Composer and lyricist Stephen Sondheim takes part in a panel discussion of American theater Friday, April 17, 1998, at Independence Community College in Independence, Kan. Stephen Sondheim was chosen for the Distinguished Achievement in the American Theatre Award, which the William Inge Theatre Festival bestows on a living American playwright each year. Sondheim was to become the 17th playwright honored Saturday night.(AP Photo/Kansas City Star, Bev Bynum)