(traffic passing)
(horn honking)
(dramatic piano music)
- Happy Birthday Steve,
and thank you for all the beautiful music.
(uptempo orchestral music)
- I first sang this song when I was
around 15 years old.
I actually sang it for
one of my early auditions.
I heard it because it was big and belty,
but I had no idea what it meant.
I didn't really learn the meaning of it,
until much later in life.
Realizing that sometimes
the biggest things
that happen to you are often the quietest.
- Sutton Foster is singing
"There Won't Be Trumpets."
♪ The smug little men with
their smug little schemes ♪
♪ They forgot one thing ♪
♪ The play isn't over by a long shot yet ♪
♪ There are heroes in the world ♪
♪ Princes and heroes in the world ♪
♪ And one of them will save us ♪
♪ Wait and see ♪
♪ Wait and see ♪
♪ There won't be trumpets
or bolts of fire ♪
♪ To say he's coming ♪
♪ No Roman candles, no angels choir ♪
♪ No sound of distant drumming ♪
♪ He may not be the Cavalier ♪
♪ Tall and graceful, fair and strong ♪
♪ Doesn't matter just as long as ♪
♪ He comes along ♪
♪ But not with trumpets
or lightning flashing ♪
♪ Or shining armor ♪
♪ He may be daring, he may be dashing ♪
♪ Or maybe he's a farmer ♪
♪ We can wait, what's another day ♪
♪ He has lots of hills to climb ♪
♪ And the hero doesn't come ♪
♪ Till the nick of time ♪
♪ Don't look for trumpets
or whistles tooting ♪
♪ To guarantee him ♪
♪ There won't be trumpets,
but sure as shooting ♪
♪ You'll know him when you see him ♪
♪ Don't know when, don't know where ♪
♪ And I can't even say that I care ♪
♪ All I know is the minute you turn ♪
♪ And he's suddenly there ♪
♪ You won't need trumpets ♪
♪ There are no trumpets ♪
♪ Who needs trumpets ♪
♪ Happy birthday to you ♪
♪ Happy birthday to you ♪
♪ Happy birthday to Stephen Sondheim ♪
♪ Happy birthday to you ♪
(light piano music)
- I am so honored to be a part of this.
Stephen Sondheim taught me
music, taught me music theory,
by way of being a young kid
in a small town in New Mexico,
listening to the CD of "Into the Woods,"
and not knowing that
music could work that way,
and learning to appreciate
the subtleties and the variations,
and from that point
forward I was just hooked.
So, he made me love theater,
made me love music,
made me love rhythm,
and I'll never forget it.
I thought for my song,
I would sing something that
shows off my vocal range.
So, enjoy.
In the past, when your
mother was with child,
she developed an unusual appetite.
She took one look at my beautiful garden
and told your father that what she wanted
more than anything in the world
was greens, greens,
and nothing but greens.
Parsley, peppers, cabbages, and celery.
Asparagus and Watercress
and Fiddle fern and Lettuce.
He said "Alright!"
But it wasn't quite cause I caught him
in the autumn in my garden one night.
He was robbing me, raping me.
Rooting through my rutabagas
raiding my arugula
and ripping up the rampion,
my champion, my favorite!
I shoulda laid a spell on him right there!
I coulda turned him into stone
or a dog
or a chair, or a (mumbling).
But I let him have the rampion,
I'd lots to spare
in return however I said fair is fair.
You can let me have the baby
that your wife will bear.
And we'll call it square.
- I had a brother?
- No.
But you had a sister.
I thought I had been more than reasonable.
But how was I to know what your father
had also hidden in his pocket?
- What?
- Beans.
- Beans?
- The special beans.
I'd let him go, I didn't
know he'd stolen my beans.
I was watching him crawl
back over the wall,
and then bang, crash, the lightning flash.
That's another story, never mind.
Anyway, at last the big
day came, I made my claim.
"Oh don't take away the baby!"
They shrieked and screached,
but I did, and I hid her
where she'll never be reached.
Your father cried, your mother died.
But for extra measure, I
admit it was a pleasure,
I said "Sorry, I'm still not mollified,"
and I laid a little spell on them.
You too, son.
That your family tree will
always be a barren one.
(laughing)
So there's no more fuss
and there's no more scenes
and my garden thrives, you
should see my nectarines.
But I'm telling you the same
I tell Kings and Queens,
don't ever never ever mess
around with my greens,
especially the beans!
Happy birthday Steve.
- I don't think it's any
secret that I cut my teeth
on Rodgers and Hammerstein,
when it comes to singing.
But when I really learned what it meant
to communicate through song,
all the feelings bubbling up inside me,
coming out through my song,
I cut my teeth on Sondheim.
And I know I'm not alone.
He gave us the words to our feelings.
He named them for us.
I don't know how he did that,
but we are celebrating him today.
And I have lived a
lifetime of celebrating him
through my singing.
I sing him as much as I can.
It always makes me better.
It always will, so I'm so proud
to be here singing for him tonight.
Happy happy birthday, Stephen Sondheim.
♪ Once I hated this city ♪
♪ Now it can't get me down ♪
♪ Slushy, humid and gritty ♪
♪ What a pretty town ♪
♪ What, thought I, could be duller ♪
♪ More depressing, less gay ♪
♪ Now my favorite color is gray ♪
♪ A wall of rain as it turns to sleet ♪
♪ The lack of sun on a one-way street ♪
♪ I love the grime all the time ♪
♪ And what more do I need ♪
♪ My window pane has a lovely view ♪
♪ An inch of sky and a fly or two ♪
♪ Why, I can see half a tree ♪
♪ And what more do I need ♪
♪ The dust is thick and it's galling ♪
♪ It simply can't be excused ♪
♪ In winter even the
falling snow looks used ♪
♪ My window pane may not give much light ♪
♪ But I see you, so the view is bright ♪
♪ If I can love you, I'll
pay the dirt no heed ♪
♪ With your love, what more do I need ♪
♪ Someone shouting for quiet ♪
♪ Someone starting a brawl ♪
♪ Down the block there's a riot ♪
♪ And I'll buy it all ♪
♪ Listen, now I'm ecstatic ♪
♪ Hold me close and be still ♪
♪ Hear the lovely pneumatic drill ♪
♪ A subway train thunders
through the Bronx ♪
♪ A taxi horn on the corner honks ♪
♪ But I adore every roar ♪
♪ And what more do I need ♪
♪ I hear a crane making street repairs ♪
♪ A two ton child running wild upstairs ♪
♪ Steam pipes bang, sirens clang ♪
♪ And what more do I need ♪
♪ The neighbors yell in the summer ♪
♪ The landlord yells in the fall ♪
♪ So loud I can't hear the
plumber pound the wall ♪
♪ An aeroplane roars across the bay ♪
♪ But I can hear you as clear as day ♪
♪ You said you loved me ♪
♪ Above the sound and speed ♪
♪ With your love ♪
♪ What more do I need ♪
(sighing)
Happy birthday, Stephen Sondheim.
I love you so much!
- The song I'm singing is actually not
from one of Steve's shows,
it's from the movie, "Dick Tracy,"
and I just think it's like a
perfect little one-act play,
of a very human moment
of a person making a big
decision, about a relationship.
♪ What can you lose ♪
♪ Only the blues ♪
♪ Why keep concealing
everything you're feeling ♪
♪ Say it to him, what can you lose ♪
♪ What if it shows ♪
♪ She's had clues, which
she chose to ignore ♪
♪ Maybe though he knows ♪
♪ And just wants to go on as before ♪
♪ As a friend, nothing more ♪
♪ So he closes the door ♪
♪ Well, if he does ♪
♪ Those are the dues ♪
♪ Once the words are spoken ♪
♪ Something may be broken ♪
♪ Still, you love him ♪
♪ What can you lose ♪
♪ But what if he goes ♪
♪ At least now, you have part of him ♪
♪ What if he had to choose ♪
♪ Leave it alone ♪
♪ Hold it all in ♪
♪ Better a bone ♪
♪ Don't even begin ♪
♪ With so much to win ♪
♪ There's too much to lose ♪
Happy birthday, Steve.
- In the late '60s I was
a folksinger in Toronto.
I'd heard Angela Lansbury
sing "Me and My Town"
on the original cast album
of "Anyone Can Whistle."
And from that day on, unbeknownst to him,
Stephen Sondheim became a
driving force in my career.
I moved to New York,
and in 1979 I auditioned
for the role of Anthony Hope
in "Sweeney Todd," starring
Len Cariou and Angela Lansbury.
For the callback, which
seemed inconceivable
to me at the time,
I was told to go to the
composer's townhouse,
and learn one of the songs
I would sing in the show.
I remember that 2nd Avenue bus ride
with a cassette tape recorder
clutched between my hands.
That was the day I heard
"Johanna" for the first time.
On March 1st, 1979, we opened
to a rapturous audience,
and as I closed the
door of my dressing room
at the Uris Theatre, I was
struck by the realization
that I had achieved an impossible dream.
I have worked with Steve
on many shows since then,
and each time I'm in his presence,
I'm filled with love,
respect, and gratitude
that knows no bounds.
Thank you, Stephen.
(acoustic guitar music)
♪ I feel you ♪
♪ Johanna ♪
♪ I feel you ♪
♪ I was half convinced I'd waken ♪
♪ Satisfied enough to dream you ♪
♪ Happily I was mistaken ♪
♪ Johanna ♪
♪ I'll steal you ♪
♪ Johanna ♪
♪ I'll steal you ♪
♪ Do they think that walls can hide you ♪
♪ Even now I'm at your window ♪
♪ I am in the dark beside you ♪
♪ Buried sweetly in your yellow hair ♪
♪ I feel you ♪
♪ Johanna ♪
♪ And one day ♪
♪ I'll steal you ♪
♪ 'Til I'm with you then ♪
♪ I'm with you there ♪
♪ Sweetly buried in your yellow hair ♪
- When I started out as an actor,
I have to admit that
I was very intimidated
by Mr. Sondheim's work.
I think that's because of
the incredible performers
who have worked on his shows previously,
and tonight, and that will in the future.
And much like Shakespeare,
the material itself
can be pretty daunting,
but I think when you finally
give over to that fear
and start working on it,
at least this is how it was for me,
you find that everything
is laid out for you.
The music and the lyrics are so smart
and make so much sense,
and you can really just
go on the emotional ride
of a show and a story,
and I think after finally
working on his material,
I took that to other
material that I worked on,
and my life as an actor
and the way that I approach
everything that I do is changed forever.
(bright piano music)
♪ Marry me a little ♪
♪ Love me just enough ♪
♪ Cry, but not too often ♪
♪ Play, but not too rough ♪
♪ Keep a tender distance ♪
♪ So we'll both be free ♪
♪ That's the way it ought to be ♪
♪ I'm ready ♪
♪ Marry me a little ♪
♪ Do it with a will ♪
♪ Make a few demands ♪
♪ I'm able to fulfill ♪
♪ Want me more than others ♪
♪ Not exclusively ♪
♪ That's the way it ought to be ♪
♪ I'm ready ♪
♪ I'm ready now ♪
♪ You can be my best friend ♪
♪ I can be your right arm ♪
♪ We'll go through a fight or two ♪
♪ No harm, no harm ♪
♪ We'll look not too deep ♪
♪ We'll go not too far ♪
♪ We won't have to give up a thing ♪
♪ We'll stay who we are ♪
♪ Right ♪
♪ Okay, then ♪
♪ I'm ready ♪
♪ I'm ready now ♪
♪ Someone ♪
♪ Marry me a little ♪
♪ Love me just enough ♪
♪ Warm and free and easy ♪
♪ Just the simple stuff ♪
♪ Keep a tender distance ♪
♪ So we'll both be free ♪
♪ That's the way it ought to be ♪
♪ I'm ready ♪
♪ Marry me a little ♪
♪ Body, heart, and soul ♪
♪ Passionate as hell ♪
♪ But always in control ♪
♪ Want me first and foremost ♪
♪ Keep me company ♪
♪ That's the way it ought to be ♪
♪ I'm ready ♪
♪ I'm ready now ♪
♪ Oh, how gently we'll talk ♪
♪ Oh, how softly we'll tread ♪
♪ All the stings ♪
♪ The ugly things ♪
♪ We'll keep unsaid ♪
♪ We'll build a cocoon ♪
♪ Of love and respect ♪
♪ You promise whatever you like ♪
♪ I'll never collect ♪
♪ Right ♪
♪ Okay, then ♪
♪ I'm ready ♪
♪ I'm ready now ♪
♪ Someone ♪
♪ I'm ready ♪
Happy birthday, Mr. Sondheim.
Thank you for your
incredible, amazing gifts
to the American theater.
♪ I will show you the hat ♪
♪ How you have to finish the hat ♪
♪ How you watch the rest of
the world from the window ♪
♪ While you finish the hat ♪
- Hey there, I'm Iain Armitage,
so this has of course
been a very crazy time,
and it can be especially scary for kids.
Now, I'm very lucky because
I'm at home, I'm safe, I
have everything I need,
but I'm also very lucky because
I've grown up in a household
where every day I get to sing
and talk about Shakespeare,
and Sondheim, and Broadway,
and wonderful musical theater in general.
- Hi, this is Iain,
and today I sung "Sunday
in the Park With George"
at the Signature Theater.
- But I know that a lot of
kids didn't get that privilege,
and don't get that privilege.
And, I can't imagine my
life without theater,
it shaped me so much,
so to think that a lot
of kids don't have access
to arts programs and don't get to learn
and grow from the arts,
let alone have stuff like
food and clean drinking water.
It makes me really sad,
so that's why everyone
should donate to ASTEP,
it's a wonderful organization, bye.
♪ And when the woman
that you wanted goes ♪
♪ You can say to yourself ♪
♪ Well I give, what I give ♪
♪ But the women who won't
wait for you knows ♪
♪ That, however you live ♪
♪ There's a part of you
always standing by ♪
♪ Mapping out the sky ♪
♪ Finishing a hat ♪
♪ Starting on a hat ♪
♪ Finishing a hat ♪
♪ Look I made a hat ♪
♪ Where there never was a hat ♪
- Happy birthday, Mr. Sondheim.
♪ You've changed ♪
♪ You're daring ♪
♪ You're different in the woods ♪
♪ More sure ♪
♪ More sharing ♪
♪ You're getting us through the woods ♪
♪ If you could see ♪
♪ You're not the man who started ♪
♪ And much more openhearted ♪
♪ Than I knew ♪
♪ You to be ♪
♪ It takes two ♪
♪ I thought one was enough ♪
♪ It's not true ♪
♪ It takes two of us ♪
♪ You came through ♪
♪ When the journey was rough ♪
♪ It took you ♪
♪ It took two of us ♪
♪ It takes care ♪
♪ It takes patience and fear and despair ♪
♪ To change ♪
♪ Though you swear ♪
♪ To change ♪
♪ Who can tell if you do ♪
♪ It takes two ♪
♪ You've changed ♪
♪ You're thriving ♪
♪ There's something about the woods ♪
♪ Not just ♪
♪ Surviving ♪
♪ You're blossoming in the woods ♪
♪ At home I'd fear ♪
♪ We'd stay the same forever ♪
♪ And then out here ♪
♪ You're passionate ♪
♪ Charming ♪
♪ Considerate ♪
♪ Clever ♪
♪ It takes one ♪
♪ To begin, but then once you've begun ♪
♪ It takes two of you ♪
♪ It's no fun ♪
♪ But what needs to be done ♪
♪ You can do ♪
♪ When there's two of you ♪
♪ If I dare ♪
♪ It's because I'm becoming ♪
♪ Aware of us ♪
♪ As a pair of us ♪
♪ Each accepting a share ♪
♪ Of what's there ♪
♪ We've changed ♪
♪ We're strangers ♪
♪ I'm meeting you in the woods ♪
♪ Who minds ♪
♪ What dangers ♪
♪ I know we'll get past the woods ♪
♪ And once we're past ♪
♪ Let's hope the changes last ♪
♪ Beyond woods ♪
♪ Beyond witches and slippers and hoods ♪
♪ Just the two of us ♪
♪ Beyond lies ♪
♪ Safe at home with our beautiful prize ♪
♪ Just the few of us ♪
♪ It takes trust ♪
♪ It takes just ♪
♪ A bit more ♪
♪ And we're done ♪
♪ We want four ♪
♪ We had none ♪
♪ We've got three ♪
♪ We need one ♪
♪ It takes two ♪
- I chose, "With So Little to be Sure Of"
from "Anyone Can Whistle."
While probably all of
Sondheim's lyrics are timeless,
this one felt particularly prescient,
but something that I'm quite sure of,
is that
theater will always be around,
and while the immediate
future is unknown and scary,
we have Stephen, and we have his legacy.
And how lucky are we?
(dramatic piano music)
♪ With so little to be sure of ♪
♪ If there's anything at all ♪
♪ If there's anything at all ♪
♪ I'm sure of here and
now and us together ♪
♪ All I'll ever be I owe you ♪
♪ If there's anything to be ♪
♪ Being sure enough of you ♪
♪ Makes me sure enough of me ♪
♪ Thanks for everything we did ♪
♪ Everything that's past ♪
♪ Everything that's over too fast ♪
♪ None of it was wasted ♪
♪ All of it will last ♪
♪ Everything that's here
and now and us together ♪
♪ It was marvelous to know you ♪
♪ And it isn't really through ♪
♪ Crazy business this,
this life we live in ♪
♪ Can't complain about
the time we're given ♪
♪ With so little to be
sure of in this world ♪
♪ Hold me ♪
♪ Hold me ♪
- Hi, I'm Mary-Mitchell Campbell,
and I am the founder of ASTEP.
And we want to thank you for being here
for this very special birthday celebration
for Stephen Sondheim on his 90th birthday,
and to raise funds for Artists
Striving to End Poverty.
We're sorry for the technical difficulties
that happened at the
beginning of the night,
but thank you for sticking with us.
ASTEP really believes that
the arts are essential
to all of us to create a space for us,
for healing and connection.
And the kids that we work with
were especially vulnerable
before this crisis happened,
and are in really dire situations now.
And I'd like to introduce Priyanka.
Priyanka is a former ASTEP student,
who I met in India when
she was 13 years old,
and she would be in college right now,
but currently we're in quarantine.
So she's home with me, instead.
- Hi everyone, like MMC said,
we met seven years ago at
an ASTEP program in India,
back when I was shy and timid
and couldn't articulate myself
and what I wanted to do,
and now I'm here for college
and trying to see how
I can use the education
and opportunities that I received
to give back and serve
my community back home.
And I think, thinking of community,
I'm thinking right now in
these challenging times,
of people back home, but
also people and communities
all around the world who are struggling
to face the challenge that is before us.
And I'm also thinking of
how, in these circumstances,
we all need to build inner capacities
to find resilience and
courage and authenticity
and vulnerability to face the situation,
and how arts particularly helped me
to build that for myself
and continue to do that
for so many people around the world.
- Couldn't have said it better myself.
Please donate if you can,
and help us support
students like Priyanka.
- This is an honor to get to sing,
especially for this cause,
and these vulnerable children.
And in my own personal story,
I know a lot about
just how much I value both things.
♪ You would have liked him ♪
♪ Mama, you would ♪
♪ Mama, he makes things ♪
♪ Mama, they're good ♪
♪ Just as you said from the start ♪
♪ Children and art ♪
♪ Children and art ♪
♪ He should be happy ♪
♪ Mama, he's blue ♪
♪ What do I do ♪
♪ You should have seen it ♪
♪ It was a sight ♪
♪ Mama, I mean it ♪
♪ All color and light ♪
♪ I don't understand what it was ♪
♪ But, Mama, the things that he does ♪
♪ They twinkle and shimmer and buzz ♪
♪ You would have liked them ♪
♪ It, him ♪
♪ Isn't she beautiful ♪
♪ There she is, there she is ♪
♪ There she is, there she is ♪
♪ Mama is everywhere ♪
♪ He must have loved her so much ♪
♪ This is our family, this is the lot ♪
♪ After I go, this is all
that you've got, Honey ♪
♪ Wasn't she beautiful, though ♪
♪ You would have liked her ♪
♪ Mama did things no one had done ♪
♪ Mama was funny, Mama was fun ♪
♪ Mama spent money when she had none ♪
♪ Mama said, "Honey, mustn't be blue ♪
♪ "It's not so much do what you like ♪
♪ "As it is that you like what you do" ♪
♪ Mama said, "Darling,
don't make such a drama ♪
♪ "A little less thinking,
a little more feeling" ♪
♪ I'm just quoting Mama ♪
♪ The child is so sweet ♪
♪ And the girls are so rapturous ♪
♪ Isn't it lovely how
artists can capture us ♪
♪ You would have liked her ♪
♪ Honey, I'm wrong ♪
♪ You would have loved her ♪
♪ Mama enjoyed things ♪
♪ Mama was smart ♪
♪ See how she shimmers ♪
♪ I mean, from the heart ♪
♪ I know, Honey, you don't agree ♪
♪ But this is our family tree ♪
♪ Just wait 'til we're
there, and you'll see ♪
♪ Listen to me ♪
♪ Mama was smart ♪
♪ Listen to Mama ♪
♪ Children and art ♪
♪ Children and art ♪
I gotta go make dinner.
Bye.
♪ Ooh, Mr. Todd ♪
♪ I'm so happy ♪
♪ I could ♪
♪ Eat you up, I really could ♪
♪ You know what I'd like to do, Mr. Todd ♪
♪ What I dream ♪
♪ If the business stays as good ♪
♪ Where I'd really like to go ♪
♪ In a year or so ♪
Oh Mr. Sondheim, hey
can I call you Stephen?
Steve, you don't know how rough
it's been through the years,
watching some of your greatest
songs go to the girls.
Like Angela, and Patti.
But now that they've been quarantined.
♪ By the sea, Mr. Todd,
that's the life I covet ♪
♪ By the sea, Mr. Todd,
ooh, I know you'd love it ♪
♪ You and me, Mr. T, we could be alone ♪
♪ In a house what we'd almost own ♪
♪ Down by the sea ♪
♪ Wouldn't that be smashing ♪
♪ Think how snug it'll be
underneath our flannel ♪
♪ When it's just you and me
and the English Channel ♪
♪ In our cozy retreat
kept all neat and tidy ♪
♪ We'll have chums over every Friday ♪
♪ By the sea ♪
♪ Don't ya love the weather ♪
♪ By the sea ♪
♪ We'll grow old together ♪
♪ By the seaside ♪
♪ Hoo, hoo ♪
♪ By the beautiful sea ♪
Where are we, Florida?
Too many people, let's go, let's go.
♪ It'll be so quiet ♪
♪ That who'll come by it ♪
♪ Except a seagull ♪
♪ Hoo, hoo ♪
♪ We shouldn't try it ♪
♪ Though, 'til it's legal for two hoo ♪
I think it's legal with gay
♪ But a seaside wedding could be devised ♪
♪ Me rumpled bedding legitimized ♪
♪ Me eyelids'll flutter ♪
♪ I'll turn into butter ♪
♪ The moment I mutter I do hoo ♪
Oh, I can just see us now
in our bathing dressses.
You, respecting social
distancing guidelines
from six feet away, and me in a face mask
I made from my own underwear.
♪ By the sea ♪
♪ Married nice and proper ♪
♪ By the sea ♪
♪ Bring along your chopper ♪
♪ To the seaside ♪
♪ Hoo, hoo ♪
♪ By the beautiful sea ♪
Happy birthday, Mister Sondheim.
I'm available.
- I first heard "The Miller's Son"
when I was a college student
at Indiana University,
and one of my dear friends, Kelly,
did it on her senior recital.
Sondheim was maybe the
only music theater composer
that was permitted on the
classical voice recital juries,
and I just remember thinking like,
wow, what a fun song.
I loved the game of the words,
and rhythm of them,
and all of the ways they tell the story
just within themselves.
(dramatic piano music)
♪ I shall marry the miller's son ♪
♪ Pin my hat on a nice piece of property ♪
♪ Friday nights, for a bit of fun ♪
♪ We'll go dancing ♪
♪ Meanwhile ♪ ♪ It's a wink and a wiggle ♪
♪ And a giggle in the grass ♪
♪ And I'll trip the light fandango ♪
♪ A pinch and a diddle ♪
♪ In the middle of what passes by ♪
♪ It's a very short road ♪
♪ From the pinch and the punch ♪
♪ To the paunch and the
pouch and the pension ♪
♪ It's a very short road ♪
♪ To the ten thousandth lunch ♪
♪ And the belch and the
grouch and the sigh ♪
♪ In the meanwhile ♪
♪ There are mouths to be kissed ♪
♪ Before mouths to be fed ♪
♪ And a lot in between ♪
♪ In the meanwhile ♪
♪ And a girl ought to
celebrate what passes by ♪
♪ Or I shall marry the business man ♪
♪ Five fat babies and lots of security ♪
♪ Friday nights, if we think we can ♪
♪ We'll go dancing ♪
♪ Meanwhile ♪
♪ It's a push and a fumble ♪
♪ And a tumble in the sheets ♪
♪ And I'll foot the highland
fancy ♪ ♪ A dip in the butter ♪
♪ And a flutter with what meets my eye ♪
♪ It's a very short fetch ♪
♪ From the push and the whoop ♪
♪ To the squint and the
stoop and the mumble ♪
♪ It's not much of a stretch ♪
♪ To the cribs and the croup ♪
♪ And the bosoms that droop and go dry ♪
♪ In the meanwhile ♪
♪ There are mouths to be kissed ♪
♪ Before mouths to be fed ♪
♪ And there's many a tryst ♪
♪ And there's many a bed ♪
♪ To be sampled and seen ♪
♪ In the meanwhile ♪
♪ And a girl has to
celebrate what passes by ♪
♪ Or I shall marry the Prince of Wales ♪
♪ Pearls and servants and
dressing for festivals ♪
♪ Friday nights with him all in tails ♪
♪ We'll have dancing ♪
♪ Meanwhile ♪ ♪ It's a rip in the bustle ♪
♪ And a rustle in the hay ♪
♪ And I'll pitch the quick fantastic ♪
♪ With flings of confetti ♪
♪ And my petticoats away up high ♪
♪ It's a very short way ♪
♪ From the fling that's for fun ♪
♪ To the thigh pressing under the table ♪
♪ It's a very short day ♪
♪ 'Til you're stuck with just one ♪
♪ Or it has to be done on the sly ♪
♪ In the meanwhile ♪
♪ There are mouths to be kissed ♪
♪ Before mouths to be fed ♪
♪ And there's many a tryst ♪
♪ And there's many a bed ♪
♪ There's a lot I'll have missed ♪
♪ But I'll not have been dead when I die ♪
♪ And a person should
celebrate everything ♪
♪ Passing By ♪
♪ And I shall marry the miller's son ♪
Happy birthday, Steve.
(piano music)
- How would I describe the impact
Steve's work has had on me.
I am not a writer, but if I could write,
I would write everything he writes.
He expresses everything
I wish I could say,
and everything I wish I could believe in,
and everything I wish I could live.
He simply turns my darkness into light.
♪ Charles has a book ♪
♪ Charles shows them his crayons ♪
♪ Marie has the ball of Charles ♪
♪ Good for Marie ♪
♪ Charles misses his ball ♪
♪ George misses Marie ♪
♪ George misses a lot ♪
♪ George is alone ♪
♪ George looks around ♪
♪ He sees the park ♪
♪ It is depressing ♪
♪ George looks ahead ♪
♪ George sees the dark ♪
♪ George feels afraid ♪
♪ Where are the people
out strolling on Sunday ♪
♪ George looks within ♪
♪ George is adrift ♪
♪ George goes by guessing ♪
♪ George looks behind ♪
♪ He had a gift ♪
♪ When did it fade ♪
♪ You wanted people out
strolling on Sunday ♪
♪ Sorry, Marie ♪
♪ See George remember
how George used to be ♪
♪ Stretching his vision
in every direction ♪
♪ See George attempting
to see a connection ♪
♪ When all he can see ♪
♪ Is maybe a tree ♪
♪ The family tree ♪
♪ Sorry, Marie ♪
♪ George is afraid ♪
♪ George sees the park ♪
♪ George sees it dying ♪
♪ George, too, may fade ♪
♪ Leaving no mark ♪
♪ Just passing through ♪
♪ Just like the people
out strolling on Sunday ♪
♪ George looks around ♪
♪ George is alone ♪
♪ No use denying ♪
♪ George is aground ♪
♪ George has outgrown ♪
♪ What he can do ♪
♪ George would have liked to see ♪
♪ People out strolling on Sunday ♪
(dramatic piano music)
- Hi Stephen, it's Steven number two.
And outside of everything
that you've created,
for musical theater, that
we celebrate you for.
And not just here and now
on the occasion of your 90th birthday,
but on every day in between.
I celebrate you for another one
of your extraordinary gifts,
which is your photographic memory,
which is constantly updated
by your love for movies.
I don't know many other people who know
the only movie that Joan
Fontaine and Paulette Goddard
appeared in together,
or when you stump me with lines like,
"I don't go to church,
kneeling bags my nylons."
Or the story behind the cama
lilies are in bloom again.
I mean I thought I was
supposed to be the film guy
with all that archival knowledge,
but it turns out, you're that guy
who knows more about
Hollywood's cultural heritage
than maybe me and Marty
Scorsese put together.
Look anyway, what a
blast it is to know you,
and what an honor it's been
to work on "West Side Story"
with you this past year.
For me it was like going back to school,
and meeting my most favorite professor.
Happy happy birthday, Steve.
- So, I'm singing "Broadway Baby"
because it was the first song
I ever sung in front of Stephen Sondheim.
I was a replacement,
last minute replacement
in a huge gala at the Drury
Lane Theater in London.
Elaine Stritch was on the bill,
and obviously her version
of "Broadway Baby" is iconic
and never to be matched.
And so, when the vamp started (humming),
everybody thought Elaine Stritch
was going to be coming on,
but instead, a young
20-something-year-old,
in a track suit bottom,
and a T-shirt wandered onto
the middle of the stage,
and some charming man
from the gallery shouted,
"Get off, we want Elaine Strich!"
So, you can imagine
literally I just died inside,
tears came to my eyes, but I dug deep,
and actually it was the
biggest lesson I've ever had
because it taught me
to sit in the work,
and let the work do the talking.
If you've got a lyric,
like Stephen Sondheim's
lyric, you're safe.
Just sit in the work, tell the story,
and everything will be all right.
(light piano music)
♪ I'm just a Broadway Baby ♪
♪ Walking off my tired feet ♪
♪ Pounding 42nd St.♪
♪ To be in a show ♪
♪ Broadway Baby ♪
♪ Learning how to sing and dance ♪
♪ Waiting for that one big chance ♪
♪ To be in a show ♪
♪ Gee, I'd like to be on some marquee ♪
♪ All twinkling lights ♪
♪ A spark to pierce the dark ♪
♪ From Battery Park way
up to Washington Heights ♪
♪ Some day maybe ♪
♪ All my dreams will be repaid ♪
♪ Heck, I'd even play the maid ♪
♪ To be in a show ♪
♪ Say, Mister Producer ♪
♪ I'm talkin' to you, sir ♪
♪ I don't need a lot ♪
♪ Only what I got ♪
♪ Plus a tube of greasepaint
and a follow spot ♪
♪ I'm a Broadway Baby ♪
♪ Slaving at the five and ten ♪
♪ Dreaming of the great day ♪
♪ When I'll be in a show ♪
♪ Broadway Baby ♪
♪ Making rounds all afternoon ♪
♪ Eating at a greasy spoon ♪
♪ To save on my dough ♪
♪ At my tiny flat there's just my cat ♪
♪ A bed and a chair ♪
♪ Still I'll stick it till ♪
♪ I'm on a bill all over Times Square ♪
♪ Some day maybe ♪
♪ If I stick it long enough ♪
♪ I can get to strut my stuff ♪
♪ Working for a nice man ♪
♪ Like a Ziegfeld or a Weissman ♪
♪ In a great big Broadway show ♪
♪ There are giants in the sky ♪
♪ There are big, tall,
terrible giants in the sky ♪
♪ When you're way up high ♪
♪ And you look below ♪
♪ At the world you've left ♪
♪ And the things you know ♪
♪ Little more than a glance ♪
♪ Is enough to show ♪ ♪ You
just how small you are ♪
♪ When you're way up high ♪
♪ And you're on your own ♪
♪ In a world like none ♪
♪ That you've ever known ♪
♪ Where the sky is lead ♪
♪ And the earth is stone
♪ ♪ You're free to do ♪
♪ Whatever pleases you ♪
♪ Exploring things you'd never dare ♪
♪ 'Cause you don't care ♪
♪ When suddenly there's ♪
♪ A big, tall, terrible
giant at the door ♪
♪ A big, tall, terrible, lady
giant sweepin' the floor ♪
♪ And she gives you food ♪
♪ And she gives you rest ♪
♪ And she draws you close ♪
♪ To her giant breast ♪
♪ And you know things now ♪
♪ That you never knew before ♪
♪ Not 'til the sky ♪
♪ Only just when you've made ♪
♪ A friend and all ♪
♪ And you know she's big ♪
♪ But you don't feel small ♪
♪ Someone bigger than her
♪ ♪ Comes along the hall ♪
♪ To swallow you for lunch
♪ ♪ And your heart is lead ♪
♪ And your stomach stone ♪
♪ And you're really scared ♪
♪ Being all alone ♪ ♪ And
it's then that you long ♪
♪ For the things you've known ♪
♪ And the world you've left ♪
♪ And the little you own ♪
♪ The fun is done ♪
♪ You steal what you can and
run ♪ ♪ And you scramble down ♪
♪ And you look below ♪
♪ And the world you know ♪
♪ Begins to grow ♪
♪ The roof, the house and your ♪
♪ Mother at the door ♪
♪ The roof, the house and the world ♪
♪ You never thought to explore ♪
♪ And you think of all
the things you've seen ♪
♪ And you wish that you
could live in between ♪
♪ And you're back again ♪
♪ Only different than before ♪
♪ After the sky ♪
♪ There are giants in the sky ♪
♪ There are big, tall, terrible,
awesome, scary, wonderful ♪
♪ Giants in the sky ♪
- Happy birthday, Steve.
Thank you for being in
my life all these years,
and thank you for shaping
and defining my aesthetic,
by which I measure just about everything.
And thank you for teaching me
how high the bar could be,
giving me something to strive for.
A sense of excellence,
which I hope I've done and
I hope I continue to do.
So, thank you for being my teacher,
and my friend.
Happy birthday.
(soft piano music)
♪ Loving you is not a choice ♪
♪ It's who I am ♪
♪ Loving you is not a choice ♪
♪ And not much reason to rejoice ♪
♪ But it gives me purpose ♪
♪ Gives me voice to say to the world ♪
♪ This is why I live ♪
♪ You are why I live ♪
♪ Loving you is why I do ♪
♪ The things I do ♪
♪ Loving you is not in my control ♪
♪ But loving you, I have a goal ♪
♪ For what's left of my life ♪
♪ I will live ♪
♪ And I would die for you ♪
♪ I will live ♪
♪ And I would die for you ♪
Hi Stephen, this is Lea,
and I just wanted to wish you
a very happy 90th birthday,
and I think it's absolutely fantastic
that you have allowed
for ASTEP to raise funds
as part of this celebration.
In this crisis, all of us
are turning to the arts
for comfort and solace and sanity,
so I feel that it's
important to expose children
to the arts and whether or not they end up
as artists, as adults,
it is something that will
only serve to enrich,
enhance, and fill their lives.
So to all of you who are watching,
please donate to ASTEP,
and you will make a world of difference
an in artistic kid's life.
And I just wanted to say thank you
for the invitation to
come, and be able to sing.
Thank you, bye.
♪ I remember sky ♪
♪ It was blue as ink ♪
♪ Or at least I think ♪
♪ I remember sky ♪
♪ I remember snow ♪
♪ Soft as feathers ♪
♪ Sharp as thumb tacks ♪
♪ Coming down like lint ♪
♪ And it made you squint ♪
♪ When the wind would blow ♪
♪ And ice like vinyl ♪
♪ On the streets ♪
♪ Cold as silver ♪
♪ White as sheets ♪
♪ Rain like strings ♪
♪ And changing things ♪
♪ Like leaves ♪
♪ I remember leaves ♪
♪ Green as spearmint ♪
♪ Crisp as paper ♪
♪ I remember trees ♪
♪ Bare as coat racks ♪
♪ Spread like broken umbrellas ♪
♪ And parks and bridges ♪
♪ Ponds and zoos ♪
♪ Ruddy faces ♪
♪ Muddy shoes ♪
♪ Light and noise and ♪
♪ Bees and boys ♪
♪ And days ♪
♪ I remember days ♪
♪ Or at least I try ♪
♪ But as years go by ♪
♪ They're a sort of haze ♪
♪ And the bluest ink ♪
♪ Isn't really sky ♪
♪ And sometimes I think ♪
♪ I would gladly die ♪
♪ For a day of sky ♪
- How goes it?
How's everybody doing out there?
I guess I'm your entr'acte
First musical I saw on
Broadway was "Into the Woods."
it's a play about a group
of fairytale characters
who are dealing with,
why am I telling you the
story of "Into the Woods?"
you know what "Into the Woods" is about,
otherwise you wouldn't be here.
So I saw the original
cast, which is like, ah.
I left the theater,
and I remember this big giant's leg
kind of hanging over the
side of the Martin Beck,
and I can still see it there.
I remember writing my
postcards home to Miami,
to a mentor of mine at
a community theater.
And I'm saying, you know,
"I feel like I'm 10 feet tall,
floating towards Times Square.
Dreaming that one day maybe
I will be part of that,
and maybe, maybe get to be up there."
And that's what the arts do for kids.
They help us think outside the box.
They help us imagine futures that we
didn't even conceive of.
They help us imagine things
beyond our own lives.
It might not make us Mozart
or Shakespeare or, you know.
But they do make us
become fully ourselves.
And that's one of the great
things that ASTEP tries to do.
They obviously can't change the way that
poverty works in the world with kids.
But they can help children
imagine different lives.
So thanks for supporting them.
- Steve, happy birthday.
I'm not gonna talk too
long because I remember
when we recorded the
album "Into the Woods,"
and we're standing in the studio,
and there's a lot of commotion and hubbub,
because all the actors were
being interviewed by the press,
and you walked over to me,
and you said, "Look at this,
look at all these actors,
they're talking about me.
They don't know anything about me.
Actors, they just make it up."
And I think I probably
replied something like,
actors, actors.
But the truth is, I felt
like this is kind of cool
because you chose to tell me
the story, to tell me this,
and to confide in me.
And, I thought, we're friends,
I'm friends with Steve Sondheim.
This is really cool.
Except then I thought well,
I don't know, maybe he doesn't
actually consider me an actor.
I don't know.
But the truth is that,
it's really simply unbelievable
that my life intersected
in any way with yours.
There's a point, in Act
Two of "Into the Woods,"
where there is a giant
on the loose, trying
to destroy the kingdom,
and that's taken on a
lot of different meanings
through the years, but I think
it's never been more relevant than today.
♪ No more questions ♪
♪ Please ♪
♪ No more tests ♪
♪ Comes the day you say, "What for?" ♪
♪ Please, no more ♪
♪ We disappoint, we disappear ♪
♪ We die, but we don't ♪
♪ We disappoint ♪
♪ In turn I fear ♪
♪ Forgive, though, they won't ♪
♪ No more riddles ♪
♪ No more jests ♪
♪ No more curses you can't undo ♪
♪ Left by fathers you never knew ♪
♪ No more quests ♪
♪ No more feelings ♪
♪ Time to shut the door ♪
♪ Just, no more ♪
♪ Running away, let's do it ♪
♪ Free from the ties that bind ♪
♪ No more despair ♪
♪ Or burdens to bear ♪
♪ Out there in the yonder ♪
♪ Running away, go to it ♪
♪ Where did you have in mind ♪
♪ Have to take care ♪
♪ Unless there's a 'where' ♪
♪ You'll only be wandering blind ♪
♪ Just more questions ♪
♪ Different kind ♪
♪ Where are we to go ♪
♪ Where are we ever to go ♪
♪ Running away, we'll do it ♪
♪ Why sit around, resigned ♪
♪ Trouble is, son ♪
♪ The farther you run ♪
♪ The more you feel undefined ♪
♪ For what you have left undone ♪
♪ And, more, what you left behind ♪
♪ We disappoint ♪
♪ We leave a mess ♪
♪ We die but we don't ♪
♪ We disappoint ♪
♪ In turn, I guess ♪
♪ Forget though, we won't ♪
♪ Like father, like son ♪
♪ No more giants ♪
♪ Waging war ♪
♪ Can't we just pursue our lives ♪
♪ With our children and our wives ♪
♪ Till that happy day arrives ♪
♪ How do you ignore ♪
♪ All the witches ♪
♪ All the curses ♪
♪ All the wolves, all the lies, ♪
♪ The false hopes, the goodbyes ♪
♪ The reverses ♪
♪ All the wondering what even worse ♪
♪ Is still in store ♪
♪ All the children ♪
♪ All the giants ♪
♪ No more ♪
Thank you Steve, happy birthday.
(jazz piano)
- It's 1972, I'm at the
Shubert Theater in Los Angeles,
about to see my first
Sondheim musical, "Follies."
As I'm sitting in the audience,
I'm thinking to myself,
oh my God, I am at the World's Fair,
and up there, is the house of the future.
How do I get there?
Flash forward to 1986.
I give what is arguably the worst audition
in musical theater history,
for you and Jim Lapine,
for a show called, "Into the Woods."
I made you laugh.
You hired me.
The rest is part of my history.
Kids all over the country always ask me
what's it like to be
in a Sondheim musical,
and I say, "It's not like
anything else you will ever know."
Flash forward to 2015,
we're doing a reunion of "Into the Woods"
onstage at the Brooklyn Academy of Music,
and one of the greatest
pleasures of my life, Steve,
is watching you watch all of us.
Tears in your eyes, laughing.
I cannot tell you what you mean to me,
I mean, this is your birthday,
but you are the gift,
and not just to me, to all of us.
I love you very much.
(dramatic piano music)
♪ Careful the things you say ♪
♪ Children will listen ♪
♪ Careful the things you do ♪
♪ Children will see ♪
♪ And learn ♪
♪ Children may not obey ♪
♪ But children will listen ♪
♪ Children will look to you ♪
♪ For which way to turn ♪
♪ To learn what to be ♪
♪ Careful before you say ♪
♪ Listen to me ♪
♪ Children will listen ♪
♪ Careful the wish you make ♪
♪ Wishes are children ♪
♪ Careful the path they take ♪
♪ Wishes come true ♪
♪ Not free ♪
♪ Careful the spell you cast ♪
♪ Not just on children ♪
♪ Sometimes the spell may last ♪
♪ Past what you can see ♪
♪ And turn against you ♪
♪ Careful the tale you tell ♪
♪ That is the spell ♪
♪ Children will listen ♪
♪ Listen ♪
♪ Nothing's gonna harm you ♪
♪ Not while I'm around ♪
♪ Nothing's gonna harm you, no sir ♪
♪ Not while I'm around ♪
♪ Demons are prowling
everywhere nowadays ♪
♪ I'll send them howling, I
don't care, I've got ways ♪
♪ No one's gonna hurt you ♪
♪ No one's gonna dare ♪
♪ Others can desert you ♪
♪ Not to worry, whistle I'll be there ♪
♪ Demons'll charm you
with a smile for a while ♪
♪ But in time ♪
♪ Nothing's gonna harm
you, not while I'm around ♪
♪ Not to worry, not to worry ♪
♪ I may not be smart but I ain't dumb ♪
♪ I can do it, put me to it ♪
♪ Show me something I can overcome ♪
♪ Not to worry ♪
♪ Being close and being clever ♪
♪ Ain't like being true ♪
♪ I don't need to, I would never ♪
♪ Hide a thing from you ♪
♪ Like some ♪
♪ No one's gonna hurt you ♪
♪ No one's gonna dare ♪
♪ Others can desert you ♪
♪ Not to worry, whistle I'll be there ♪
♪ Demons'll charm you
with a smile for a while ♪
♪ But in time ♪
♪ Nothing's gonna harm you ♪
♪ Not while I'm around ♪
Happiest of birthdays to you, sir.
- About 30 years ago I
went over to Steve's house
one afternoon with an idea for new show.
I wanted to write a musical
about the Paris Peace Conference of 1919.
Colorful characters, high
hopes, great expectations,
and a catastrophic outcome.
My kind of show.
So I described it to Steve,
and he looked thoughtful for a minute,
and he said, "How about this instead?"
"Assassins."
And thus began the most exhilarating,
satisfying experience I have ever had,
collaborating on a project
in musical theater.
And so, for that Steve I
send you heartfelt thanks,
much love, and happy birthday.
- The song I am singing
is called "Flight Song."
It was actually cut from
the show, "Assassins."
Steve asked me to sing it at
a benefit a few years back,
and I fell in love with it immediately.
I love this song, because if
somebody asked Steve Sondheim
to write a patriotic song
for our country, right now,
with everything that is going on,
I think this is the song
that he would write,
and it's pretty amazing
that he already wrote it 30 years ago.
(uptempo piano music)
♪ You can gripe ♪
♪ All you like ♪
♪ You can sneer ♪
♪ Where are the heroes ♪
♪ You can shout about ♪
♪ How everything's a lie ♪
♪ Then that flag goes by ♪
♪ You can snipe ♪
♪ At the greed ♪
♪ At the need ♪
♪ To be a winner ♪
♪ At the hype ♪
♪ You keep hearing ♪
♪ From on High ♪
♪ And you think, why try ♪
♪ And you want to cry ♪
♪ Then that flag goes by ♪
♪ And you think, that's why ♪
♪ That's the best idea ♪
♪ That's a really good idea ♪
♪ What you want to do is brag ♪
♪ I'm a part of that ♪
♪ Yeah I know it's just a flag ♪
♪ Okay but still ♪
♪ For a minute you say, Hey ♪
♪ We could, we will ♪
♪ Fix everything tomorrow ♪
♪ For a minute you're aware ♪
♪ You're feeling proud ♪
♪ And then suddenly you're staring ♪
♪ At the crowd ♪
♪ And you're thinking ♪
♪ There's no link I can see ♪
♪ They're as different from me ♪
♪ As they possibly could be ♪
♪ Then you see ♪
♪ The idea ♪
♪ And you know ♪
♪ It's a dream ♪
♪ And you know ♪
♪ It isn't perfect ♪
♪ And at times ♪
♪ It may seem ♪
♪ To go awry ♪
♪ Then that flag goes by ♪
♪ And no matter how you sigh ♪
♪ It's the bright blue sky ♪
♪ It's just Mom and apple pie ♪
♪ There's this thing you can't deny ♪
♪ This idea ♪
♪ That it's fixable tomorrow ♪
♪ There's a chance ♪
♪ There's a choice ♪
♪ We can change ourselves tomorrow ♪
♪ We're in charge ♪
♪ We've a voice ♪
♪ An idea about tomorrow ♪
♪ To remember ♪
♪ When the flag has gone by ♪
♪ Yes, she looks for me good ♪
♪ Let her look for me ♪
♪ To tell me why she left me ♪
♪ As I always knew she would ♪
♪ I had thought she understood ♪
♪ They have never understood ♪
♪ And no reason that they should ♪
♪ But if anybody could ♪
♪ Finishing the hat ♪
♪ How you have to finish the hat ♪
♪ How you watch the rest of the world ♪
♪ From a window while you finish the hat ♪
♪ Mapping out a sky ♪
♪ What you feel like, planning a sky ♪
♪ What you feel when voices that come ♪
♪ Through the window go ♪
♪ Until they distance and die ♪
♪ Until there's nothing but sky ♪
♪ And how you're always
turning back too late ♪
♪ From the grass or the stick ♪
♪ Or the dog or the light ♪
♪ How the kind of woman
willing to wait's ♪
♪ Not the kind that you
want to find waiting ♪
♪ To return you to the night ♪
♪ Dizzy from the height ♪
♪ Coming from the hat, studying the hat ♪
♪ Entering the world of the hat ♪
♪ Reaching through the world of the hat ♪
♪ Like a window ♪
♪ Back to this one from that ♪
♪ Studying a face ♪
♪ Stepping back to look at the face ♪
♪ Leaves a little space
in the way like a window ♪
♪ But to see, it's the only way to see ♪
♪ And when the woman
that you wanted goes ♪
♪ You can say to yourself,
"Well, I give what I give" ♪
♪ But the women who won't
wait for you knows ♪
♪ That, however you live ♪
♪ There's a part of you
always standing by ♪
♪ Mapping out the sky ♪
♪ Finishing a hat ♪
♪ Starting on a hat ♪
♪ Finishing a hat ♪
♪ Look, I made a hat ♪
♪ Where there never was a hat ♪
Happy birthday, Steve.
- So I'm 20 years old,
and I'm making my Broadway debut,
in "Merrily We Roll
Along," and I'm working
with and for Stephen Sondheim,
and it is the biggest thrill in the world,
and all you want to do, is make him happy.
And Stephen comes to be me one day,
a week or so into rehearsal and says,
"I'm writing a song for the
start of the second act,
and you're gonna have a
pretty good piece in it.
Is there anything I don't know
about your singing
voice, your instrument?"
And I said, "Oh no Stephen,
I'm sure you must know everything
you'd possibly want to
know about my voice.
The thing you might not know,
is I do not hear chromatics very well,
sharps and flats, I
don't do well with them."
And he said, "Oh, that's good to know."
He went away, came back a few days later,
and sat down and played me my section
in the song called, "It's a Hit."
And it was nothing but chromatics.
It was all tremendous sharps and flats.
♪ Hold it folks ♪
♪ There's still the reviews left ♪
♪ Both the Trib and the News left ♪
Just sharps and flats.
And he sang it, and I turned
ashen white, and I said,
"Oh my gosh, Steve I may have misspoken,
or maybe you misheard me,
but I think I said I don't
hear chromatics very well."
And Stephen just looked at me and said,
"Yeah, well you have to learn."
He wrote a genius piece of material.
He wrote a perfect character piece,
and threw me a curve,
all at the same time.
And because of him,
I am a marginally better
chromatic scale singer.
So, not only does the
world owe Stephen Sondheim,
I personally owe Stephen Sondheim,
so, so much.
- Hello, and happy
birthday Stephen Sondheim,
I'm so thrilled to be included
in this wonderful event.
I was in this show called, "The Mad Show,"
and Stephen Sondheim
wrote, with Mary Rodgers,
a song that I'm gonna sing for you,
called "The Boy From."
And he called himself,
Esteban del Rio Nido,
for the purposes of writing this song.
It's a little Brazilian satire.
(bright piano music)
♪ Tall and tender, like an Apollo ♪
♪ He goes walking by ♪
♪ And I have to follow him ♪
♪ The boy from Tacarembo ♪
♪ La Tumbe Del Fuego ♪
♪ Santa Malipas Zacatecas ♪
♪ La Junta Del Sol Y Cruz ♪
♪ When we meet, I feel I'm on fire ♪
♪ And I'm breathless
every time I inquire ♪
♪ How are things in Tacarembo ♪
♪ La Tumbe Del Fuego ♪
♪ Santa Malipas Zacatecas ♪
♪ La Junta Del Sol Y Cruz ♪
♪ Why ♪
♪ When I speak, does he vanish ♪
♪ Oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo ♪
♪ Why ♪
♪ Is he acting so clannish ♪
♪ Oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo ♪
♪ I wish I understood Spanish ♪
♪ When I tell him I think he's the end ♪
♪ He giggles a lot with his friend ♪
♪ Tall and slender, moves like a dancer ♪
♪ But I never seem to get any answer ♪
♪ From the boy from Tacarembo ♪
♪ La Tumbe Del Fuego ♪
♪ Santa Malipas Zacatecas ♪
♪ La Junta Del Sol Y Cruz ♪
♪ I got the blues ♪
♪ Why ♪
♪ Are his trousers vermilion ♪
♪ His trousers are vermilion ♪
♪ Why ♪
♪ Does he claim he's Castilian ♪
♪ He thayth that he'th Cathtilian ♪
♪ Why ♪
♪ Do his friends call him Lillian ♪
♪ And I hear at the end of the week ♪
♪ He's leaving to start a boutique ♪
♪ Though I smile, I'm only pretending ♪
♪ 'Cause I know today's the ♪
♪ Last I'll be spending ♪
♪ With the boy from Tacarembo ♪
♪ La Tumbe Del Fuego ♪
♪ Santa Malipas Zacatecas ♪
♪ La Junta Del Sol Y Cruz ♪
♪ Tomorrow he sails ♪
♪ He's moving to Wales ♪
♪ To live in ♪
♪ Llanfair­pwllgwyn ♪
♪ Gyllgogery ♪
♪ Chwyrn­drobwll­llan­ ♪
♪ Tysilio­gogo­goch ♪
♪ Och ♪
- I've personally been involved with ASTEP
on a number of occasions,
both in the United States and abroad.
It has been a really extraordinary
thing for me to witness
the power that the arts
have to lift people up,
to show them their own self-worth,
to inspire them.
It's really, really important
work that ASTEP is doing.
Anything that you could
do to continue the mission
of ASTEP would be most deeply appreciated.
(uptempo piano music)
♪ Hello folks, we're into the Follies ♪
♪ First though folks,
we'll pause for a mo ♪
♪ No no, folks, you'll
still get your jollies ♪
♪ It's just I got a problem
that I think you should know ♪
♪ See, I've been very
perturbed of late, very upset ♪
♪ Very betwixt and between ♪
♪ The things that I want,
I don't seem to get ♪
♪ The things that I get
you know what I mean ♪
♪ I've got those ♪
♪
"God-why-don't-you-love-me-oh-you-do-I'll-see-you-later"
♪
♪ Blues ♪
♪ Those ♪
♪
"Long-as-you-ignore-me-you're-the-only-thing-that-matters"
♪
♪ Feeling ♪
♪ That ♪
♪
"If-I'm-good-enough-for-you-you're-not-good-enough"
♪
♪ and,
"Thank-you-for-the-present-but-what's-wrong-with-It"
♪
♪ Stuff ♪
♪ Those ♪
♪ "Don't-come-any-closer ♪
♪ 'Cause-you-know-how-much-I-love-you" ♪
♪ Feelings ♪
♪ Those ♪
♪
"Tell-me-that-you-love-me-oh-you-did-I-gotta-run-now"
♪
♪ Blues ♪
♪ Margie Margie ♪
♪ Margie ♪
♪ She says she really loves me ♪
♪ I love you ♪
♪ She says, she says she really cares ♪
♪ I care, I care ♪
♪ She says that I'm her hero ♪
♪ My hero ♪
♪ She says I'm perfect, she swears ♪
♪ You're perfect, goddammit ♪
♪ She says that if we parted ♪
♪ If we parted ♪
♪ She says, she says that she'd be sick ♪
(coughing)
♪ She says she's mine forever ♪
♪ Forever ♪
♪ She says, I gotta
get out of here quick ♪
♪ I've got those ♪
♪
"Whisper-how-I'm-better-than-I-think-but-what-do-you-know"
♪
♪ Blues ♪
♪ That ♪
♪
"Why-do-you-keep-telling-me-I-stink-when-I-adore-you"
♪
♪ Feeling ♪
♪ That ♪
♪
"Say-I'm-all-the-world-to-you-you're-out-of-your-mind
♪
♪
I-know-there's-someone-else-and-I-could-kiss-you-behind"
♪
♪ Those ♪
♪
"You-say-I'm-terrific-but-your-taste-was-always-rotten"
♪
♪ Feelings ♪
♪ Those ♪
♪ "Go-away-I-need-you" ♪
♪ "Come-to-me-I'll-kill-you" ♪
♪
"Darling-I'll-do-anything-to-keep-you-with-me-till-you
♪
♪
Tell-me-that-you-love-me-oh-you-did-now-beat-it-will-you"
♪
♪ Blues ♪
♪ Sally Sally ♪
♪ Sally ♪
♪ She says she loves another ♪
♪ Another ♪
♪ She says, a fella she prefers ♪
♪ Furs furs ♪
♪ She says that he's her idol ♪
♪ Idol idol idol idol ♪
♪ She says, ideal, she avers ♪
♪ You deal, avers ♪
♪ She says that anybody ♪
♪ Buddy ♪
♪ She says, would suit her more than I ♪
♪ Aye, aye, aye ♪
♪ She says that I'm a washout ♪
♪ You're a washout ♪
♪ She says, I love her
so much I could die ♪
♪ I've got those ♪
♪
"God-why-don't-you-love-me-oh-you-do-I'll-see-you-later"
♪
♪ Blues ♪
♪ Blah blah blues ♪
♪ That ♪
♪
"Long-as-you-ignore-me-you're-the-only-thing-that-matters"
♪
♪ Feeling ♪
♪ Feeling ♪
♪ That ♪
♪
"If-I'm-good-enough-for-you-you're-not-good-enough"
♪
♪ Woo ♪
♪ And
"Thank-you-for-the-present-but-what's-wrong-with-it
♪
♪ Stuff ♪
♪ Those ♪
♪ "Don't-come-any-Closer ♪
♪ 'Cause-you-know-how-much-I-love-you" ♪
♪ Feelings ♪
♪ Those ♪
♪ "If-you-will-then-I-can't ♪
♪ If-you-don't-then-I-gotta ♪
♪ Give-it-to-me-I-don't-want-it ♪
♪ If-you-won't-I-gotta-have-it ♪
♪ High-low-wrong-right- ♪
♪ Yes-no-black-white ♪
♪
God-why-don't-you-love-me-oh-you-do-I'll-see-you-later
♪
♪ Blues ♪
- What a shame that there is
no authentic Japanese account
of what took place on that historic day.
♪ Pardon me I was there ♪
♪ You were where ♪
♪ At the treaty house ♪
♪ At the treaty house ♪
♪ There was a tree ♪
♪ Which was where ♪
♪ Very near ♪
♪ Over here ♪
♪ Maybe over there ♪
♪ But there were trees then,
everywhere ♪ ♪ May I show you ♪
♪ If you please ♪
♪ There were trees ♪
♪ Then, everywhere ♪
♪ But you were there ♪
♪ And I was there ♪
♪ Let me show you ♪
♪ If you please ♪
♪ I was younger then ♪
♪ I was good at climbing trees ♪
♪ I was younger then ♪
♪ I saw everything ♪
♪ I was hidden all the time ♪
♪ It was easier to climb ♪
♪ I was younger then ♪
♪ I saw everything ♪
♪ Where they came and where they went ♪
♪ I was part of the event ♪
♪ I was someone in a tree ♪
♪ I was younger then ♪
♪ Tell him what I see ♪
♪ I am in a tree, I am ten ♪
♪ I am in a tree ♪
♪ I was younger then ♪
♪ In between the eaves I could see ♪
♪ Tell me what I see ♪
♪ I was only 10 ♪
♪ I see men and matting ♪
♪ Some are old, some chatting ♪
♪ If it happened, I was there ♪
♪ I saw everything ♪
♪ I was someone in a tree ♪
♪ Tell him what I see ♪
♪ Some of them have gold on their coats ♪
♪ One of them has gold ♪
♪ He was younger then ♪
♪ Someone crawls around passing notes ♪
♪ Someone very old ♪
♪ He was only 10 ♪
♪ And there's someone in a tree ♪
♪ Or the day is incomplete ♪
♪ Without someone in a tree ♪
♪ Nothing happened here ♪
♪ I am hiding in a tree ♪
♪ I'm a fragment of the day ♪
♪ If I weren't, who's to say ♪
♪ Things would happen here the way ♪
♪ That they happened here ♪
♪ I was there then ♪
♪ Its the fragment not the day ♪
♪ It's the pebble ♪
♪ I am here still ♪
♪ Not the stream ♪
♪ It's the ripple, not the sea ♪
♪ Not the building, but the beam ♪
♪ Not the garden, but the stone ♪
♪ Not the treaty house ♪
♪ Someone in a tree ♪
♪ Pardon me, I am here ♪
♪ If you please, I am also here ♪
♪ I could see between the years ♪
♪ Yet you say you weren't seen ♪
♪ I remember there were leaves ♪
♪ It was summer, they were green ♪
♪ If you please, I am here ♪
♪ You are where ♪
♪ In the treaty house ♪
♪ In the treaty house ♪
♪ Or very near ♪
♪ Can you hear ♪ ♪ I'm below ♪
♪ So I notice ♪
♪ Underneath the floor ♪
♪ And so I can't see anything
♪ ♪ I can hear them ♪
♪ But I can't see anything
♪ ♪ But you can hear ♪
♪ But I can hear ♪
♪ Shall I listen ♪
♪ If you please ♪
♪ I can hear them now ♪
♪ I shall try to shift my knees ♪
♪ I can hear them now ♪
♪ I hear everything ♪
♪ I'm the part that's underneath ♪
♪ With my sword inside my sheath ♪
♪ I can hear them now ♪
♪ One is over me ♪
♪ If they knock, then I appear ♪
♪ I'm a part of what I hear ♪
♪ I'm the fragment underneath ♪
♪ I can hear them now ♪
♪ Tell us what you hear ♪
♪ First I hear a creak and a thump ♪
♪ Now I hear a clink ♪
♪ Then they talk a bit ♪
♪ Many times they shout when they speak ♪
♪ Other times they think ♪
♪ Or they argue it ♪
♪ I hear floorboards groaning ♪
♪ Angry growls, much droning ♪
♪ Since I hear them, they are there ♪
♪ As they argue it ♪
♪ I'm the listener underneath ♪
♪ Someone reads a list from a box ♪
♪ Someone talks of laws ♪
♪ Then they fan a bit ♪
♪ Someone bangs a fist ♪
♪ Someone knocks ♪
♪ Now there was a pause ♪
♪ Then they argue it ♪
♪ But we want ♪
♪ No you can't ♪
♪ And we won't ♪ ♪ But we need it ♪
♪ And we want ♪
♪ Will you grant ♪
♪ If you don't ♪
♪ We concede it ♪
♪ And they sat through the night ♪
♪ And they lit yellow tapers ♪
♪ I'm a fragment of the day ♪
♪ If I weren't who's to say ♪
♪ Things would happen here the way ♪
♪ That they're happening ♪
♪ It's the fragment, not the day ♪
♪ It's the pebble, not the stream ♪
♪ It's the ripple, not the sea ♪
♪ That is happening ♪
♪ Not the building but the beam ♪
♪ Not the garden but the stone ♪
♪ Only cups of tea ♪
♪ And history ♪
♪ And someone in a tree ♪
- Hello, I'm Nathan Lane,
and first of all
I just want to wish Steve Sondheim
a very, very happy birthday.
I think this is a wonderful way
to celebrate his life and art.
And, he's been so
underappreciated all these years.
I can't believe that there's
never been a tribute like this,
a musical tribute,
to this unsung genius
of the American musical theater.
It's about time.
That's all I can say,
and not a moment too soon.
But, I've also been
asked to say a few words
about the impact of
Steve's work on my life,
and I'm finding it difficult
to sum up in just a few words,
because he's a hero to me.
I have been lucky enough
to have worked with Steve many,
many times, over the years,
as an actor, and once as
an actor and as a writer,
a book writer, for "The Frogs."
Yeah, there I said it, "The Frogs!"
You want to step outside?
Here's my little show business
adage for this evening.
If at all possible,
try to work with a genius.
They're fun, they're
smart, they're inspiring,
and they tend to bring
out the best in you.
And that's the kind of genius Steve is.
I mean, there are angry geniuses,
tortured geniuses,
self-destructive geniuses.
He's a nice genius.
And a great collaborator.
And I just want to wish
him, happy birthday,
and I hope he enjoys this.
You know, he doesn't like a fuss.
(laughing)
- ASTEP's work is so important
in bringing the arts to children
in underserved communities,
bringing them the values,
and life lessons that come
with the arts and storytelling.
Let's let them know that
they aren't forgotten.
Please contribute if you can,
and enjoy the rest of the evening.
(solemn piano music)
♪ Let me see the world with clouds ♪
♪ Take me to the world ♪
♪ Out where I can push through crowds ♪
♪ Take me to the world ♪
♪ A world of skies ♪
♪ That's bursting with surprise ♪
♪ To open up my eyes for joy ♪
♪ Take me to the world that's real ♪
♪ Show me how it's done ♪
♪ Teach me how to laugh, to feel ♪
♪ Move me to the sun ♪
♪ Just hold my hand whenever we arrive ♪
♪ Take me to the world
where I can be alive ♪
♪ Let me see the world that smiles ♪
♪ Take me to the world ♪
♪ Somewhere I can walk for miles ♪
♪ Take me to the world ♪
♪ With all around ♪
♪ Things growing in the ground ♪
♪ Where birds that make a sound ♪
♪ Are birds ♪
♪ We shall see the world come true ♪
♪ We shall have the world ♪
♪ I won't be afraid with you ♪
♪ We shall have the world ♪
♪ I'll hold your hand
and know I'm not alone ♪
♪ We shall have the world to keep ♪
♪ Such a lovely world to we'll weep ♪
♪ We shall have the world forever ♪
♪ For our own ♪
♪ Isn't it rich ♪
♪ Are we a pair ♪
♪ Me here at last on the ground ♪
♪ You in mid-air ♪
♪ Send in the clowns ♪
♪ Isn't it bliss ♪
♪ Don't you approve ♪
♪ One who keeps tearing around ♪
♪ One who can't move ♪
♪ Where are the clowns ♪
♪ Send in the clowns ♪
♪ Just when I'd stopped opening doors ♪
♪ Finally knowing the one
that I wanted was yours ♪
♪ Making my entrance again
with my usual flair ♪
♪ Sure of my lines ♪
♪ No one is there ♪
♪ Don't you love farce ♪
♪ My fault, I fear ♪
♪ I thought that you'd want what I want ♪
♪ Sorry, my dear ♪
♪ But where are the clowns ♪
♪ Quick, send in the clowns ♪
♪ Don't bother, they're here ♪
♪ Isn't it rich ♪
♪ Isn't it queer ♪
♪ Losing my timing this
late in my career ♪
♪ But where are the clowns ♪
♪ There ought to be clowns ♪
♪ Well, maybe next year ♪
Happy birthday Steve, I love you.
- I'd like to propose a toast.
♪ Here's to the ladies who lunch ♪
♪ Everybody laugh ♪
♪ Lounging in their caftans ♪
♪ And planning a brunch ♪
♪ On their own behalf ♪
♪ Off to the gym ♪
♪ Then to a fitting ♪
♪ Claiming they're fat ♪
♪ And looking grim ♪
♪ 'Cause they've been sitting ♪
♪ Choosing a hat ♪
♪ Does anyone still wear a hat ♪
♪ I'll drink to that ♪
♪ Here's to the girls who stay smart ♪
♪ Aren't they a gas ♪
♪ Rushing to their classes ♪
♪ In optical art ♪
♪ Wishing it would pass ♪
♪ Another long exhausting day ♪
♪ Another thousand dollars ♪
♪ A matinee, a Pinter play ♪
♪ Perhaps a piece of Mahler's ♪
♪ I'll drink to that ♪
♪ And one for Mahler ♪
♪ Here's to the girls who play wife ♪
♪ Aren't they too much ♪
♪ Keeping house but clutching ♪
♪ A copy of Life ♪
♪ Just to keep in touch ♪
♪ The ones who follow the rules ♪
♪ And meet themselves at the schools ♪
♪ Too busy to know that they're fools ♪
♪ Aren't they a gem ♪
♪ I'll drink to them ♪
♪ Let's all drink to them ♪
- I'm already drinking, dear.
♪ And here's to the girls who just watch ♪
♪ Aren't they the best ♪
♪ When they get depressed ♪
♪ It's a bottle of Scotch ♪
♪ Plus a little jest ♪
♪ Another chance to disapprove ♪
♪ Another brilliant zinger ♪
♪ Another reason not to move ♪
♪ Another vodka stinger ♪
♪ I'll drink to that ♪
♪ So here's to the girls on the go ♪
♪ Everybody tries ♪
♪ Look into their eyes ♪
♪ And you'll see what they know ♪
♪ Everybody dies ♪
♪ A toast to that invincible bunch ♪
♪ The dinosaurs surviving the crunch ♪
♪ Let's hear it for the ladies who lunch ♪
♪ Everybody rise ♪
♪ Rise ♪
♪ Rise ♪
♪ Rise ♪
Happy birthday, Steve!
♪ Rise ♪
- Happy anniversary, Steve.
♪ Rise ♪
We love you, Steve.
- Cheers, Steve.
♪ Rise ♪
- I did it all wrong, God--
(laughing)
(dramatic piano music)
- Happy birthday, Steve.
- Are you working on something new?
- No, I am not working on anything new.
- That is not like you, George.
♪ I've nothing to say ♪
- You have many things.
♪ Well, nothing that's not been said ♪
♪ Said by you ♪
♪ I do not know where to go ♪
♪ Nor did I ♪
♪ I want to make things that count ♪
♪ Things that will be new ♪
♪ I did what I had to do ♪
♪ What am I to do ♪
♪ Move on ♪
♪ Stop worrying where you're going ♪
♪ Move on ♪
♪ If you can know where you're going ♪
♪ You've gone ♪
♪ Just keep moving on ♪
♪ I chose, and my world was shaken ♪
♪ So what ♪
♪ The choice may have been mistaken ♪
♪ The choosing was not ♪
♪ You have to move on ♪
♪ Look at what you want ♪
♪ Not at where you are ♪
♪ Not at what you'll be ♪
♪ Look at all the things
you've done for me ♪
♪ Opened up my eyes ♪
♪ Taught me how to see ♪
♪ Notice every tree ♪
♪ Notice every tree ♪
♪ Understand the light ♪
♪ Understand the light ♪
♪ Concentrate on now ♪
♪ I want to move on ♪
♪ I want to explore the light ♪
♪ I want to know how to get through ♪
♪ Through to something new ♪
♪ Something of my own ♪
♪ Move on ♪
♪ Move on ♪
♪ Stop worrying if your vision is new ♪
♪ Let others make that decision ♪
♪ They usually do ♪
♪ You keep moving on ♪
♪ Look at what you've done ♪
♪ Something in the light ♪
♪ Then at what you want ♪
♪ Something in the sky ♪
♪ Not at where you are ♪
♪ In the grass ♪
♪ What you'll be ♪
♪ Up behind the trees ♪
♪ Look at all the things
♪ ♪ You gave to me ♪
♪ Things I hadn't looked at 'til now ♪
♪ Let me give to you ♪
♪ Flower in your hat ♪
♪ Something in return ♪
♪ And your smile ♪
♪ I would be so pleased ♪
♪ And the color of your hair ♪
♪ And the way you catch the light ♪
♪ And the care ♪
♪ And the feeling ♪
♪ And the life ♪
♪ Moving on ♪
♪ We've always belonged ♪
♪ Together ♪
♪ We will always belong together ♪
♪ Just keep moving on ♪
♪ Anything you do ♪
♪ Let it come from you ♪
♪ Then it will be new ♪
♪ Give us more to see ♪
- Hi everyone.
I chose this song because
it just moves me deeply.
"Anyone Can Whistle."
♪ Anyone can whistle,
that's what they say, easy ♪
♪ Anyone can whistle, any old day, easy ♪
♪ It's all so simple ♪
♪ Relax, let go, let fly ♪
♪ So someone tell me, why can't I ♪
♪ I can dance a tango,
I can read Greek, easy ♪
♪ I can slay a dragon,
any old week, easy ♪
♪ What's hard is simple ♪
♪ What's natural comes hard ♪
♪ Maybe you can show me ♪
♪ How to let go ♪
♪ Lower my guard ♪
♪ Learn to be free ♪
♪ Maybe if you whistle ♪
♪ Whistle for me ♪
♪ What's hard is simple ♪
♪ What's natural comes hard ♪
♪ Maybe you can show me ♪
♪ How to let go ♪
♪ Lower my guard ♪
♪ Learn to be free ♪
♪ Maybe if you whistle ♪
♪ Whistle for me ♪
- Not only is Steve Sondheim a genius,
he's a wonderful person, and I love him.
And when I was in "Into the Woods,"
this is the song I would hear,
when I'd be sitting in the wings.
But, I love this song.
♪ No one here to guide you ♪
♪ Now you're on your own ♪
♪ Only me beside you ♪
♪ Still you're not alone ♪
♪ No one is alone ♪
♪ Truly ♪
♪ No one is alone ♪
♪ Sometimes people leave you ♪
♪ Halfway through the wood ♪
♪ Others may deceive you ♪
♪ You decide what's good ♪
♪ You decide alone ♪
♪ But no one is alone ♪
♪ People make mistakes ♪
♪ Fathers, mothers ♪
♪ People make mistakes ♪
♪ Holding to their own ♪
♪ Thinking they're alone ♪
♪ Honor their mistakes ♪
♪ Everybody makes ♪
♪ One another's terrible mistakes ♪
♪ Witches can be right ♪
♪ Giants can be good ♪
♪ You decide what's right ♪
♪ You decide what's good ♪
♪ Just remember ♪
♪ Someone is on your side ♪
♪ Someone else is not ♪
♪ While you're seeing your side ♪
♪ Maybe you forgot ♪
♪ They are not alone ♪
♪ No one is alone ♪
♪ Hard to see the light now ♪
♪ Just don't let it go ♪
♪ Things will turn out right now ♪
♪ We can make it so ♪
♪ Someone is on your side ♪
♪ No one is alone ♪
I thought this might be just
the perfect song right now.
- Well, there it is folks.
To all the extraordinary,
extraordinary people
who made this happen.
To all the support for ASTEP,
to all of you who stuck
around with us tonight,
to the gods of technical problems,
to everybody at Broadway.com
helping us put this together.
And to the giants,
to these extraordinary artists
who did not hesitate to say yes,
when we asked them to do this,
and to all of you watching
and dreaming with us tonight.
I'll tell you the greatest thing
that I know about Stephen Sondheim,
he never stops trying.
Never.
His shows are hugely successful,
and every time they get revived,
he lets people take a crack at them
and see what can happen,
how they can make them new.
He knows that no work of
art is every finished,
everything changes,
nothing is ever set.
You can never get anything
right, completely right,
but if you can never get it right,
then that also means you
can never get it wrong.
And if you think about that,
it means everything is worth trying.
So, that's the biggest thing
I know about Stephen Sondheim.
You keep going on.
You keep moving on.
♪ Feel how it quivers ♪
♪ On the brink ♪
♪ Everything gives you the shivers ♪
♪ Makes you think ♪
♪ And there's so much stuff to say ♪
Thank you.
And happy birthday, Steve.
(soft piano music)
♪ Good times and bum times ♪
♪ I've seen them all my dear ♪
♪ I'm still here ♪
♪ Plush velvet sometimes ♪
♪ Sometimes just pretzels and beer ♪
♪ But I'm here ♪
♪ I've stuffed the dandies in my shoes ♪
♪ Strummed ukuleles, sung the blues ♪
♪ Seen all my dreams disappear ♪
♪ But I'm here ♪
♪ I've slept in shanties ♪
♪ Guest of the WPA ♪
♪ But I'm here ♪
♪ Danced in my scanties ♪
♪ Three bucks a night was the pay ♪
♪ But I'm here ♪
♪ I've stood on bread
lines with the best ♪
♪ Watched while the
headlines did the rest ♪
♪ In the depression, was I depressed ♪
♪ Nowhere near ♪
♪ I met a big financier and I'm here ♪
♪ I've gotten through
Herbert and J Edgar Hoover ♪
♪ Gee, that was fun and a half ♪
♪ When you've been through
Herbert and J Edgar Hoover ♪
♪ Anything else is a laugh ♪
♪ I've been through Reno, I've
been through Beverly Hills ♪
♪ And I'm here ♪
♪ Reefers and vino, rest
cures, religion and pills ♪
♪ But I'm here ♪
♪ Been called a 'Pinko', commie tool ♪
♪ Got through it stinko by my pool ♪
♪ I should've gone to an acting school ♪
♪ That seems clear ♪
♪ Still someone said, they're sincere ♪
♪ So I'm here ♪
♪ Black sable one day ♪
♪ Next day it goes into hock ♪
♪ But I'm here ♪
♪ Top billing Monday ♪
♪ Tuesday, you're touring in stock ♪
♪ But I'm here ♪
♪ First you're another sloe-eyed vamp ♪
♪ Then someone's mother,
then you're camp ♪
♪ Then you career from career to career ♪
♪ I'm almost through my
memoirs, and I'm here ♪
♪ I've gotten through, hey,
lady, aren't you whoozis ♪
♪ Wow, what a looker you were ♪
♪ Or better yet, sorry, I
thought you were whoozis ♪
♪ Whatever happened to her ♪
♪ Good times and bum times ♪
♪ I've seen 'em all and, my dear ♪
♪ I'm still here ♪
♪ Plush velvet sometimes ♪
♪ Sometimes just pretzels and beer ♪
♪ But I'm here ♪
♪ I've run the gamut, A to Z ♪
♪ Three cheers and dammit, c'est la vie ♪
♪ I got through all of last year ♪
♪ And I'm here ♪
♪ Lord knows, at least I've been there ♪
♪ And I'm here ♪
♪ Look who's here ♪
♪ I'm still here ♪
- Something like that.
(laughing)
