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The Stephen Sondheim Center for the Performing Arts, opened December 7-10, 2007, located with the Fairfield Arts & Convention Center in Fairfield, Iowa. The Center opened with 7 notable Broadway stars, including Liz Callaway and Richard Kind, all of whom were connected with one of the many Stephen Joshua Sondheim musicals. His most famous scores include (as composer/lyricist) A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Company, Follies, A Little Night Music, Sweeney Todd, Sunday in the Park with George, Into the Woods, and Assassins, as well as the lyrics for West Side Story and Gypsy.
In January 2008, Sondheim Center produced A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum with Richard Kind starring. In Feb. 2008, a new work called "Edges" was produced for one weekend. To close their spring season, Randal K. West directed a completely new vision of Godspell. Orchestrations were completely changed by Justin Hill, the musical director. It starred Ryan Gaffney as Jesus, Mason Davis and Judas, and Stephen Mark Crisp as an apostle singing "All Good Gifts" and "Beautiful City".
Since Randal K. West departure as head of the Stephen Sondheim Center for the Performing Arts, he has began producing works within the building under the company name of Way Off Broadway Inc. He had produced new works like "Open Heart", "Banjo Boy" and a reworked version of "Snoopy" as well as classics like "Annie" "Joseph..." "South Pacific".
To celebrate the opening of the theater, West enlisted the talents of seven Broadway performers who had been original cast members from Stephen Sondheim musicals: Liz Callaway, Len Cariou, Richard Kind, Pamela Meyers, Donna Lynne Champlan, Kristin Huffman and David Malis. They performed the Sondheim Center’s premiere production, A Little Sondheim Music, an original musical revue of the composer’s greatest hits. Sondheim granted grand rights to all of his works, which allowed producer and director Randal West and musical director Justin Hill to draw from the full body of Sondheim’s work for the show’s musical numbers. Joining the all-star Broadway actors were the Encore Players touring company and an 18-piece orchestra.
The center is the first one in the United States named after Stephen Sondheim.
References
- Adam Hetrick, "Original Cast Members Fete Sondheim at New Midwest Arts Center Dec. 7-9," Playbill.com, Dec. 4, 2007
External links
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