This week on Behind the Mirror of Music Dannii Cohen talks to Kurt Peterson in our third Sondheim special. Kurt was part of the original cast of Follies and shared a lifelong friendship with Stephen Sondheim and Hal Prince.

You can watch his Sondheim project “On the Steps of the Shubert” here

Kurt Peterson began his Broadway career when Leonard Bernstein and Richard Rodgers chose him to play Tony in the revival of West Side Story at Lincoln Center. During this production he worked with Stephen Sondheim for the first time. He then starred opposite Angela Lansbury in Dear World and created the role of Young Ben in Stephen Sondheim’s Follies. Off-Broadway, Kurt starred in Dames at Sea, By Bernstein, and Alias Jimmy Valentine, and appeared in the Town Hall productions of Knickerbocker Holiday, Music in the Air and I Married an Angel. Kurt sang “Proud Lady” to Patti LuPone when he starred opposite her in the Broadway-bound The Baker’s Wife. He also starred in the highly acclaimed Canadian premiere of Company and Rob Marshall’s production of Side By Side By Sondheim. Kurt was featured in the 75th birthday celebrations Wall to Wall Sondheim and Children & Art honoring Stephen Sondheim and has performed as a leading man in many Sondheim productions and concerts around the country.
Kurt and his company, James William Productions (JWP), produced the acclaimed Sondheim—A Musical Tribute, the first celebration of the composer/lyricist; helped launch the New York and London productions of Angela Lansbury’s Gypsy; produced the live tours of WPIX-TV’s classic children’s show “The Magic Garden”; and the National Tour of Rob Marshall’s innovative Side By Side By Sondheim.