Meryl Streep, Christine Baranski and Audra McDonald celebrate Sondheim in their bathrobes
Meryl Streep, Audra McDonald and Christine Baranski, boozing in their bathrobes while singing “The Ladies Who Lunch.” This was the quarantine moment the world didn’t know it needed — until now.
The dressing gown-clad trio delivered internet gold when they joined a host of A-listers Sunday night to celebrate legendary composer Stephen Sondheim’s 90th birthday and his vast contribution to musical theater.
While Streep poured herself what looked like a martini (vigorously shaken, not stirred), her “Mamma Mia” co-star Baranski, 67, opted for a large glass of red, and Broadway diva McDonald, 49, went straight for the bottle.
At one point during the song from the musical “Company,” Streep, 70, looked as if she were about to pour some Scotch into a glass, before cutting to the chase and swigging it straight from the bottle.
As they sang the line “I’ll drink to that,” the three stars raised their drinks in salute to Sondheim, who is best known for musicals like “Follies” and “Into the Woods” and for writing the lyrics to “West Side Story.”
For many viewers, the boozy performance and disheveled vibe captured lockdown life perfectly.
“Meryl Streep, Audra MacDonald and Christine Baranski singing Sondheim over Zoom in their bathrobes is, and I cannot stress this enough, the ultimate mood,” one viewer tweeted.
Another simply shared a screengrab of Streep pouring her drink during the gutsy performance, along with the caption “Lockdown2020.”
The free online event, which aired on Broadway.com and YouTube, also included numbers from the Sondheim catalog, performed by the likes of Patti LuPone, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Neil Patrick Harris and Jake Gyllenhaal.
Proceeds of the virtual concert will benefit Artists Striving to End Poverty (ASTEP) during the coronavirus pandemic.