Fellow Sondheimites -

Late Friday afternoon, I received a letter in the mail from Stephen Sondheim. It was a Thank You note for sending him Volume One of our new Sondheim Unplugged cast recording, which releases today, and he went on to tell me he looked forward to Volumes Two and Three. Twenty minutes later, I learned that Mr. Sondheim had, indeed, left this Earth.

I think it’s fitting that a man of such greatness left us on the weekend of Thanksgiving. Because while he was a singularly visionary genius, the likes of which we will never see again, there is such gratitude to be found in the enormous body of work he leaves behind. I think Steve himself put it best when he said in Into the Woods - “we die but we don’t.” And that’s especially true of him. I really do believe that there is Euripides, there is Aeschylus there is Sophocles and Shakespeare, and there is Sondheim. And how lucky we were to share the same time as him while he walked amongst us. -- Isn’t it lovely how artists can capture us?

Needless to say, there is a new giant in the sky tonight, mapping it all out for us. So every night we perform the show or share this collection of recorded music — his music — it's for you, Steve — You have finished your hat.

Phil Geoffrey Bond
Creator, Sondheim Unplugged