Stephen Sondheim began what has now become a series of conversations about his life and career when he first joined New York Times columnist Frank Rich on stage at San Francisco's Herbst Theatre last year. The San Francisco Chronicle describes it as "a dazzling evening," in which the composer "was droll, generous and endlessly engaging as he shared anecdotes of Ethel Merman and Elaine Stritch, recalled collaborations with Jerome Robbins and Leonard Bernstein, and praised Tim Burton's substantially reconceived film version of Sweeney Todd."

The conversations continue in the coming days at halls around the country, some with Rich, others with journalists and theater historians, all likely to prove dazzling in their own right. Sondheim's first stop is at the Wells Fargo Center for the Arts in Santa Rosa, California, with Peter Stein, the executive director of the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival, on Saturday. Two dates with Rich follow, at Jones Hall in Houston on Sunday and Benaroya Hall in Seattle on Monday, followed by one with historian Jerry Wasserman at the Vogue Theatre in Vancouver, Canada, on Tuesday. Additional events are planned for Austin and Boston in mid-November.

In a preview of Saturday's event for the San Francisco Chronicle, Stein tells writer Edward Guthmann about preparing for such an important occasion, "talking to a giant of the theater." Guthman speaks with the composer as well, who explains how the whole thing first came about, over a dinner conversation with Rich, and how things have followed since—"[W]e've never had what I would call a dull audience," he says.

The article goes on to detail a few of the many other things the composer has on his plate as he approaches his 80th birthday celebration next year. "It's just surprising," Sondheim tells the Chronicle. "When you're young, 80 is very old. When you're old, it's not so old."

There's much more at sfgate.com.
 
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Sondheim spoke with the Houston Chronicle's Everett Evans as well, in advance of Sunday's gathering at Jones Hall with Rich. "No one need explain why Stephen Sondheim is the musical theater's most important artist of the past 50 years," says Evans in his introduction. "His work speaks for itself."

Over the course of their own conversation, Sondheim tells Evans that he has no plans to stop writing. Even if the pace of doing so has changed, his method remains humbly the same: "You keep writing what you like and you hope other people will like it," he explains.

Read the interview at chron.com.

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For his part, Frank Rich spoke with The Stranger's Dan Savage prior to Monday's event at Benaroya Hall. Rich explains how his relationship with the composer first developed and how it has evolved over the years. He gives a few hints of what they'll be discussing on Monday and speaks at some length as well about a number of other timely topics from the current state of the theater to politics to media. Read the interview at thestranger.com.

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For more on these and other upcoming tour dates, including next summer's celebration of Sondheim's 80th birthday at the Ravinia Festival, visit nonesuch.com/on-tour.