Video: Watch Lost Footage of Broadway Greats in ON THE STEPS OF THE SHUBERT
On the 50th anniversary of the special event, go behind the scenes of the concert.
By: Nicole Rosky Mar. 14, 2023
Broadway veteran Kurt Peterson appears in On the Steps of the Shubert, a video commemorating the 50th Anniversary of "Sondheim: A Musical Tribute", the first celebration of Stephen Sondheim's work, originally presented at the Shubert Theatre, Sunday, March 11, 1973.
Narrated by Kurt from the steps Inside Broadway's Shubert Theatre in the rear orchestra where he sat beside Stephen Sondheim that evening, the video just debuted online in celebration of the event's 50th anniversary and you can watch it in full below!
Directed by Burt Shevelove (A Funny Thing...Forum), with choreography by Donna McKechnie, music direction by Paul Gemignani and orchestrations by Jonathan Tunick, the event was staged on Boris Aronson's country-garden set for A Little Night Music, where it opened two weeks before to rapturous acclaim. The concert brought together more than 30 stars of his shows including Angela Lansbury, Larry Kert, Chita Rivera, Dorothy Collins, Alexis Smith, Len Cariou, Nancy Walker and others. It crystallized for Broadway that Sondheim's body of work was not just impressive, but extraordinary.
The video features unknown highlights of the star-studded night, musical gems not on the original cast LP or CD. Many never-before-seen pics, humorous introductions by artists whose careers were more recognized than him - Jule Styne, Sheldon Harnick, Hal Prince and Leonard Bernstein. There is also a collection of folks who were there and testimonials on how the evening affected them including Jack Viertel, Lonny Price, Angela Lansbury, Donna McKechnie, Paul Gemignani and Frank Rich. Along with other rave reviews, as well as those influenced by the recording for this legendary evening are Sondheim's own comments.
On the Steps of the Shubert is produced by James William Productions and Stephenie Skyllas. Film and Edited by Michael Lee Stever. Special thanks to The Shubert Organization, Robert E. Wankel, Mark Schweppe, Neil Meron, Mark Maxwell Abushady, associate producer Claire-Frances Sullivan, and Ted Chapin.
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