Peters, Cook, Miranda et al. Celebrate Sondheim at 'Sondheim 80' Celebration, 3/22

Stephen Sondheim turns 80 on Monday, March 22nd, 2010 and he will celebrate this landmark event with Roundabout Theatre Company at a special performance of Sondheim on Sondheim and star-studded tribute at Roundabout's 2010 Spring Gala: Sondheim 80.

On March 22nd, the evening will begin with an early performance of Sondheim on Sondheim at Studio 54, a brand-new musical retrospective of Sondheim's groundbreaking career. Sondheim on Sondheim stars Barbara Cook, Vanessa Williams and Tom Wopat. Music & lyrics are by Stephen Sondheim and the production is conceived & directed by James Lapine. Next, guests will enjoy a gourmet dinner and a very personal star-studded musical tribute.

The tribute will include an array of original songs composed by Broadway's current crop of musical theatre writers. Artists participating include Tom Kitt & Brian Yorkey (Next to Normal), Michael John LaChiusa (The Wild Party), Andrew Lippa (The Addams Family), Robert Lopez (Avenue Q) & Kristen Anderson-Lopez, Lin-Manuel Miranda (In The Heights), Duncan Sheik (Spring Awakening), Stew & Heidi Rodewald (Passing Strange) and Jeanine Tesori & David Lindsay-Abaire (Shrek). Their original compositions will be sung by some of Broadway's biggest talents such as Berndadette Peters in front of an audience that will include friends and artists from his six decades on Broadway such as Elaine Stritch, Lauren Bacall, Donna Murphy, Kelli O'Hara, Lynn Redgrave, Sam Mendes, Frank Rich, Michael Cerveris, La Chanze and more.

Roundabout has a long relationship with Stephen Sondheim having produced five Tony Award® nominated Sondheim revivals including Company (1995), Follies (2001), Tony Award® winning Assassins (2004), Pacific Overtures (2004) and Sunday in the Park with George (2008). In 2005, Roundabout honored Sondheim with the Jason Robards Award for Excellence in Theatre for the indelible impact his life's work has made on the Theatre World. In 2009, Roundabout produced a gala concert reading of A Little Night Music starring Natasha Richardson, Victor Garber and Vanessa Redgrave at Studio 54.

The Honorary Chairs of the Gala are Barry Diller & Diane Von Furstenberg and Bernadette Peters. The Gala chairs are Michael T. Cohen, Martin & Perry Granoff and Tom & Diane Tuft. The Vice-chairs are Edward & Betsy Cohen, Mike & Pilar de Graffenried, Ted & Mary Jo Shen, Mark R. Fetting & Georgia D. Smith.

The tribute concert is directed by Paul Gemignani, Mr. Sondheim's longtime musical director.

All proceeds from this event will benefit Roundabout Theatre Company's Musical Theatre Fund.

The performance of Sondheim on Sondheim will begin at 6:15PM at Roundabout's Studio 54. Underwriter and above ticket buyers are also invited to a private VIP Cocktail Party before the show begins. Immediately following the performance the dinner & Birthday tribute will commence at the Sheraton New York.

Support Levels: Gala Sponsorship at $100,000

Producer's Circle Table(s) at $50,000

Celebrity Circle Table(s) at $35,000

Underwriter Table(s) at $25,000

Benefactor Table(s) at $15,000*

The non-deductible portion of tables is $2,500 or *$2,000.

Producer's Circle Ticket(s) at $5,000

Celebrity Circle Ticket(s) at $3,500

Underwriter Ticket(s) at $2,500

Benefactor Ticket(s) at $1,500*

Patron Ticket(s) at $1,250* (almost sold out)

The non-deductible portion of tickets is $250 or *$200.

Ads in our special Commemorative Journal, which will include a behind-the-scenes look at the artistic process in creating Sondheim on Sondheim as well as an introduction by Frank Rich, are also available at the following levels:

2-Page Color at $5,000 2-Page Black and White at $4,000
Full-Page Color at $2,500 Full-Page Black and White at $2,000
Half-Page Color at $1,500 Half-Page Black and White at $1,250
Quarter Page-Color at $1,000 Quarter-Page Black and White at $750

For more information, please contact Steve Schaeffer, Director of Special Events, at
212-719-9393 x312 or steves@roundabouttheatre.org.

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 plays 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.

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 includes Michael Stewart, Lee Adams and Charles Strouse's Bye Bye Birdie, starring John Stamos, Gina Gershon, Bill Irwin & Nolan Gerard Funk, directed and choreographed by Robert Longbottom; Carrie Fisher's Wishful Drinking, directed by Tony Taccone; Theresa Rebeck's The Understudy, with Mark-Paul Gosselaar, Justin Kirk and Julie White, directed by Scott Ellis; Noël Coward's Present Laughter starring Victor Garber, directed by Nicholas Martin; 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 and Lili Taylor, directed by Joe Mantello.

For more information, visit www.roundabouttheatre.org.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride / Retna Ltd.