LuPone, McDonald, Cerveris & Hearn Set for Sondheim 80th Birthday Concert

Tony Award winners Patti LuPone, Audra McDonald, Michael Cerveris and George Hearn have signed on to perform at a special 80th birthday concert honoring composer Stephen Sondheim on July 31, 2010, at the Ravinia Festival in Chicago. The evening will be directed by Lonny Price and conducted by Paul Gemignani.

The Broadway stars will perform highlights from Sondheim musicals that have been presented in concert at the summer festival, including Sweeney Todd (2001), A Little Night Music (2002), Passion (2003), Sunday in the Park with George (2004), Anyone Can Whistle (2005) and Gypsy, among others.

Ravinia President and CEO Welz Kauffman launched a “Sondheim 75” series in 2001 to honor the musical icon’s career with annual concert productions, which allowed Broadway performers to take on coveted roles for short stints. LuPone, for example, first played Gypsy's Momma Rose in concert at Ravinia and thanked the festival when she won a Tony for Arthur Laurents' Broadway revival of the show in 2008. Sondheim has attended the Ravinia concerts and participated in pre-show talks.