I have long been a fan of Stephen Sondheim. I first encountered him back in the 1960’s, but my love affair was sealed with Merrily We Roll Along in the early 80’s. And so we roll on….. And last Sunday I found myself at a rally of Sondheimites at the Drury Lane Theatre Royal to celebrate his 85th birthday. The Great Man was not there – he did speak to us from the ‘heavens’ where he was working on a new musical – but an amazing cast, orchestra and dancers were there to present a three hour long ‘ celebrity gala’ presided over by Julia McKenzie, Millicent Martin and Nicolas Parsons, stalwarts from the past. It was an evening of marvellous moments highlighted by Kim Creswell’s I’m Still Here and Lorna Dallas’s In Buddies Eyes, There was an exhilarating 5 minute selection of 33 songs by Martin Milnes and Dominic Ferris! Old Friends was sung as group by winnere of the annual Stephen Sonsheim Society Student Performance award. In dark times, an evening of sheer delight.
