Ravinia 2022, Issue 4

JIM STEERE Between 2001 and 2006, Ravinia staged the music and lyrics of Stephen Sondheim—in order of performance: Sweeney Todd , A Little Night Music , Passion , Sunday in the Park with George , and Anyone Can Whistle , and Gypsy —and the composer was often in attendance for discussions before curtain, seen here at Whistle three months before his 75th birthday. Yours, There’s no showing up the man who showed up for everyone BY WEB BEHRENS LIKE ANY THEATER PRO, Rob Lindley remembers exactly where he was when he heard Stephen Sondheim died. It was the day after Thanksgiving 2021, and fortunate for him, Lindley was out for a meal with good friend Bethany Thomas, another Chicago performing artist with an illustrious musical career. “We were sitting at the bar of a restaurant in Lincoln Square, and one of us looked at our phone, and then we saw the news,” Lindley recalls. “We said, ‘All right, let’s Elaine Stritch about it and order another round of drinks.’ We raised a glass to Steve.” The story doesn’t end there. No, it comes with a tag that probably would’ve given the legend himself a good chuckle. While it might sound like apostasy to card-carrying musical theater fans, plenty of people in the English-speaking world have no idea who Sondheim is, despite his slew of honors that includes multiple Tonys, Grammys, an Oscar, and a Pulitzer Prize. (And that’s just the start of the list.) As fate would have it, Lindley and Thomas found themselves sitting near two folks who were curious about the person they were toasting. “I remember that the couple around the corner at the bar, they were like, ‘Who died?’ ” Lindley continues. “We found ourselves having to do an impromptu Wikipedia [entry on] Stephen Sondheim. [At one point we] just kept saying song titles until one of them hit. I thought: I’m going to wait until the last possible moment to say ‘Send in the Clowns.’ ’’ Flash forward to the present day: Now the two friends are working together on “Yours, Stephen Sondheim,” a tribute concert conceived and directed by Lindley and produced by Ravinia. Of course, back on that somber night in late November, “we had no idea that we would end up doing this concert together,” Lindley says. “But I remember being really grateful that I was with someone who understood, because his work had had such a profound impact on both our careers.” In addition to Thomas, the vocalists for the August 7 program with the the Chicago Symphony Orchestra include Tony win- ners Brian Stokes Mitchell and Heather Headley, plus Alexandra Billings, Susan Moniz, Devin DeSantis, and Chicago Artists Chorale. (Performed in the Pavilion, “Yours” is the biggest program of the Sondheim-saluting month at Ravinia. Two matinees featuring the composer’s songs happen August 20 and 27 in Bennett Gordon Hall.) RAVINIA MAGAZINE • AUGUST 1 – AUGUST 14, 2022 14