SONDHEIM ON SONDHEIM CELEBRATING MUSICAL LEGEND'S 90 BIRTHDAY at QPAC in March

Queensland Performing Arts Centre (QPAC) and Brisbane Philharmonic Orchestra are pleased to announce a special concert, to celebrate the 90th birthday of the legendary Stephen Sondheim presented on his actual birthday, Sunday 22 March 2020, in QPAC's Concert Hall.

Regarded as one of the most important figures in 20th Century musical theatre, Sondheim's most well-known works include the music and lyrics for Company, Follies, Into the Woods, Sweeny Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, and the lyrics for West Side Story and Gypsy.

Sondheim on Sondheim is an intimate portrait of the famed songwriter in his own words... and music and is hailed as a "revelatory revue full of wonderful moments" and a "funny, affectionate and revealing tribute to musical theatre's greatest living composer and lyricist".

Ranging from the beloved to the obscure, the carefully selected program of Sondheim songs featured in Sondheim and Sondheim hangs off a framework of in-depth exclusive video interviews with Sondheim himself, giving audiences an inside look at the personal life and artistic process of iconic composer.

His story. His inspiration. His genius. The tapestry of creativity that characterises Stephen Sondheim has remained largely undiscussed, especially by the man himself, until the creation of Sondheim on Sondheim.

Presented by QPAC and the 60-piece Brisbane Philharmonic Orchestra this will be the Australian premiere of Sondheim on Sondheim with the full symphony orchestra arrangements, created especially for the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra at this production's premiere at the Hollywood Bowl in 2017.

A line-up of some of Australia's finest musical theatre stars will pay tribute to Sondheim on his 90th birthday at QPAC and perform his beloved classics, with award-winning star of stage and screen Philip Quast (Les Misérables, Sunday in the Park with George, Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries) and West End and Australian musicals leading lady Anne Wood (Cats, Mamma Mia, Into the Woods) to headline this special concert.

Acclaimed Australian artists Jason Barry-Smith, Jarrod Draper, Alister Kingsley, Naomi Price, and Patrice Tipoki, and four Bachelor of Musical Theatre degree students from Queensland Conservatorium Griffith University (QCGU) will also bring their talents to the 'party', making this truly an unforgettable evening for Sondheim fans.

The concert will feature songs from West Side Story, Gypsy, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Anyone Can Whistle, Do I Hear a Waltz?, Evening Primrose, Company, Follies, A Little Night Music, Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, Merrily We Roll Along, Sunday in the Park with George, Into the Woods, Assassins, Passion and more.

At 90 years of age and as one of the Godfathers of musical theatre, this special concert celebrates and pays homage to the Sondheim legend, providing not only an evening of entertainment, but a milestone opportunity to pause and reflect on a musical legacy that will live on forever.

ABOUT Stephen Sondheim

Born on 22 March 1930, Stephen Joshua Sondheim is one of the most important figures in 20th century musical theatre.

Sondheim has been praised for "reinventing the American musical" with shows that tackled "unexpected themes that range far beyond the genre's traditional subjects" with "music and lyrics of unprecedented complexity and sophistication".

His vast accolades include receiving an Academy Award®, eight Tony® Awards (more than any other composer, including a Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre), eight Grammy Awards®, a Pulitzer Prize®, a Laurence Oliver Award® and a 2015 Presidential Medal of Freedom.

In 2010, the former Henry Miller's Theatre on Broadway was renamed the Stephen Sondheim Theatre. In 2019, it was announced that The Queen's Theatre in London's West End, (established 1907) was to be renamed the Sondheim Theatre, with the theatre reopening in December that year as the Sondheim Theatre.

Sondheim has written film music, contributing Goodbye for Now for Warren Beatty's 1981 Reds. He wrote five songs for 1990's Dick Tracy including Sooner or Later (I Always Get My Man, sung in the film by Madonna, which won the Academy Award for Best Original Song. Film adaptations of Sondheim's work include West Side Story (1961), Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007) and Into the Woods (2014).

Sondheim on Sondheim will be presented in the stunning acoustics of QPAC's Concert Hall for one night only on Sunday 22 March at 6.00pm. Tickets on sale now at qpac.com.au or phone 136-246.

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