Today is the 80th birthday of one of my favorite Broadway composer/lyricists, Stephen Sondheim. I have had the privilege of playing roles in 3 of his shows. The first Sondheim show I was ever in, "Into the Woods," is probably my favorite. I got to come in in the final days of rehearsal to replace the actress that was playing "Jack's Mom" and work with some amazing people: Tom Width, an extremely gifted actor, director and set designer and some fabulous actors, Paul Deiss, Robyn O'Neill, Debra Wagoner, Michael Cole, Larry Cook, Doug Jones, Harriet Traylor, Jacquie O'Connor, Robert Throckmorton, Joe Pabst and Julie Fulcher and musical direction was by the wonderful Ron Barnette. I loved the opportunity, but I was scared to death! You see, this was my first foray back into professional theater after a 3 year break. Nothing like jumping back in with "Sondheim" to learn. All fears aside it was a great experience and one I will always cherish. I also built some very cherished friendships during that show and rekindled others.
The second opportunity I had to sing his wonderful music was "Follies." My dear friend, Joe Pabst, directed this show and had enough faith in me to let me sing the coveted, "I'm Still Here," and he trusted me to do it the way I wanted to. I consider it to be one of my shining moments on stage.
The last role I played was "Domina" in last summer's "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum" at the Dell, also under the direction of Joe Pabst. "Domina" is one of the primo, diva roles. She sings a song at the top of the second act called "Dirty Old Man" So much fun, but talk about cramming some words in a song, Whew! I had a wonderful time with this cast as well, but getting the chance to watch Jason Marks play Pseudolus was a rare treat!
So thank you, Stephen Sondheim, for sharing your awesome gift and giving me some of musical theatre's most wonderful moments on stage and in the audience.
Happy Birthday!
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