Tributes pour in for late Broadway legend Stephen Sondheim

SINGAPORE - Tributes have poured in for Broadway legend Stephen Sondheim, who died early on Friday (Nov 26) at the age of 91.

The theatre community mourned the composer and lyricist of musicals such as West Side Story, Into The Woods and Sweeney Todd, who died at his home in Roxbury, Connecticut.

British composer Andrew Lloyd Webber called him "the musical theatre giant of our times, an inspiration not just to two but to three generations".

"Your contribution to theatre will never be equalled," he wrote on Twitter.

Influential British theatre producer Cameron Mackintosh said in a statement to The Guardian: "The theatre has lost one of its greatest geniuses and the world has lost one of its greatest and most original writers. Sadly, there is now a giant in the sky.

"But the brilliance of Stephen Sondheim will still be here as his legendary songs and shows will be performed for evermore. Goodbye old friend and thank you from all of us."

Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda shared on social media an e-mail from Sondheim, his mentor, about Tick, Tick…Boom!, the Jonathan Larson musical which Miranda recently directed as a Netflix film. Sondheim, who was the late Larson's idol, is played by Bradley Whitford in the film, and his real voice appears in a voicemail recording.

Miranda had e-mailed Sondheim to say "his ears must be burning from the countless Sondheim kindnesses being shared from the generations of writers he mentored".

Sondheim had replied: "Thanks for the nice boost to my spirits, Lin. It's an aspect of my life I'm proud of. I feel as if I've repaid (partially, at least) what I owe Oscar, " referring to his own mentor, the lyricist and playwright Oscar Hammerstein II.

Miranda concluded in his post: "Steve: you repaid your debt to Oscar 1000 times over. We love you. I love you."

Hollywood stars including Hugh Jackman, Anna Kendrick and Jake Gyllenhaal also paid tribute to the late composer. Jackman wrote on Twitter: "Every so often someone comes along that fundamentally shifts an entire art form. Stephen Sondheim was one of those."

Former United States secretary of state Hillary Clinton posted on Twitter a photo of herself and her husband, former US president Bill Clinton, applauding Sondheim at an award ceremony.

"A peerless composer and lyricist, Stephen Sondheim stirred our souls, broadened our imaginations, and reminded us that no one is alone," she wrote. "He changed the theatre - and our culture - with his craft, his humor, and his heart."

Several, including Broadway stars Bernadette Peters, Imelda Staunton and Josh Gad, compared him to playwright William Shakespeare. "Perhaps not since April 23rd of 1616 has theater lost such a revolutionary voice," Gad wrote on Twitter, referring to the date of Shakespeare's death.

Peters, a frequent Sondheim collaborator who created the role of the Witch in Into The Woods, told The New York Times: "He was like Shakespeare, and what a privilege to be able to say, 'Steve, what did you mean when you wrote that?' You could get it right from the horse's mouth. I always say, he gave me so much to sing about."