Send in the tears: Stephen Sondheim is due to be remembered in song at the upcoming Grammy Awards by Cynthia Erivo, Leslie Odom Jr., Ben Platt and Rachel Zegler, sources tell PvNew.
The performances, which have not yet been officially announced, are said to be part of the show’s traditional In Memoriam segment, rather than a separate moment during the telecast.
Sondheim died on Nov. 26 at age 91. The Grammys are the first of several awards shows that are expected to fete the composing great in some fashion this year, with the Oscars, Tonys and Emmys likely to follow. Sondheim was most awarded by the Grammys and Tonys — fielding eight trophies from each — and picked up a single Oscar for original song for “Sooner or Later” from “Dick Tracy.”
The singers involved in the Grammy tribute have performed the music of Sondheim in the past. Erivo has a long history with the songwriter, including a “Ladies Who Sing Sondheim” concert in 2016, and more recently singing “The Miller’s Son” at the 2019 Sondheim Award Gala. Platt sang “It Takes Two” on the livestream “Take Me to the World: A Sondheim 90th Birthday Celebration” in the quarantine days of 2020 with duet partner Beanie Feldstein. Odom Jr. recorded a medley with Renee Fleming that included “Children Will Listen.” And Zegler’s involvement with his work couldn’t be more timely, as she starred in the recent “West Side Story” remake that reprised the 1957 Sondheim/Leonard Bernstein song score.
The Recording Academy could not be reached for comment on the tribute.
The Grammys will be broadcast April 3 on CBS live in all time zones, at 8 p.m. ET/5 PT. The show will also be available for streaming live and on demand on Paramount Plus.
