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Mamma Mia stars Meryl Streep and Christine Baranski reunite for Sondheim birthday concert

Meryl Streep reunited with her Mamma Mia co-star Christine Baranski for a special performance to celebrate Stephen Sondheim’s 90th birthday.

A cast of musical theatre stars and fans virtually came together on Sunday night in belated birthday celebrations for the composer, who is best known for writing musicals such as Into The Woods and the lyrics for West Side Story.

Streep and Baranski, who starred together in 2008’s film adaptation of Mamma Mia, were joined by Broadway legend Audra McDonald in a raucous rendition of “Ladies Who Lunch” from the Sondheim musical Company.

Coming together over Zoom, the three actors dressed in white dressing gowns as they each raised their alcoholic drinks to the lyric “I’ll drink to that”, with Baranski enjoying a red wine and McDonald a whiskey while Streep opted to make her own cocktails.

Following success in the West End, War Horse director Marianne Elliott’s production of Company starring Katrina Lenk and Patti Lupone was due to transfer to Broadway on Sondheim’s actual birthday (22 March), but was not able to go ahead due to the New York theatre shutdown over Covid-19.

Take Me to the World: A Sondheim 90th Birthday Celebration featured performances from Jake Gyllenhaal and and Lin-Manuel Miranda, with the show also serving as a virtual fundraiser for Artists Striving to End Poverty.