Stars on Sondheim: Tonya Pinkins Recalls the Sondheim Show That Made Her Want to Be on Broadway

March 22 marks Stephen Sondheim's 90th birthday. It's impossible to state the great contribution and influences this titan of the stage has made to musical theater, but we're taking a stab at it by reaching out to some stars who have appeared in his many shows to share their personal experiences.

Tony winner Tonya Pinkins was still in college when she auditioned for Stephen Sondheim and George Furth's Merrily We Roll Along in 1980. She landed a role and made her Broadway debut in the show in 1981. It was the start to a distinguised career that includes a long list of stage and screen roles. We asked Pinkins some questions about the impact Sondheim had on her career. 

Describe your first meeting with Sondheim.
I attended Carnegie Mellon in the fall of 1980. Over Christmas break, I was planning to go to Puerto Rico. My elementary school theater teacher told me to skip Puerto Rico and come home to Chicago for a cattle call for [director Harold Prince] and Stephen Sondheim’s new show. Hal Prince and Steve Sondheim were the people I most wanted to work with; I had a number of their show albums. I thought my teacher was crazy—I didn’t stand a chance. But I canceled my trip and came and auditioned for [casting director] Joanna Merlin, who invited me to fly to New York and audition for Merrily We Roll Along in December 1980. I spent the day in New York auditioning with a lot of other aspiring actors. At the end of the day, me and Lonny Price, Jim Weissenbach, Giancarlo Esposito, Liz Callaway, Ann Morrison and Jason Alexander were told we would be in the show the following fall. [Ed note: Jim Walton replaced Weissenbach during previews of Merrily We Roll Along.]

What was the first Sondheim show you ever saw? 
My first Broadway show and first Sondheim show was Sweeney Todd. I know every bar of that score. It was the most thrilling thing I had ever seen in my life. I was about 17. I remember the way the way Hal staged it. I knew I wanted to be on Broadway and win a Tony Award one day.

What’s your favorite personal Sondheim anecdote.
The one and only time I was in Sondheim’s home, he showed us a storage room with drawers filled with the scores of all the shows he had written. Then he said, “These are the drawers for the shows I am going to write.” That was so inspiring.

What’s the best gift you ever got from Sondheim?
I gave Sondheim  a cassette recording of British singer Cleo Laine interpreting his songs. He was appalled. But he shared with me the "Color and Light" jazz recordings of his work.

What’s your desert island Sondheim cast recording?
Sweeney Todd.