Broadway stars bid farewell to Sondheim in style
BY DEAN MOSES
A legion of Broadway stars swarmed
Times Square Sunday to sing a
swan song for industry legend
Stephen Sondheim.
The 91-year-old theater legend died on
Nov. 26 and was renowned for his lyrical
work on such stage musicals as Sweeney
Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street,
Into the Woodsand West Side Story, and
through his long tenure gained such distinctions
as receiving six Tony awards, a Presidential
Medal of Freedom from former President
Barack Obama, an Academy Award,
Pulitzer Prize and fi ve Olivier Awards.
Leaving a gaping hole in the hearts of
those he worked alongside, Sondheim’s extended
Broadway family assembled on the
red steps where they hosted a musical memorial
entitled “Sunday” on Sunday, from his
lyrical composition Sunday in the Park with
George with cast members from Ain’t too
Proud, Wicked, Diana the Musical, and
the cast from various Broadway companies
in Father Duffy Square.
“This was a group full of luminaries,”
said Erich Bergen, who helped develop and
coordinate the event. “I think what a day like
today shows is that not only is New York City
back and better than ever, but it is ready,
willing, and able to turn the lights on and
inspire people. Broadway is New York’s most
important product. It is art but it is also
Broadway stars took to Times Square in honor of fallen legend Stephen
Sondheim.
commerce and the fact that things like this
can happen by me making a few phone calls
and a few tweets basically means that these
are the most talented people in the world.
The most talented people in the world were
standing here today and they are ready for
tourists, near and far to come to New York
and fi ll our theatres again. Today we did it
in tribute to Stephen Sondheim of course,
PHOTO BY DEAN MOSES
but I think days like today shows that there’s
nothing better than Broadway theater.”
Becoming emotional, tears streamed from
the star-studded ensemble as they bellowed
the tune. Prior to the rendition of “Sunday,”
Lin-Manuel Miranda read aloud excerpts
from “Look, I Made a Hat: Collected Lyrics”
by Sondheim, which caused the Hamilton
titan to shed tears of his own.
“In this show, it was the word forever
in ‘Sunday.’ I was suddenly moved by the
contemplation of what these people would
have thought if they’d known they would be
immortalized and in a major way. The great
painting. I still cry when I think about it,
but then I cry at Animal Planet,” Miranda
read.
Hundreds of New Yorkers squeezed themselves
around the performance area in order
to be a small part of the historic send-off,
and although it only lasted a few minutes,
the large crowd was not disappointed.
“There were a lot of people here today
who are not actors. These are people who
call the light cues and all the sound cues
and shows. He inspired just about everyone
who’s ever stepped foot into a theater,”
Bergen said.
In addition to Broadway cast members,
star-studded icons such as Josh Groban and
Sara Bareilles, paid their respects by lending
their talents to the celebration.
Erin Davie, an actress who plays Camilla
Parker Bowles in Diana: The Musical, described
Sondheim as the master of theater,
a man whose infl uence on the musical world
is simply unquantifi able.
“Everybody is inspired and affected and
have gained something from Stephen Sondheim.
He was the master,” Davie said, adding
that she will never forget standing in the
middle of Times Square singing “Sunday”
with the Broadway community.
Man leaps from Murray Hill high-rise to his death on Lexington Avenue
BY DEAN MOSES
Police say a man took a fatal plunge
from a high-rise apartment building
in Murray Hill, landing in the middle
of Lexington Avenue on Monday morning.
Responding to 911 calls just after 8 a.m.
on Nov. 29, police and EMS discovered an
unnamed man laying unresponsive at the
corner of East 33rd Street and Lexington
Avenue just outside of Windsor Court
Apartments. According to police sources,
the man appeared to have jumped from the
31-story high-rise, taking his own life.
The macabre scene left many locals
shocked and unnerved. Azharul, was
working at Anita’s Delicatessen when he
heard the awful sound of the jumper hitting
the road.
“It sounded like a gunshot,” Azharul
said, slamming his hand down on the deli’s
counter to indicate the noise. “It was very
distressing. It happened right in front of
A man was found dead after allegedly leaping Windsor Court on Nov, 29.
one of our customers, she saw the entire
thing. She was devastated, she was shaking,”
Azharul explained.
Offi cers swiftly wrapped the area with
PHOTO BY DEAN MOSES
crime scene tape and concealed the body
with a sheet while they investigated. Onlookers
could be seen popping their heads
out of apartment windows, cupping their
mouths in dismay while a sizable crowd
gathered on street level muttering among
themselves.
Megan Siniscalchi lives in Windsor
Court and found the commotion while
leaving to work.
“This has happened before. We are not allowed
on the roof when the sun goes down, I
don’t know if that has anything to do with it,”
Siniscalchi said, who has lived at the address
for a year. “It’s sad,” she added.
Offi cers at the scene could be observed
measuring the distance from the building
and the corpse.
The man also appeared to have leapt
from the complex with a backpack and
duffl e bag full of personal items. Members
of the NYPD and detectives could be
seen removing everything from a tablet, a
laptop, and stacks of paper to medication,
housekeys, and a surgical mask.
After several hours the body was removed,
and the street was reopened.
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