For one night Broadway fans were transported back to the theatre for a star-studded tribute to Stephen Sondheim. Broadway.com hosted “Take Me to the World: A Sondheim 90th Birthday Celebration.” It was a who’s who of Broadway and beyond singing songs from Sondheim shows such as “Into the Woods” and “Sunday in the Park with George.” Josh Groban, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Jake Gyllenhaal, Patti Lupone, Bernadette Peters, and others took part via video links from their homes.

One of the most memorable performances came as Meryl Streep, Audra McDonald, and Christine Baranski donned bathrobes to sing “The Ladies Who Lunch.” And grab a tissue as Donna Murphy sings a stirring rendition of “Send in the clowns.”

Another standout came from Brian Stokes Mitchell, who recently recovered from coronavirus. He sang “Flag Song,” a number cut from the show Assassins, but felt especially appropriate for our nation’s current crisis (about 1 hour, 25 minutes into the video). The actor said:

“I loved this song because if somebody asked Stephen Sondheim to write a patriotic song for our country right now with everything that is going on, I think this is the song he would write, and it’s pretty amazing that he already wrote it 30 years ago.” 

The event was a fundraiser for ASTEP (Artists Striving to End Poverty). It’s an organization that “connects performing and visual artists with underserved youth to transform lives through the power of the arts.”

If you missed it, watch above. It’s worth your time.