Rachel Zegler, Ben Platt, Cynthia Erivo, Leslie Odom Jr. Perform Special 'In Memoriam' Grammys Segment (original) (raw)

Some of musical theater's best and brightest came together for a powerful In Memoriam segment at this year's Grammy Awards on Sunday.

Performing a collection of songs by legendary composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim, singers Rachel Zegler, Ben Platt, Cynthia Erivo, and Leslie Odom Jr. took the stage in Las Vegas as footage played highlighting artists lost over the past year.

Platt began the tribute with an emotional performance of "Not a Day Goes By" before Erivo and Odom Jr. joined in with a duet of the Merrily We Roll Along song and "Send in the Clowns" from musical A Little Night Music.

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Zegler then entered and began performing West Side Story's "Somewhere," with the other three performers joining in to conclude the emotional tribute. (Zegler, of course, just portrayed Maria in the 2021 film adaptation of West Side Story.)

The segment was kicked off with a tribute to late Foo Fighters drummer Taylor Hawkins, who was scheduled to perform at the awards before his shocking death last week.

Some of the other stars honored in the full tribute included DMX, Betty Davis, Ronnie Spector, Virgil Abloh, Mark Lanegan, Jim Steinman, Young Dolph, Sarah Dash, Biz Markie, Nanci Griffith, Meat Loaf, Lee "Scratch" Perry, Elliot Mazer, Bobbie Nelson, Wanda Young, and more.

PHOTO: Rich Fury/Getty

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Sondheim, who died in November 2021 at age 91, was a seven-time Grammy Award winner, as well as the recipient of eight Tony Awards, including a special lifetime achievement Tony Award.

In 2010, the Henry Miller Theatre in New York City was renamed the Stephen Sondheim Theatre on West 43rd Street in his honor.

Early on in his unparalleled career, Sondheim wrote the lyrics to the classic musicals West Side Story, which premiered in 1957, and Gypsy two years later.

Of his own work, Sondheim said at the time, "My main goal is to tell a story and, if I tell that story well, tell it with resonance, the inferences to be drawn will take care of themselves."