Chicago's Harris Theatre to Present Evenings with Sondheim and Ebersole in 2010

By Andrew Gans
June 9, 2009

Chicago's Harris Theater for Music and Dance will welcome Tony Award winners Stephen Sondheim and Christine Ebersole in 2010.

Stephen Sondheim: An Intimate Exchange with the "Master of the Musical" will be presented March 4, 2010, at 7:30 PM. "Composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim," according to press notes, "will offer a personal and engaging view of his life in the theatre and present a rare look into the mind of the most important artist to work in the American musical theater over the past half century."

The conversation, to celebrate Sondheim's 80th birthday, will be moderated by John Callaway, host of the "Chicago Tonight Friday Night" program on WTTW-TV. The two "will reminisce about Sondheim's career including his collaborations with Leonard Bernstein, Jerome Robbins and Tim Burton; predecessors, including his mentor Oscar Hammerstein II; the state of American musical theater; the differences between film and theater; and, in a very personal series of reflections, his own creative process, speaking specifically on works ranging from his early shows Gypsy and West Side Story to such later classics as Company, Follies and Sweeney Todd."

Sondheim will conduct a question and answer session with audience members following the interview.

An Evening with Christine Ebersole is scheduled for March 25, 2010, at 7:30 PM. The two-time Tony winner, who is currently on Broadway in the revival of Blithe Spirit, will "present a unique line-up of Broadway show tunes and standards for this special performance at the Harris."

The evenings are part of the theatre's Broadway Luminaries series.

The Harris Theater box office is located in Millennium Park at 205 E. Randolph Drive. For tickets call (312) 334-7777 or visit www.harristheaterchicago.org.