STEPHEN SONDHEIM IS GOING TO MAKE "COMPANY" GAY(ER)

Famed Broadway composer Stephen Sondheim is like the Rambo of musical theatre. All machismo and masculinity. Oh. He's not? Never mind then. BUT here is some exciting news anyway. Sondheim's classic 1970 musical Company will get another revival soon with a big twist; its lead character, the  commitment-phobe Robert, will be gay! A gay character in a musical? NO!! And he's a slut? NO! Broadway is not ready for this. Ha. Perhaps most importantly, the character of Joanne, originally played by the unbeatable Elaine Stritch and who sings one of the most famous songs from the show, Ladies Who Lunch, will flip genders and be played as a gay man by Alan Cumming. Alan Cumming? Gay? ESCANDALO! What is this world coming to if the last bastion of heterosexuality, the musical theatre, is being overrun by the gays. What next? Fashion? Sonheim is working with director John Tiffany on the production which will show for a private audience at The Roundabout on Friday. The decision to move forward with the production will be made after that. Company has had two Broadway revivals, first in 1995 then in 2006. The original production won six Tony Awards, including Best Musical.

MADONNA FRIDAY: MADONNA'S TWO GOLDEN GLOBE/OSCAR SONGS

In honor of the Golden Globes this weekend and the Oscar nominations being announced yesterday, here are a couple of movie classics associated with our beloved Queen of Pop. Madonna has performed (but not always written) several songs that have been nominated for and/or won Best Original Song at the Golden Globes and the Academy Awards. Among them was Sooner of Later from the motion picture Dick Tracy. Written by Stephen Sondheim, the song won the Oscar in 1991 but lost the Golden Globe to Blaze of Glory by Jon Bon Jovi. Madonna performed the song at the Oscars that year in full Marilyn mode and brought down the mutha f***in' house, y'all!! The next song struck gold twice. Andrew Lloyd Webber penned a new song for the film version of Evita, You Must Love Me, and it won Best Original Song at the Golden Globes and the Oscars in 1997. Madonna performed the song at the Oscars that year as well. Here are both of the performaces by Madonna. Madonna was also nominated (but didn't perform) in 1988 for Who's That Girl (Golden Globe), 1993 for This Used To Be My Playground (Golden Globe), 1995 for I'll Remember (Golden Globe), in 2000 for Beautiful Stranger (Golden Globe), 2003 for Die Another Day (Golden Globe) and WON in 2012 for Masterpiece (Golden Globe). Don't forget to watch the Golden Globes this weekend!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, ANDREW LLOYD WEBBER & STEPHEN SONDHEIM

Two theater legends have their birthdays today as Andrew Lloyd Webber turns 62 and Stephen Sondheim turns 80! I had no idea they had the same birthday! It's safe to say the musical theatre has been shaped greatly by these two composers and would not be the same without them. Stephen is currently being celebrated at studio 54 for his lifetime of achievement in theatre and Andrew is about to open Love Never Dies, the sequel to Phantom of the Opera. Here's to you, great men of musical theatre. May you work forever (ps Stephen is better of course). Watch Bernadette Peters do Sondheim and a rare video of Patti Lupone singing Don't Cry for Me Argentina at the 1980 Grammy awards.

SONDHEIM GALA AT ROUNDABOUT SHAPES UP

The Roundabout Theatre company is getting all its ducks in a row for the upcoming gala honoring theatre legend Stephen Sondheim. A whole mess of composers and writing original songs to celebrate Sondheim's 80th birthday including Lin-Manual Miranda (In The Heights) Duncan Sheik (Spring Awakening) and Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey (Next to Normal). Bernadette Peters will be among the Broadway belters to sing the songs at the gala. The Roundabout is also readying a celebration of Sondheim's work called Sondheim on Sondheim which will start previews in March. The birthday celebration will take place on Stephen Sondheim's actual birthday, March 22. Truly a living legend. [source]