Henry Miller Theatre's to Be Renamed as THE STEPHEN SONDHEIM THEATRE!

Longtime collaborators James Lapine and John Weidman announced the renaming of Henry Miller's Theatre to the Stephen Sondheim Theatre. The renaming of the theatre is dedicated to Stephen Sondheim, the greatest and best known artist in American musical theatre on his 80th birthday. The announcement was made at the curtain call following Roundabout Theatre Company's gala performance of the new Broadway musical Sondheim on Sondheim. The official renaming of the theatre and new signage is expected to be unveiled after the limited engagement of ALL ABOUT ME comes to a close.

A small group of Stephen Sondheim devotees initiated a generous contribution to the renaming dedication of the theatre to support Roundabout's Musical Production Fund. The Musical Production Fund was established in 2003 by Roundabout's Board of Directors to sustain this important art form and insure that Roundabout can continue its mission to produce musical revivals as well as developing new musicals by both established and emerging composers. At their request, the amount of the contribution to the Musical Production Fund will not be disclosed.

Quote from Roundabout Theatre Company, Artistic Director Todd Haimes:

"Stephen Sondheim is, quite simply, an artistic genius. Perhaps no writer of musical theatre has had a greater influence on his chosen art form. We are so proud that Roundabout has had the privilege of being a theatrical home to some of Steve's greatest works, including Company, Follies, Assassins, Pacific Overtures, Sunday in the Park with George and the concert performance of A Little Night Music. It's thrilling to see one of the greatest artists of our time be able to join the other legendary theatre artists who have had Broadway theatres named after them, like Ethel Barrymore, David Belasco, Edwin Booth, George Broadhurst, George Gershwin, Alfred Lunt & Lynn Fontanne, Richard Rodgers, Helen Hayes, Eugene O'Neill, Neil Simon and August Wilson. In so many ways, Steve's work has already made him a part of their illustrious tradition, so it is only fitting that we can now pay proper tribute to a composer and lyricist of extraordinary stature, Stephen Sondheim."

Quote from John Weidman:

"Steve Sondheim has been, without question, the pre-eminent artist working in the musical theatre for the last fifty years. The appropriateness of naming a theatre after him is self-evident. The hope in naming a theatre after him is that it will become a home for artists whose work aspires to the heady level of daring, honesty and rigor which has always characterized Steve's. It's been my experience that billing has never mattered much to Steve, but it's nice to know there is now one Broadway house where his name will always appear above the title."

Stephen Sondheim is widely acknowledged as the most innovative, most influential, and most important composer and lyricist in modern Broadway history. He is the winner of an Academy Award, numerous Tony Awardsâ, multiple Grammy Awards and a Pulitzer Prize. Some of his other accolades include a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Kennedy Center Honors (1993), the National Medal of Arts (1996), the American Academy of Arts and Letters' Gold Medal for Music (2006) and a special Tony Awardâfor Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre (2008).

His extensive body of work has revolutionized the musical theatre canon and has made him perhaps the greatest stage composer of the last 100 years. Sondheim's musical sophistication, which combines intricate vocal lines and inventive harmonies with intelligent lyrics and subject matter, is an ability that is unmatched by many of his musical theatre peers. Simply put, he is a legend.

Stephen Sondheim wrote the music and lyrics for Road Show (2008), Passion (1994), Assassins (1991), Into the Woods (1987), Sunday in the Park with George (1984), Merrily We Roll Along (1981), Sweeney Todd (1979), Pacific Overtures (1976), The Frogs (1974), A Little Night Music (1973), Follies (1971; revised in London, 1987), Company (1970), Anyone Can Whistle (1964) and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (1962), as well as the lyrics for West Side Story (1957), Gypsy (1959), Do I Hear a Waltz? (1965) and additional lyrics for Candide (1973). Side by Side by Sondheim (1976), Marry Me a Little (1981), You're Gonna Love Tomorrow (1983) and Putting It Together (1993/99) are anthologies of his work, as is the new musical Sondheim on Sondheim. He composed the film scores of Stavisky (1974) and Reds (1981) and songs for Dick Tracy (Academy Award, 1990). He also wrote songs for the television production "Evening Primrose" (1966), co-authored, with Anthony Perkins, the film The Last of Sheila (1973) and, with George Furth, the play Getting Away with Murder (1996), and provided incidental music for the plays The Girls of Summer (1956), Invitation to a March (1961) and Twigs (1971). He won Tony Awards for Best Score for a Musical for Passion, Into the Woods, Sweeney Todd, A Little Night Music, Follies and Company. All of these shows won the New York Drama Critics Circle Award, as did Pacific Overtures and Sunday in the Park with George, the latter also receiving the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Saturday Night (1954), his first professional musical, finally had its New York premiere in 1999 at Second Stage Theatre.

ABOUT Henry Miller'S THEATRE

The Durst Organization and Bank of America completed construction and restoration of the Henry Miller's Theatre on West 43rd Street in Times Square in May 2009. Henry Miller's Theatre is the first new Broadway theatre built in over a decade and sets new standards for environmentally sustainable design and construction of performing arts venues. Henry Miller's Theatre sits behind the preserved and restored neo-Georgian façade of the original 1918 theatre.

By 1969, after being used as a Broadway theatre for 51 years Henry Miller's Theatre was abandoned as a legitimate theater. In 1998, Roundabout Theatre Company transformed, reopened and operated the venue as a Broadway theatre with their Tony award winning production of Kander & Ebb's Cabaret. Cabaret ran for nine months, closed because of a construction accident at an adjacent building, re-opened briefly, and transferred to Studio 54 for a five-year run.

Based on Roundabout's proven track record of successfully revitalizing and managing theatres, a unique opportunity was presented to Roundabout by The Durst Organization, New York's leading developer of eco-friendly buildings. In September 2009, Roundabout Theatre Company became the curator of a new state-of-the-art, 1,055-seat Broadway theatre located within the new Bank of America Tower at One Bryant Park (124 West 43rd Street). As with the rest of the building, the theatre carries LEED certification, making it the highest environmentally-ranked theatre on Broadway.

The revitalization of Henry Miller's Theatre is consistent with Roundabout's history of bringing dilapidated, lost theatres back to life and programming the venues as viable, live performance spaces for the benefit of theatre artists and audiences and managing them efficiently.

Henry Miller's Theatre serves the company's mission by providing more opportunities for artists as well as audiences. With Henry Miller's Theatre, Roundabout will create 80-100 new jobs each year for artists and theatre staff through its activities.

With Henry Miller's Theatre and as a result of the overwhelming response to Roundabout's audience development programs, Roundabout expanded Access Roundabout offering even more discounted tickets during the 2009-2010 season. A total of 34,000 tickets at $10-$20 has been allotted to underserved audiences, which is an increase of 12,000 tickets over the past season.

The beautifully revitalized theatre will be used for Roundabout productions. Ensuring year-round occupancy of first-rate Broadway productions, the theatre will also be rented to commercial producers and other not-for-profit theatres.

Roundabout Theatre Company is one of the country's leading not-for-profit theatres. The company contributes invaluably to New York's cultural life by staging the highest quality revivals of classic plays and musicals as well as new works by established writers. Roundabout consistently partners great artists with great works to bring a fresh and exciting interpretation that makes each production relevant and important to today's audiences.

Roundabout Theatre Company currently produces at three permanent homes each of which is designed specifically to enhance the needs of the Roundabout's mission. Off-Broadway, the Harold and Miriam Steinberg Center for Theatre, which houses the Laura Pels Theatre and Black Box Theatre, with its simple sophisticated design is perfectly suited to showcasing new plays. The grandeur of its Broadway home on 42nd Street, American Airlines Theatre, sets the ideal stage for the classics. Roundabout's Studio 54 provides an exciting and intimate Broadway venue for its musical and special event productions. Together these three distinctive venues serve to enhance the work on each of its stages. Roundabout also programs the new Henry Miller's Theatre which is the first new Broadway theatre built in over a decade and set new standards for environmentally sustainable design and construction of performing arts venues.

American Airlines is the official airline of Roundabout Theatre Company. Roundabout productions are made possible, in part, with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, the National Endowment for the Arts; and the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation.

Roundabout Theatre Company's 2009-2010 season also includes Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's Sondheim on Sondheim starring Barbara Cook, Vanessa Williams and Tom Wopat; Tennessee Williams' The Glass Menagerie, directed by Gordon Edelstein; Terrence McNally's Lips Together, Teeth Apart, starring Megan Mullally, Patton Oswalt, Lili Taylor and David Wilson Barnes, directed by Joe Mantello. The 2010-2011 season will include Oscar Wilde's The Importance of Being Earnest, starring and directed by Brian Bedford. Roundabout's sold out production of The 39 Steps made its third transfer to the New World Stages after a successful Broadway run at three Broadway theatres.