Composer Stephen Sondheim to Receive Top New York Arts Honor

Stephen Sondheim, the composer behind such musicals as “Sweeney Todd” and “West Side Story” will be awarded New York City's highest arts honor.

If you don’t recognize the composer, surely you know the music.

Stephen Sondheim, the composer behind such musicals as “Sweeney Todd” and “West Side Story” will be awarded the Handel Medallion Nov. 1.

The award is the superlative award in the arts community  and is given by the city of New York for contributing to the arts, according to The New York Times’ ArtsBeat blog.

The medallion will be presented to Sondheim by Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Alec Baldwin at the famous Lincoln Center, where, most recently, a revival of Sondheim’s “Company” was staged, starring Neil Patrick Harris, Stephen Colbert, Christina Hendricks, and Jon Cryer.

Sondheim has also penned musical theater greats like "A Little Night Music," "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum," "Sunday in the Park with George," and "Folies."

Selected Reading: ArtsBeat, BBC

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