofCompany. The 2020 Broadway revival of that show, originally slated to open March 22 on Sondheim's birthday proper, had been scuttled by the closure of all Broadway productions due to thecoronavirus pandemic.
In order of appearance
| Performer(s) | Song | Show | Significance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stephen Schwartz | "Prologue" | Follies | Fellow Broadway composer |
| Broadwaymusicians | "Overture" | Merrily We Roll Along | — |
| Sutton Foster | "There Won't Be Trumpets" | Anyone Can Whistle | Nurse Fay Apple in theEncores! concert ofAnyone Can Whistle The Baker's Wife inInto the Woods at theHollywood Bowl |
| Neil Patrick Harris | "Prologue"(The Witch's rap) | Into the Woods | Lee Harvey Oswald / The Balladeer in the original Broadway production ofAssassins Bobby in the 2011New York Philharmonic concert ofCompany Tobias Ragg in theSan Francisco Symphony Orchestra concert ofSweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street Charles in the 2001 recording ofEvening Primrose |
| Kelli O'Hara | "What More Do I Need?" | Saturday Night | Young Hattie/Ensemble in the Broadway revival production ofFollies |
| Judy Kuhn | "What Can You Lose?" | Dick Tracy(film) | Fosca in the Off-Broadway production ofPassion |
| Katrina Lenk | "Johanna" | Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street | Bobbie in the third Broadway revival production ofCompany |
| Aaron Tveit | "Marry Me a Little" | Company | John Wilkes Booth in the West End revival production ofAssassins Bobby in theBarrington Stage Company production ofCompany |
| Beanie Feldstein andBen Platt | "It Takes Two" | Into the Woods | Mary Flynn and Charley Kringas respectively in theupcoming film adaptation ofMerrily We Roll Along |
| Brandon Uranowitz | "With So Little to Be Sure Of" | Anyone Can Whistle | Addison Mizner in theEncores! concert ofRoad Show |
| Melissa Errico | "Children and Art" | Sunday in the Park with George | Dot/Marie in the Washington, D.C. production ofSunday in the Park with George Clara in the Off-Broadway production ofPassion Leona Samish inEncores! concert ofDo I Hear a Waltz? Her 2018 recordingSondheim Sublime |
| Randy Rainbow | "By the Sea" | Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street | Adapted musical parodies ofInto the Woods "Prologue" andFollies "God-Why-Don't-You-Love-Me Blues" for political satire |
| Elizabeth Stanley | "The Miller's Son" | A Little Night Music | April in the second Broadway revival ofCompany Gussie Carnegie in theEncores! concert ofMerrily We Roll Along |
| Mandy Patinkin | "Lesson #8" | Sunday in the Park with George | Georges Seurat/George in the original Broadway production ofSunday in the Park with George Buddy Plummer in Lincoln Center's Follies in Concert |
| Maria Friedman | "Broadway Baby" | Follies | Dot/Marie in the original West End production ofSunday in the Park with George Fosca in the original West End production ofPassion Mary Flynn in a London production ofMerrily We Roll Along Directed the West End revival ofMerrily We Roll Along |
| Lin-Manuel Miranda | "Giants in the Sky" | Into the Woods | Fellow Broadway composer Charley Kringas in theEncores! concert ofMerrily We Roll Along |
| Lea Salonga | "Loving You" | Passion | The Witch in the Singaporean production ofInto the Woods Mrs. Lovett in the Philippines production ofSweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street |
| Laura Benanti | "I Remember" | Evening Primrose | Cinderella in the Broadway revival production ofInto the Woods Louise in the fourth Broadway revival ofGypsy Anne in theLos Angeles Opera production ofA Little Night Music |
| Chip Zien | "No More" | Into the Woods | The Baker in the original Broadway production ofInto the Woods The Mysterious Man in the Central Park production ofInto the Woods |
| Josh Groban | "Children Will Listen" / "Not While I'm Around" | Into the Woods /Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street | Covered the aforementioned songs on his albumStages |
| Brian Stokes Mitchell | "The Flag Song" | Assassins(cut song) | Sweeney Todd in theEncores! concert ofSweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street Cast member in Library of Congress concert version ofThe Frogs |
| Michael Cerveris | "Finishing the Hat" | Sunday in the Park with George | John Wilkes Booth in the original Broadway production ofAssassins Sweeney Todd in the second Broadway revival ofSweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street Wilson Mizner in the Off-Broadway production ofRoad Show |
| Linda Lavin | "The Boy From..." | The Mad Show | Cast member ofThe Mad Show Rose (replacement) in the second Broadway revival ofGypsy Hattie Walker in Kennedy Center production ofFollies |
| Alexander Gemignani | "Buddy's Blues" | Follies | John Hinckley in the original Broadway production ofAssassins Beadle Bamford in the second Broadway revival ofSweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street Addison Mizner in the Off-Broadway production ofRoad Show |
| Ann Harada, Austin Ku, Kelvin Moon Loh, and Thom Sesma | "Someone In a Tree" | Pacific Overtures | Cast members of the Off-Broadway revival cast ofPacific Overtures |
| Raúl Esparza | "Take Me to the World" | Evening Primrose | Georges Seurat/George in the Sondheim Celebration production ofSunday in the Park with George Charley Kringas in the Sondheim Celebration production ofMerrily We Roll Along Bobby in the second Broadway revival production ofCompany Hapgood in theEncores! concert ofAnyone Can Whistle Wilson Mizner in theEncores! concert ofRoad Show |
| Donna Murphy | "Send In the Clowns" | A Little Night Music | Fosca in the original Broadway production ofPassion Phyllis Rogers Stone in theEncores! concert ofFollies Mayoress in theEncores! concert ofAnyone Can Whistle The Witch in the Central Park production ofInto the Woods |
| Christine Baranski,Meryl Streep, andAudra McDonald | "The Ladies Who Lunch" | Company | Baranski: Clarisse in the original Off-Broadway production ofSunday in the Park with George;Mrs. Lovett in the Sondheim Celebration production ofSweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street; Cinderella's Stepmother in the film adaptation ofInto the Woods; Phyllis in the London production ofFollies; Carlotta Campion in theEncores! concert ofFollies Streep: The Witch in the film adaptation ofInto the Woods, Ensemble member in original production ofThe Frogs McDonald: Clara in theLive from Lincoln Center production ofPassion; Beggar Woman in theLive from Lincoln Center production and New York Philharmonic concert ofSweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street; Clara and Nurse Fay Apple at the Ravinia Festival Concerts ofPassion andAnyone Can Whistle respectively |
| Jake Gyllenhaal andAnnaleigh Ashford | "Move On" | Sunday in the Park with George | Georges Seurat/George and Dot/Marie, respectively, in the second Broadway revival ofSunday in the Park with George |
| Patti LuPone | "Anyone Can Whistle" | Anyone Can Whistle | Mrs. Lovett in the New York Philharmonic concert and third Broadway revival ofSweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street Fosca in theLive from Lincoln Center production ofPassion Rose in the fourth Broadway revival ofGypsy Joanne in the New York Philharmonic concert, second West End, and third Broadway revivals ofCompany Mrs. Lovett, Desiree Armfeldt, Fosca, Yvonne, Cora Hoover Hooper, and Rose in theRavinia Festival concerts ofSweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street,A Little Night Music,Passion,Sunday in the Park with George,Anyone Can Whistle, andGypsy respectively |
| Bernadette Peters | "No One Is Alone" | Into the Woods | Dot/Marie in the original Broadway production ofSunday in the Park with George The Witch in the original Broadway production ofInto the Woods Fay in the 1995 Carnegie Hall concert ofAnyone Can Whistle Rose in the third Broadway revival ofGypsy Desiree (second replacement) in the second Broadway revival ofA Little Night Music Sally in the third Broadway revival ofFollies Recorded the albumsSondheim, Etc. – Bernadette Peters Live At Carnegie Hall andSondheim Etc., Etc. Live At Carnegie Hall: The Rest of It |
| Company | "I'm Still Here" | Follies | — |
In order of first appearance
| Individual | Significance | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Emily Dale Griffin | Sutton Foster's daughter | |
| Gideon Scott Burtka-Harris | Neil Patrick Harris's son | Featured in The Witch's rap |
| Harper Grace Burtka-Harris | Neil Patrick Harris's daughter | Featured in The Witch's rap |
| Victor Garber | Anthony Hope in original Broadway production ofSweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street John Wilkes Booth in the original Off-Broadway production ofAssassins Ben Stone in theEncores! concert ofFollies | |
| Iain Armitage | — | |
| Steven Spielberg | Director of film adaptation ofWest Side Story | |
| Lonny Price | Charley Kringas in the original Broadway production ofMerrily We Roll Along Director of productions ofSweeney Todd,Company,Passion,Sunday in the Park with George, andAnyone Can Whistle | |
| Joanna Gleason | Baker's Wife in original Broadway production ofInto the Woods | |
| John Weidman | Librettist ofPacific Overtures,Assassins, andRoad Show | |
| Jason Alexander | Joe Josephson in original Broadway production ofMerrily We Roll Along | |
| Nathan Lane | Co-librettist of and Dionysus inThe Frogs, Pseudolus in the Broadway revival ofA Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum |
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