Mandy Patinkin, starred in the original Sunday in the Park with George, alongside Bernadette Peters. It would be a pairing that would help Sunday become one of Sondheim's landmark shows. The two recently re-teamed for the classic Sunday tune "Move On" at Sondheim's 80th birthday gala at Lincoln Center.

"He writes my life. I don't know what my life would have been like without him."

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Michael Cerveris has had his hand on Broadway in two Sondheim shows: the Broadway production of Assassins and the most recent revival of Sweeney Todd, and also appeared as Giorgio in the 10th-anniversary concert performance of Passion at the Ambassador.

"The first professional Sondheim experience I had was Passion and even in the world of Sondheim, that's one of the more densely packed and difficult [shows]. So I was in at the deep end. I worked harder than I'd ever worked to unlock a piece a music.

"As much as we think we understand now, I think future generations will have more perspective than we who actually have the pleasure of knowing the man and working with the man. I think the people who hung out with Mozart didn't entirely know what they were dealing with."