By Andrew Gans
09 Feb 2003

Fans of composer Stephen Sondheim are a loyal lot: Throngs of Sondheim lovers flocked to the Kennedy Center this past summer to witness six of his classic musicals. But how many will bid on the ultimate Sondheim souvenir now being auctioned on eBay?

Sondheim is currently auctioning his 1985 XJ6 Jaguar to benefit the Young Playwrights Inc. The silver-grey four-door sedan — with beige leather interior, walnut dash, phone and Alpine cassette/six-CD changer — went on the auction block Jan. 30; the bidding ends Feb. 9 at 10PM PST. As of press time, 42 bids have been placed, with a current high bid of $11,900. The eBay website also says that the CD changer will be loaded with any six of the bidder's favorite Sondheim recordings, all autographed by the composer himself.

Composer-lyricist Stephen Sondheim has written a plethora of musicals, including A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Company, A Little Night Music, Into the Woods, Merrily We Roll Along, Sweeney Todd, Sunday in the Park with George and Passion. He also contributed lyrics to West Side Story and Gypsy, and his latest musical is titled Gold. Sondheim was celebrated this past summer with all-star stagings of six of his musicals — Company, Sweeney, Merrily, Night Music, Sunday and Passion — at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

To view the auction, go to http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2401536001&category=6274 or Click Here.