So what did Stephen Sondheim get Monday on his 80th birthday? A Broadway theater renamed for the composer of “Company,” ”Follies,” ”Sweeney Todd” and other memorable shows.
The Henry Miller’s Theatre on West 43rd Street will now be known as the Stephen Sondheim Theatre.
The announcement was made by longtime Sondheim collaborators James Lapine and John Weidman at the conclusion of a gala performance at Studio 54 of “Sondheim on Sondheim,” a celebration of the man’s work in the musical theater. The Roundabout Theatre Company production, starring Barbara Cook and Vanessa Williams, officially opens April 22.
The existing Henry Miller’s Theatre was constructed behind the restored neo-Georgian facade of the original theater, built more than 90 years ago. It opened last fall with a revival of “Bye Bye Birdie” and currently houses “All About Me,” starring Dame Edna and Michael Feinstein.