Last year, tunesmith Stephen Sondheim was the toast of Broadway with a theater named in his honor and a musical revue to mark his 80th birthday. This year, it is the turn of the Olivier Awards to fete him.
At the March 13 ceremony, he will become the 24th recipient of the Special Award. He joins an illustrious list of previous recipients including four knights (John Gielgud, Peter Hall, Ralph Richardson, Ian McKellen); two dames (Judi Dench and Maggie Smith); and the first theatrical lord — Laurence Olivier — for whom these kudos are named.
As part of the festivities at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, a musical tribute will be led by Adrian Lester, who won an Olivier Award for his performance in Stephen Sondheim’s “Company” in 1995.
At this year’s awards, last summer’s staging of Sondheim’s “Into The Woods” at the Regent’s Park Open Air theatre contends with two bids. In 2007, his Pulitzer-winning “Sunday In The Park With George” won five Oliviers.
