(Special Event) Wall to Wall: Stephen Sondheim (at Symphony Space; Featuring Angela Lansbury, Caroleee Carmello, Greg Edelman, Tony Roberts, Joanna Gleason, Tony Roberts, Elaine Stritch, Jason Robert Brown, George Hearn, Michael Cerveris, B.D. Wong, Donna Murphy, Judy Kuhn, Barbara Cook, Stephen Sondheim, and many others)-

(M-R) It could probably only happen in New York. On Saturday, a popular concert house presented a "free" event celebrating the work of a major living composer and featuring some of the biggest stars of Broadway present and past. The catch? You have to be rich not to be called "selfish and self-centered." And if you want to see the whole thing, you can't eat for twelve hours.

That said, Wall to Wall: Stephen Sondheim came as close to perfection as a tribute concert may be able to. It would be foolish to try to list every thrilling moment, since there was as much an abundance of spine-tingling excitement as there was a lack of food. Sondheim is, without a doubt, at the top of a tiny list of geniuses celebrated in their lifetimes. Symphony Space is an incompetently run, corruptly managed host--- but this was still one hell of a birthday party.