Stephen Sondheim Awarded Chicago Tribune Literary Prize

The 2011 Chicago Tribune Literary Prize will be awarded to Stephen Sondheim, reports the paper.

The award, which celebrates Sondheim's writing - separately from his compositions - will be presented to the composer at a Chicago Humanities Festival event on Sunday, November 6.

Stephen Sondheim has won seven Tonys, an Academy Award, seven Grammys, a Pulitzer Prize and the Kennedy Center Honors. His career has spanned more than half a century, his lyrics have become synonymous with musical theater and popular culture.

Sondheim's FOLLIES will begin Broadway previews on August 7.

FOLLIES - featuring a book by James Goldman and a score by Sondheim - was originally produced on Broadway by Harold Prince with orchestrations by Jonathan Tunick. It opened on April 4, 1971 at the Winter Garden Theatre where it ran for 522 performances and received seven Tony Awards, including Best Original Score. FOLLIES played a limited engagement at the Kennedy Center Eisenhower Theater opening on May 7 and closing with sold-out houses on June 19, 2011.