Stephen Sondheim 2009 Broadway revival cast of "West Side Story". A ballet was performed by Blaine Hoven and María Noel Riccetto to Sondheim's score for "Reds", and Jonathan Tunick paid tribute to his longtime collaborator. The concert was broadcast on PBS' "Great Performances" show in November, and its DVD was released on November 16. "Sondheim 80", a Roundabout Theatre Company benefit, was held on March 22. The evening included a performance of "Sondheim on Sondheim", dinner and a show at the New York Sheraton. "A very personal star-studded musical tribute" featured new songs by contemporary musical-theatre writers. The composers (who sang their
Stephen Sondheim Later, Sondheim wrote and apologized to Guettel for being "not very encouraging" when he was actually trying to be "constructive". Sondheim also mentored a fledgling Jonathan Larson, attending Larson's workshop for his "Superbia" (a musical version of "Nineteen Eighty-Four"). In Larson's musical "Tick, Tick... Boom!", the phone message is played in which Sondheim apologizes for leaving early, says he wants to meet him and is impressed with his work. After Larson's death, Sondheim called him one of the few composers "attempting to blend contemporary pop music with theater music, which doesn't work very well; he was on his way to