Broadway legend Stephen Sondheim dead aged 91

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Broadway legend Stephen Sondheim dead aged 91

Stephen Sondheim, one of Broadway’s biggest-ever legends, has passed away today, in the early hours of Friday, November 26. The musicals star famously wrote the lyrics for the songs featured in the iconic West Side Story. He reportedly died in Roxbury, Connecticut, at his family home, at the age of 91.

According to his close friend, and lawyer, F. Richard Pappas, Stephen’s death was ‘sudden’. Only hours previously he had been with close friends and family celebrating Thanksgiving. The legendary songwriter had recently injured himself after a fall, which meant he was not able to attend the opening in the heart of London’s West End, of his new theatre.

In a statement following his accident, explaining his absence from the opening night, he wrote, “As I recover from my tumble, I’m inpatient to throw away my cane, grab my hat and head across the Pond as soon as I can see on which cherub Cameron has tattooed my initials. I am, to put it mildly, chuffed to have my name on a theatre in the West End I have loved visiting ever since my first trip to London almost seventy years ago”.

Undeterred, he staged a grand virtual event in April to celebrate his 90th birthday, with guests including the Oscar-winning actress, Meryl Streep.

One of music history’s true works of art was his collaboration with musical genuis, Leonard Bernstein to create West Side Story, from the book written by Arthur Laurents. This legendary stage production was based on the Shakespeare play, Romeo and Juliet, and set on the streets of the Upper West Side of mid-1950s New York City.

The story revolves around the rivalry between the Jets and the Sharks, two teenage street gangs of different ethnic backgrounds, and marked Sondheim’s debut on Broadway in 1957, as reported by dailystar.co.uk.

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Written by

Chris King

Originally from Wales, Chris spent years on the Costa del Sol before moving to the Algarve where he is a web reporter for The Euro Weekly News covering international and Spanish national news. Got a news story you want to share? Then get in touch at editorial@euroweeklynews.com

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