Remembering A Legend

Smile for a Saturday

Today’s Smile for a Saturday is bittersweet.

A little over a week ago, we lost a legend, the one and only Stephen Sondheim. In its obituary, the New York Times called Sondheim a “Titan of the American Musical.” And indeed he was. But even that laudatory appellation does not fully capture the man, the artist, and the inspiration.

In the wake of his death, there was the expected outpouring of tributes and memories from the many famous people with whom he worked, and the many more who performed his musicals on big, important stages. But perhaps even more touching and profound were the stories from people who never came anywhere close to appearing in a Broadway playbill.

Sondheim’s music and lyrics changed lives. People wrote of high school productions and favorite records, back when pulling a disc out of a sleeve was a magical experience. They quoted his masterful words and explained how those lines had the power to touch deep within the soul.

Ultimately, we can write all we want about Sondheim and still miss the essence of what he meant. For his work is to be seen, and heard.

So for our Smile for a Saturday this week, we reach back in history to 1993, and the Kennedy Center Honors. Sondheim is being celebrated. And the tribute, hosted by the indomitable Angela Lansbury, is a wonderful walk through the career of this true genius. The lights of Broadway are dimmer with his passing. But his work can still give us a reason to smile.