Veteran theater producer Cameron Mackintosh has announced that the Queen's Theater in London is going to be renamed the Sondheim Theater ahead of the composer's 90th birthday.
- Jul 6, 2019
AceShowbiz - Stephen Sondheim is set to have a West End theatre named in his honour, ahead of his 90th birthday.
The composer and lyricist, who has written a string of hit musicals including "Company", "Follies" and "Into the Woods", will receive the accolade in December to mark the age milestone when the Queen's Theatre on London's Shaftesbury Avenue will be renamed the Sondheim Theatre.
Veteran theatre producer Cameron Mackintosh announced the news on Friday (July 05), revealing the venue, which closed for renovations earlier this year, will be reborn with a new name and a revival of "Les Miserables".
"After 112 years, Shaftesbury Avenue will have a theatre named after a living legend and house the world's longest running musical, the legendary 'Les Miserables' as it enters its phenomenal 35th year," the theatre boss said. "As an innovative voice in musical theatre, his (Sondheim's) influence has no equal."
The dedication means Sondheim will become the only person honoured with theatres on both Broadway and in the West End. The Henry Miller Theatre was renamed the Sondheim Theatre in New York in 2010.
Sondheim, who will turn 90 on 22 March (20), is thrilled with the name change.
"I am chuffed, as you say in British English, to a degree I wouldn't have imagined," he says. "Or, as we say in American English, it's awesome."
