Maria Friedman and Friends Will Perform a Benefit Concert Celebrating Stephen Sondheim, Marvin Hamlisch and Michel Legrand

Maria Friedman and friends will celebrate the brilliance of Stephen Sondheim, Marvin Hamlisch and Michel Legrand in a one-night-only concert taking place in March.

Legacy: An Evening with Maria Friedman and Friends will be held on Monday, March 4, 2024 at 8PM at Broadway’s Hudson Theatre (141 West 44th Street). The evening will benefit Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, The Stephen Sondheim Foundation and The Marvin Hamlisch International Music Awards. Tickets, which start at $100, and VIP sponsorship packages are now on sale at broadwaycares.org/mariafriedman.

Four-time Olivier Award winner and director of this season’s critically acclaimed Broadway revival of Stephen Sondheim and George Furth’s Merrily We Roll Along, Maria Friedman has crafted a special one-night-only concert, with friends old and new, that will explore the legacies of three titans of 20th century musical theatre. A universally praised interpreter of their works, Maria performed with Stephen Sondheim, Marvin Hamlisch and Michel Legrand multiple times throughout her career. This unique theatrical event will see her showcase many of their greatest hits with entertaining and personal memories that will make this evening with Maria Friedman a night to remember.

Collaborating with musical director and pianist Theo Jamieson, Legacy: An Evening with Maria Friedman and Friends is directed by Tony Award WinnerChristopher Gattelli.

An internationally renowned director and actor, Maria Friedman has originated roles on Broadway and the West End and has performed on television, film and in concert halls around the world. Her many accolades include nine Olivier Award nominations and four wins and Drama Desk and Outer Critic Circle Award nominations for her 2022 pre-Broadway production of Merrily We Roll Along at New York Theatre Workshop. Merrily We Roll Along marks her Broadway directorial debut. Maria’s West End directing credits include Merrily We Roll Along, High Society and Stepping Out. Outside of London, her directorial credits include the British tour of Dusty - The Dusty Springfield Musical and A Little Night Music in Tokyo.

ABOUT BROADWAY CARES/EQUITY FIGHTS AIDS

Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, the philanthropic heart of Broadway, is one of the nation’s leading industry-based, nonprofit AIDS fundraising and grant-making organizations. By drawing upon the talents, resources and generosity of the American theater community, since 1988 Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS has raised more than $300 million for essential services for people with HIV/AIDS and other critical illnesses across the United States.

Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS is the major supporter of the social service programs at the Entertainment Community Fund (formerly The Actors Fund), including The Friedman Health Center for the Performing Arts, the HIV/AIDS Initiative and the Phyllis Newman Women’s Health Initiative. Broadway Cares also awards annual grants to more than 450 AIDS and family service organizations in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and Washington, D.C., providing lifesaving medication, healthy meals, counseling and emergency assistance.

For more information, please visit Broadway Cares online at broadwaycares.org, at facebook.com/BCEFA, at instagram.com/BCEFA, at tiktok.com/@bcefaand at youtube.com/BCEFA.

ABOUT THE Stephen Sondheim FOUNDATION

Established after his passing, the Stephen Sondheim Foundation is the largest single beneficiary of future royalties from Sondheim’s work. It aims to aid emerging playwrights, composers, and lyricists working in the theatre during the early stages of their careers by assisting financially in the development and advancement of their careers. 

ABOUT THE HAMLISCH INTERNATIONAL MUSIC AWARDS

The Hamlisch International Music Awards discovers and champions youth and emerging composers from around the world. The awards were created to honor the late Marvin Hamlisch, paying tribute to his remarkable legacy as both an artist and an advocate for emerging talent.

The awards first began as the Marvin Hamlisch Film Scoring Contest, presented by the Washington, DC-based nonprofit CINE since 2013. Hundreds of composers worldwide competed annually in this unique contest for emerging media composers. In 2019, the Marvin Hamlisch International Music Awards launched to continue and expand the contest’s impact, adding three additional categories: composition for musical theatre, film scoring, classical composition and jazz composition. In 2021, categories were added for contemporary pop and R&B songwriters.

Emerging and youth composers from around the world are encouraged to compete.

View our awards categories for complete eligibility guidelines, deadlines, and registration.

The awards are presented annually in partnership with Queens College, the City University of New York. In 2021, the Marvin Hamlisch Awards were presented in a virtual ceremony with special guests including Barbra Streisand, Idina Menzel, Quincy Jones, Maria Friedman, Luci Arnaz, Sir Howard Stringer, Johnny Mathis and Melissa Manchester. The inaugural Marvin Hamlisch International Music Awards were held on November 18, 2019 at the Lefrak Concert Hall of the Kupferberg Center for the Arts.