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The Dress Circle: Songs of Stephen Sondheim - Solos

Listen to the first of three programs celebrating the work of Stephen Sondheim through some solos from some of his musicals.

The first of three programs celebrating the life and career of Stephen Sondheim through his songs.

We’re celebrating the life of Stephen Sondheim through some of his works on this week’s Dress Circle (3/13 7:00 p.m.) and for the next two to coincide with his birthday, March 22, 1930.

For many, Sondheim represents the epitome of a Broadway musical composer, and the theatre-world family lost one of its most important members when he died on November 26, 2021. We won’t be talking a great deal about his life and growing up in Bucks County, PA where Oscar Hammerstein became a surrogate father and mentor; instead, we’re going to be playing some of our favorite songs from a variety of Sondheim’s musicals.

Now, we’re not saying that the songs we’ve chosen are Sondheim’s best because we really feel that is far too subjective to ascertain. These are just some of our favorites, and we had to make many difficult choices to arrive at the programs you’ll be hearing.

This first of the three programs will deal with some of our favorite solos from musicals such as “Follies,” “Company,” “The Frogs,” “A Little Night Music,” “Marry Me a Little,” “Merrily We Roll Along,” “Evening Primrose,” and “Bounce.”

Our soloists include: Elaine Stritch, Jamin Bartlett, Christa Moore, Alexis Smith, Jane Powell, Judi Dench, Dorothy Collins, Ethel Shutta, Dean Jones, and Michael Siberry.”

If you’re a fan of Sondheim, you’re sure to recognize just about all of the songs we’ve chosen. If you don’t know much about his work, please tune in and hear why so many of us love his work.

If, after you hear these programs, you find that we’ve missed one of your favorite Sondheim solos (and we know there are many we couldn’t use because of time), please drop us a line at DCSRO@verizon.net and let us know what the song is and why you love it. We’re hoping to program at least one more program in a month or two of our listeners’ favorite Sondheim songs.

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